Government procurement
Government procurement provisions in regional trade agreements: A stepping stone to GPA accession?
The majority of regional trade agreements (RTAs) that have been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in recent years contain provisions on government procurement, whether of a detailed or a limited nature. Such provisions are of interest for a number of reasons, some specific to the field of government procurement and some general or systemic. To begin with, government procurement provisions in RTAs are of importance in their own right, in that, in many jurisdictions, they go a long way to establish the prevailing conditions of trade and competition in public procurement markets. This impact may be manifested through both behavioural rules that regulate procurement procedures and through coverage schedules that subject specific procurements to international competition. As such, government procurement provisions in RTAs can directly affect performance in a key economic sector with implications for economy-wide economic development and growth.
Global procurement law in times of crisis: New Buy American policies and options in the WTO legal system
What should governments do to protect their citizens in a global economic crisis? National economies are interdependent and economic risk is systemic on a global scale, but economic policy remains pervasively national in scope. Fiscal policy is one tool that some economists advocate to counteract economic downturns. Fiscal policy, however, has not been the subject of collective action at the global level, and if it has, states accomplish it in ad hoc political (as opposed to legal) arrangements in response to particular crises. More generally, states retain primary responsibilities for structuring institutions to promote economic justice for their citizens. Despite moves towards conceptualizing justice as a global concern, justice remains primarily a concern for domestic constitutional orders. Fiscal policy and economic justice are widely understood as the domain of the political orders of states, national in their reach, tied to notions of statehood. These features of the state are in tension with the increasingly complex interdependencies of states and with the dense web of treaty commitments they have undertaken, particularly in economic matters.
The WTO Regime on Government Procurement
Originally an important but relatively obscure plurilateral instrument, the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is now becoming a pillar of the WTO system as a result of important developments since the Uruguay Round. This collection examines the issues and challenges that this raises for the GPA, as well as future prospects for addressing government procurement at a multilateral level. Coverage includes issues relating to pending accessions to the GPA, particularly those of developing countries with a large state sector such as China; the revised (provisionally agreed) GPA text of 2006, including provisions on electronic procurement and Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries; and procurement provisions in regional trade agreements and their significance for the multilateral system. Attention is also given to emerging issues, especially those concerning environmental, social and SME policy; competition law; and the implications of the recent economic crisis.
The coverage negotiations under the Agreement on Government Procurement: Context, mandate, process and prospects
This chapter of the book considers the ongoing negotiations on coverage under the 1994 Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). The chapter is largely descriptive and procedural in nature, since the negotiations are ongoing and the contents of Parties’ offers in the negotiations are (by intention) not publicly available. Nonetheless, information on a number of aspects of the negotiations is in the public domain, including information on the background of and context for the negotiations; the purpose and mandate of the negotiations as they are set out in the Agreement and related documents of the Committee on Government Procurement; the processes by which the negotiations have been conducted; and the current state of play. Such information provides valuable insights into the nature and scope of the negotiations, the issues at stake, and the prospects for conclusion of the negotiations
The design and operation of a bid challenge mechanism: The experience of Hong Kong, China
Under the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), Parties are required to establish a system of challenge procedures. Of all the Parties to the GPA, Hong Kong, China (henceforth ‘Hong Kong’) presents an interesting case study as it combines the features of a clean and effective government and a highly internationalized procurement market. In this chapter, the author examines the efforts made by the Hong Kong government to implement its obligation under the GPA to provide challenge procedures. The chapter starts by reviewing the general background to the Review Body on Bid Challenges of Hong Kong. It then discusses in detail the bid challenge procedures and how such procedural rules have been applied and elaborated through the cases that came before the Review Body. The chapter concludes by noting that the bid challenge system in Hong Kong generally conforms to its GPA obligations.
Korea - Measures Affecting Government Procurement
On 16 February 1999, the US requested consultations with Korea in respect of certain procurement practices of the Korean Airport Construction Authority (KOACA), and other entities concerned with the procurement of airport construction in Korea. The US claimed that such practices were inconsistent with Korea’s obligations under the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). These include practices relating to qualification for bidding as a prime contractor, domestic partnering, and the absence of access to challenge procedures that are in breach of the GPA. The US contended that KOACA and the other entities are within the scope of Korea’s list of central government entities as specified in Annex 1 of Korea’s obligations in Appendix I of the GPA, and pursuant to Article I(1) of the GPA, apply to the procurement of airport construction.