City Research Online

Abstract

This article explores the practice of governments imposing domestic content based requirements known as “offsets” on suppliers in order to secure public procurement contracts. Known to cause distortions in international trade, offsets are forbidden under the WTO’s GPA and in the procurement chapters of several RTAs, although these restrictions have severe limitations with full offset prohibitions only accepted by a handful of developed countries. Given the sensitivity of procurement policy and the need to stimulate local economies, Asian countries in particular show an unwillingness to address offsets in their international agreements. While other WTO agreements restrain the use of local content rules, these regimes are ill-suited to control the harmful effects of offsets in a procurement context because of their focus on traditional commercial markets. The article suggests that an enlargement of offset prohibitions would be advisable given the expected expansion of global procurement markets commensurate with economic development.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Subjects:	J Political Science > JZ International relations
Departments:	The City Law School > Academic Programmes The City Law School > International Law and Affairs Group
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

Export

Downloads