EU–US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement: the European Commission’s negotiating position on public procurement

The EU and US negotiations towards a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP) look set to ambitiously further deepen bilateral economic ties between the world's two largest trading blocks. In the context of public procurement law, successful talks could potentially be dramatic, both for the two parties and globally. The EU and US have been at the forefront of multilateral and plurilateral efforts aimed at liberalising procurement markets. As furtherance of market liberalisation via such means faces difficulties, the two parties (particularly the EU) appear intent on advancing the reciprocal opening of procurement markets bilaterally, and negotiating an agreement characterised as 'GPA-plus'.