The international procurement landscape is changing as countries and economies respond more proactively to protectionism in their counterparts’ markets by adopting domestic preferences and reciprocal measures. Trading partners that have long criticized the use of ‘buy local’ policies, especially by the United States and China, are reversing course as they adopt—or prepare to adopt—their own […]
Canada continues to expand its protection of domestic goods and services in government procurement. Following the federal government’s application of ‘Buy Canadian’ policies in December 2025, its leading province of Ontario began implementing its own ‘Buy Ontario’ mandates in April 2026 under the Buy Ontario Act (Public Sector Procurement), 2025. It requires preferences to be given to Ontario […]
The European Commission has – for the first time – adopted a final decision in an investigation of foreign subsidies in an EU public procurement under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). In its investigation of the awarding of a contract for the construction and design of the ‘Violet’ metro line in Lisbon, Portugal, the commission determined that a Chinese subcontractor […]
Since President Trump announced his reciprocal tariff program on April 2, 2025, his administration has signed nine Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ARTs) (with Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan). It has also announced framework deals with the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, North Macedonia, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Thailand, and Vietnam. […]
On March 4, the European Commission introduced ‘Made in EU’ and low-carbon requirements for public procurement in a proposed new regulation, the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), with the aim of increasing demand for low-carbon, European-made technologies and products. It focuses on energy intensive industries, namely steel, cement, and aluminum, as well as the automotive value chain and net-zero […]
After signing their trade agreement in January 2026, the European Union (EU) and four Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) are now moving toward its implementation in June, albeit on a provisional basis. This was made possible when the European Commission decided on February 26 to implement the trade elements of their broader agreement on a provisional […]
A new Briefing Paper, “Key International Procurement Developments in 2025,” published by Thomson Reuters, looks at key developments in international government procurement in 2025. The Paper begins with the Trump administration’s tariff and trade policies, which are reverberating throughout the global trading system. On government procurement, they include a threat to withdraw from the WTO Government […]
More than a year after the European Union (EU) and Mercosur—the South America trade bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) —completed negotiations of a trade agreement, they were finally able to sign it on January 17, 2026. EU approval was delayed by member state opposition. The states finally gave the “green light” on January 9, albeit with a qualified majority—the […]
In its recently issued annual report, the WTO Committee on Government Procurement highlighted progress on accessions to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)–but added no new members, its decision to provide greater transparency of its work, its work programs, and its designation of a new chair (from Norway). This post examines the key developments over the past […]
In its recent tariff and investment agreement with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the Trump administration obtained a commitment from the two countries to curtail the access to their government procurement of countries that are not parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) or free trade agreements (FTAs). This commitment responds to a concern set out […]