Category: Uncategorized

Professor Piga Urges Italian Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses in Response to Trump Buy American Initiative

Prof. Gustavo Piga

In an editorial published in Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Professor Gustavo Piga of the University of Rome – Tor Vergata, an activist in Italian politics and and a leader in the international procurement community, responded to an article by Christopher Yukins assessing the Trump administration’s latest Buy American initiative.  Professor Piga argued that, though the actual impact of the Trump order might be minimal (as Professor Yukins pointed out), Italian policymakers should emulate U.S. support for small businesses, which the U.S. undertakes through protectionist preferences.  Professor Piga closed:  “GliStatiUniti lo insegnano chiaramente: non pensando per le piccole, smettiamo di pensare in grande.”  (“The United States clearly teaches this:  by not thinking of the small, we stop thinking big.”).

Maldives Procurement Training

Male, Maldives

International procurement training led by the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Maldives (Minister Ibrahim Ameer, pictured below), and coordinated by the U.S. Department of Commerce – Commercial Law Development Program was held in Male, capital of the Maldives, on August 4-5, 2019. Chris Yukins’ slides for the program are included here.

Professor Yukins leads exercise
Minister Ibrahim Ameer, with Glenn Penfold, Esq. (South Africa)

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Public Procurement: Global Revolution IX – University of Nottingham – June 17-18, 2019

Our colleagues at the Public Procurement Research Group at the University of Nottingham, led by Professors Sue Arrowsmith and Peter Trepte, will be hosting the ninth of their “Global Revolution” conferences on June 17-18. Academics and practitioners from around the globe (including a team from GWU Law School) will join the program for one of the world’s leading conferences on emerging developments in public procurement law.

Sope Williams-Elegbe & Christopher Yukins: The World Bank’s Procurement FrameworkDownload
Gabriella Racca – Presentation on Joint Cross Border Procurement and InnovationDownload
Christopher Yukins – Presentation on Use of Commercial Online Marketplaces in Public ProcurementDownload

Colette Langos Speaks on Australian Bid Challenge Developments

On February 20, 2019, Dr. Colette Langos, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide, made a very interesting presentation at GWU Law School, on developments in Australia’s bid protest procedures. She explained that these latest reforms, outlined in her attached slides, were an important part of Australia’s accession to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.

Colette Langos
LANGOS Developments in Federal Procurement – Australian complaints mechanismDownload

Professor Michal Kania – European Defense Procurement – Presentation at GWU Law School

Defense_Security_UE_Michal_Kania_Final_version – Published

Visiting Fulbright scholar Professor Michael Kania (Silesian University) will present on European Defense Procurement at George Washington University Law School, Law Learning Center 006, 2028 G Street NW, Washington, DC, from 6-8 pm on Tuesday, November 6, 2018.  His presentation is linked above.  If you would like to attend this open seminar, please reserve a space with Cassandra Crawford, ccrawford@law.gwu.edu.

Section 809 and ‘E-Portal’ Proposals, by Cutting Bid Protests in Federal Procurement, Could Breach International Agreements and Raise New Risks of Corruption

SSRN Link:  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3176223

60 GOV’T CONTRACTOR ¶ 138 (2018)

GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2018-26

GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2018-26

7 Pages Posted: 10 May 2018

Christopher R. Yukins

George Washington University – Law School

Dan Ramish

George Washington University – Law School

Date Written: 2018

Abstract

Bid protests — vendors’ challenges to contracting officials’ errors, either before or after award — have been an established part of federal procurement for at least a century. Protests (sometimes called “challenges” or “remedies proceedings” abroad) are a recognized bulwark against corruption in the United States, and have become a standard part of procurement systems around the world, often at the urging of the United States. But new proposals being considered for U.S. government procurement in practice could dramatically limit bid protests, in the name of streamlining the procurement process. This drastic change to U.S. procurement practices could violate international agreements under which the United States has agreed to maintain an effective bid protest system, and could raise new risks of corruption in procurement.

Special Procurement Investment Contracts – Russia

Russia’s Srussian-flagpecial Procurement Investment Contracts (SPIC).

From the Public Procurement Institute (Moscow, www.roszakupki.com):

SPIC is an agreement between investor and the Russian Federation and/or region of the Russian Federation under which investor commits to invest certain amount of money in creation, development or modernization of production facilities at the territory of Russia while the government guarantees freezing of tax burden and stability of normative requirements to products for the duration of an investment project and is obliged to apply stimulating measures to the investor, including tax benefits. And procurement idea is that starting from September 1, 2016 SPIC investors are entitled to claim the right to sell up to 30 % of produced merchandise under public procurement procedure on a non-competitive basis.

Background paper:  investment-contract-russia