ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the effectiveness of trade agreements which address public procurement markets, focusing especially on the international trade agreements between North American and European nations, and with a special emphasis on legal measures that shape those agreements' effectiveness. It assumes that "effectiveness" of trade agreements should be assessed as other elements of public procurement are measured, that is, whether they result in better outcomes for the men, women and children who depend on the goods and services being purchased through their public procurement systems. Trade in government contracts has received scant but somewhat increasing academic attention in recent years, while trade agreements including public procurement clauses have grown steadily. All the procurement trade agreement-induced reforms are expected to drive up the country’s public procurement exports in sectors where it has comparative advantage, and enhance domestic public procurement efficiency through greater openness to foreign competition and better governance, while imposing some costs.
