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Dear Sacha,
Welcome back!
I
hope your weekend went at least as well as you'd hoped it would.
Since Thanksgiving is about two cultures meeting, I thought that today
I'd take a more global perspective. Government procurement does
cross borders, so I'll provide a quick look at an effort that's been
made in this regard.
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| International Procurement |
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The Agreement on Government Procurement
To
quote the webpage, "The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is to
date the only legally binding agreement in the WTO focusing on the
subject of government procurement." Its signatories include
countries from Japan to Hong Kong, from Israel to most of Europe, and
the United States and Canada.
It
is a World Trade Organization agreement signed by many countries, so
there's no denying that it has as its base international trade and even
globalization. While it is tempting to immediately think in terms
of jobs lost to other countries, when globalization is mentioned, there
are benefits to both sides inherent in such an agreement. This is
particularly true in the current economic situation, when the euro is
so strong that American become inexpensive for Europe.
Specifically, the reason for the agreement is to strengthen "rules
guaranteeing fair and non-discriminatory conditions of international
competition."
This agreement sets thresholds for goods or
services purchased, meaning that the contract has to be worth more than
the stated amount to apply under the agreement. For
central/federal government purchases it's at SDR 130,000 ($185,000 in
2003) and for "sub-central" governments the threshold is usually around
SDR 200,000. (Very briefly described, the Special Drawing Right
(SDR) is a reserve fund created by the IMF and is valued based on the
euro, US dollar, sterling, and yen.)
Working under such an
agreement can be daunting. Many businesses are hesitant to deal
with individual states for bids, and not always without reason.
Imagine how it would feel to step onto the international stage!
Fortunately these are obstacles that can be addressed and dealt with,
especially when a procurement community already exists. Please
see the YSER brochure to see one concept for such a community.
While
the GPA may not be the ideal tool for state and local governments, as
well as their vendors, to do business internationally, it does exist
and can serve as a base. Ideally, it will serve as a base when
the government and its vendors have built up a base, or community, of
their own. A procurement community.
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Newsletter Archive
If you'd like to see any of the past newsletters, that's now possible! The newsletters are available on our website at www.yserinc.com under the Literature -> Newsletter heading.
Enjoy!
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I
like to keep an eye on the larger picture with whatever I'm doing, to
be able to have some perspective. It's always fascinating to see
how others view a situation or implement ideas, whether for better or
worse. Not to mention that new and interesting ideas can be found
in the most unlikely places.
Sincerely,
Sacha Hartmann
YSER Inc.
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