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
jhgrier@djaghe.com
Website: www.Djaghe.com
Trade Blog: http://trade.djaghe.com
© 2014 Djaghe LLC