On January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom both implemented a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union that defines their post-Brexit trade relationship and became an independent party to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). The FTA is part
Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, on July 9 put forward a Buy American plan that includes elements that coincide with President Trump’s aims of tightening domestic content requirements and waivers. The Biden plan also includes
A Djaghe reference paper, EU Regional Trade Agreements with Procurement Commitments examines the European Union’s negotiations of regional trade agreements (RTAs) with both parties to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and non-GPA parties. In
On May 16, the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Europe’s top court, issued a long-awaited opinion on whether the European Union (EU) must share approval of trade agreements with its member states. In a 28-page opinion, the ECJ concluded that the EU has the
In the 2017 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (NTE), the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) highlights significant barriers to U.S. exports. Government procurement policies, such as “buy national” policies and closed
On February 4, Vietnam signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), along with 11 other Pacific Rim countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and the United States). That signing followed Vietnam’s
The European Union (EU) covers public works concessions – a form of public-private partnerships (PPPs) – under the revised WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), as well as under bilateral agreements. Under the GPA, the EU limits its
In the WTO Trade Policy Review, U.S. procurement policies that favor domestic products were under broad attack. In a recent review of U.S. trade policies, WTO Members raised concerns with both existing and proposed Buy American measures that favor
A new “Buy American Act” restriction passed by the U.S. House of Representatives could undermine the ability of the U.S. to negotiate access to new procurement markets for U.S. firms. On May 30, 2014, Inside U.S. Trade reported that the U.S. House of
For update, see: Launch of Environmental Goods Agreement Negotiations A new initiative aimed at free trade in environmental goods will be developed as a plurilateral agreement among “like-minded” WTO Members. On January 24, 2014, the United States and