The U.S. government awarded contracts valued at about $12 billion to foreign-located firms, of which about $5 billion went to firms with reported locations in the other six main parties to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Conversely, government procurement databases indicated the central governments of thes

Under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), the United States has reported opening more procurement covered by the agreement to foreign firms than have other parties to the agreement. For example, U.S. data for 2010--the most recent available--show that the United States reported $837 billion in GPA-covered procurement. This amount is about twice as large a

GAO found that the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and selected U.S. free trade agreements' (FTA) government procurement chapters that GAO reviewed generally have similarities in text, and commitments, potentially because parties negotiated multiple agreements concurrently. Each of the agreements outlines the general method for conducting government proc

The United States' African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has differences from and similarities to 26 trade preference programs offered by other developed and developing countries in three key areas that can affect program performance in increasing and diversifying trade. (1) Country eligibility. AGOA is unique in that it focuses eligibility on sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Most other c

The United States is a party to, or is currently negotiating, international agreements covering government procurement with 60 countries. From 2008 through 2012 these countries together spent on average about $4.4 trillion annually to procure goods and services and to fund capital projects. This represented about a quarter of their total general government expenditures, and includes spending at t

In 2014, the White House proposed a strategy for investing in African trade. One part of the five-part strategy --Renew and Update the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to Increase Market Access Opportunities for Africa--consisted of four specific recommendations: (1) Approve a long term extension of AGOA. (2) Expand AGOA's product coverage. (3) Improve rules of origin. (4) Update eligibi

Some small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)--which are defined by the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy as independent businesses with fewer than 500 employees--have petitioned for the imposition of antidumping (AD) and countervailing (CV) duties to seek relief from unfair trade practices. Among the 56 petitions filed between 2007 and 2012, GAO found 21 that included at least 1

The Burmese jadeite and ruby trades are very different from one another and significantly involve China and Thailand. Burmese-origin jadeite is primarily purchased, processed, and consumed by China. Burmese-origin rubies are reportedly largely smuggled into Thailand, yielding little revenue to the Burmese regime, and are significantly processed there. U.S. agencies have taken some steps but have

Estimating the potential effects of domestic emissions pricing for industries in the United States is complex. If the United States were to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, production costs could rise for certain industries and could cause output, profits, or employment to fall. Within these industries, some of these adverse effects could arise through an increase in imports, a decrease in expo