The WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) opens the government procurement of 43 WTO members, slightly more than one-quarter of the 160 WTO members. Its application is limited to the WTO members that join it and its benefits accrue only to those members.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China has pointed out deficiencies in China’s GPA offers that will need to be addressed to bring the procurement China will cover under the GPA to the level of other parties. As noted in an earlier posting, China
Chile, Colombia or Peru should lead Latin America into the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. The 43 WTO members covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) do not include any members from Latin America. Moreover, only four Latin American
In the TTIP negotiations, the U.S. and EU should consider exchanging comprehensive coverage of procurement of their central government entities. The negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) provide an opportunity for the
The enlargement of the European Union has been the major contributor to the expansion of the membership in the GPA. On May 1, 2014, the European Union (EU) marked the 10th anniversary of its 2004 enlargement in which it added 10 new member states (Cyprus,
The U.S. has used different approaches in its procurement agreements with regard to domestic purchasing requirements attached to federal funds. A recent posting examined U.S. treatment of “buy American” requirements that apply to federal government
Although the Trade Agreements Act provides the President with broad authority to waive discriminatory purchasing requirements, in practice the waiver has limited application. Under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and free trade agreements
The GPA Parties should initiate expeditiously the arbitration process in the revised GPA to facilitate resolving disputes over whether a Party may withdraw an entity from the GPA. The recently implemented revision of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement
The revision of the GPA has entered into force — nearly 15 years after negotiations began. On April 6, 2014, the Parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) reached a major milestone with implementation of the revision of the GPA. This
The U.S. and the EU should exchange coverage of build-operate-transfer contracts and works concessions in the TTIP. In the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the United States and the European Union (EU) should aim