International Procurement Developments in 2015: Structural Reforms to International Procurement Laws

The year 2015 saw major structural changes to international procurement rules -- including (1) a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement which will impact procurement, and important shifts in Canada’s laws regarding contractor debarment and exclusion (discussed here by Brenda Swick), (2) European procurement laws which favor open, multilateral negotiations (Hans-Joachim Priess), and (2) new, more liberal procurement policies at the World Bank (Christopher Yukins) -- all of which are likely to help open procurement markets around the world. This article, prepared for presentation at the February 2016 Thomson-Reuters Year in Review conference in Washington, D.C., surveys these developments and discusses their future implications