Japan Press Weekly

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2011 September 21 - 27 [ECONOMY]

TPP opens gov’t procurement to foreign capital (Part 2)

U.S. major corporations are trying to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) framework as a golden opportunity to enter the government procurement markets of other countries.

The Emergency Committee for American Trade, a group of U.S. business leaders, sent a statement to the U.S. government in January last year in which it stated as follows: Government procurement comprises a significant share of the global economy, representing from 10-to-15 or even 20 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for many countries around the world. […] Strong rules on access, accountability and transparency in government procurement are vital for U.S. businesses and their workers to compete effectively in the global market place.

Last October, the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP made a similar request to the U.S. government. In a written statement, it expressed, “A successful TPP agreement should ensure an open, transparent, non-discriminatory and efficient government-procurement process that will optimize competition among suppliers and make more effective use of government funds. Negotiators should explore alternative methods of coverage that overcome weaknesses in the WTO Government Procurement Agreement and existing FTAs.”

Pushed by corporate demand, the Office of the United States Trade Representative of the U.S. government, in its 2010 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, urged the Japanese government to further open Japan’s government procurement market, which it described as “excessively narrow”.

“The U.S. Government is paying special attention to several major projects covered by the public works agreements that are of particular interest to U.S. companies,” expressed the report, and listed the following Japanese public projects: major expressway projects, including the Gaikan Expressway Project and Metropolitan Expressway Shinagawa Route Project; major public buildings, railroad procurements, urban development and redevelopment projects; planned port facilities expansion projects.

Meanwhile, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on September 16 published a report titled “Keidanren’s Proposal: ‘Growth Strategy 2011’,” in which it reiterated its call for Japan’s early participation in the multinational TPP negotiations.

Regarding government procurement, the Nippon Keidanren expressed that it is important to have China join the WTO government procurement agreement in its “Proposals for Japan's Trade Strategy” issued on April 19. It says, “If China becomes a member of the Agreement, this can be expected to encourage the membership of other emerging nations that are currently observers and contribute significantly to the liberalization of the government procurement market.”

(End)