Transcript BRICS and the WTO Government Procurement Agreement

BRICS AND THE WTO GOVERNMENT
PROCUREMENT AGREEMENT
Jean Heilman Grier
Principal Consultant on Trade
Djaghe, LLC
George Washington University Law School
Colloquium
November 4, 2014
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Introduction
 BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
 Relationship to GPA
 BRICS with commitments to join GPA
 BRICS with observer status in GPA Committee
 Procurement constraints in BRICS
 U.S. policy relating on BRICS and GPA
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BRICS with Commitments to Join
GPA
 Commitments in WTO protocols of accession
 China
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Became WTO member in 2001
Commenced GPA negotiations in 2007
Has submitted five offers of coverage
Committed to submit 6th offer in 2014
 Russia
 Became WTO member in 2012
 Committed to start GPA negotiations by 2016
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BRICS with Observer Status in GPA
 Observers
 China (2002)
 Russia (2013)
 India (2010)
 Not Observers
 Brazil
 South Africa
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Brazil and International Trade
Agreements
 MERCOSUR (Southern Common Market): Brazil, Argentina,
Paraguay and Uruguay:
 2006 Protocol on Government Procurement not yet implemented
 Other preferential trade agreements avoid procurement
commitments
 International negotiations
 Brazil-EU FTA negotiations
 Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) negotiations
 No plans to join GPA (2013 WTO Trade Policy Review)
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Brazil’s Preference Policies
 Recent adoption of preferential policies complicates
GPA accession prospects
 Domestic preferences a permanent feature of
procurement regime
 Allows preferential margins of up to 25% for goods
and services produced in Brazil and in accordance
with Brazilian technical standards
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India
 No overarching government procurement policy
 Procurement policies and practices lack transparency and
consistency among ministries and states
 State-owned enterprises give preferences for domestic firms
 National Manufacturing Policy increased use of local content
requirements in procurement in certain sectors (ICT and clean
energy)
 No international procurement obligations
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South Africa
 Uses competitive tenders for procurement, but tender evaluation
based on Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act
 Extensive array of domestic preferences include:
 Local Procurement Accord: target is to source 75% of procurement locally
 National Industrial Participation Program: industrial participation obligation
on government and parastatal purchases and lease contracts
 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment strategy: preferential
procurement requirements.
 International negotiations
 Southern African Customs Union (SACU): Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia,
South Africa, Swaziland: no procurement obligations
 US-SACU FTA negotiations unsuccessful
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U.S. Policy on BRICS and GPA
 Sought GPA commitments from BRICS that joined WTO in past 15
years
 China (2002)
 Russia (2012)
 Prior unsuccessful FTA negotiations
 Brazil in Free Trade Agreement of Americas (FTAA)
 South Africa in U.S.-SACU FTA negotiations
 India: encourage accession as part of government reform
 Brazil: U.S. focus on Brazil’s adoption of preferential policies
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Contact Information
Jean Heilman Grier
Principal Consultant on Trade
Djaghe, LLC
[email protected]
Website: www.Djaghe.com
Trade Blog: http://trade.djaghe.com
© 2014 Djaghe LLC