INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
REGIONAL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT
1
Office of Procurement Policy and Coordination
DEPARTMENT OF INTEGRATION AND
REGIONAL PROGRAMS
Division of Integration, Trade and Hemispheric Issues
NATIONAL LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES REGARDING GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT IN THE AMERICAS
Free Trade Area of the Americas
Working Group on Government Procurement
Table of Contents
At the Summit of the Americas that
took place in Miami on December 12, 1994, the Heads of State and Government of
34 countries from the Western Hemisphere approved a Plan of Action which
included the mandate to conclude the negotiation of a Hemispheric Free Trade
Area by the year 2005, denominated the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Within this framework, two Trade Ministerial Meetings were held in order to advance the implementation of the Plan of Action proposed in Miami. The first Trade Ministerial Meeting took place in Denver in June 1995. In this Meeting, the creation of eleven Working Groups was decided -- seven were established at that meeting - and a request was made for technical support from a Tripartite Commission formed by the OAS, the IDB and ECLAC.
The Second Trade Ministerial Meeting was held in Cartagena, Colombia in March 1996. At that meeting, a Working Group in the area of Government Procurement composed by representatives of the 34 countries, was one of the groups established.
The Working Group on Government Procurement held its first meeting in Washington, DC on June 25 and 26, 1996. Delegates from 23 countries of the Hemisphere met and prepared a work plan to comply with the terms of reference of the Working Group which includes the compilation, systematization and creation of an inventory of national legislation, regulations and procedures regarding government procurement. For that purpose, the Working Group Chairman sent a questionnaire to the governments of the 34 countries. The Working Group requested the Inter-American Development Bank to prepare a draft inventory of the national legislation, regulations and procedures regarding government procurement in the countries of the Hemisphere. This inventory was presented in the second Working Group meeting held in Washington, DC on October 22, 23 and 24, 1996.
At the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh meetings the Working Group members agreed to provide corrections, additional information and/or comments on the inventory in writing to the Chairman of the Working Group. Based on that input, the IDB revised the inventory accordingly.
The Inter-American Development Bank is
very pleased to be able to provide support to the Working Group on Government
Procurement.
Washington, D.C., February 1998.
1. This inventory on national legislation, regulations and procedures regarding government procurement in the Americas has been prepared by the Inter-American Development Bank at the request of the Working Group on Government Procurement - Free Trade Area of the Americas. As requested by the Working Group, the IDB has included the following major topics that are the major elements covered by the questionnaire that was send to the countries:
§ Definition.
§ Scope.
§ Legal
framework for public sector procurement.
§ Administrative structure.
§
Procurement procedures applied.
§ Publicity for inviting tenders.
§
Requirements for suppliers.
§ Criteria for assessing bids and awarding
contracts.
§ Disclosure of bids received and contracts awarded.
§
Treatment granted to domestic and foreign goods, services and public works and
their suppliers.
§ Procedures for hearing and reviewing complaints and/or
appeals.
2. The present inventory is based on the responses to the questionnaire submitted by the countries as of December 1, 1997. It is therefore noted that there are differences in the responses, both conceptual and with respect to scope and depth.
This report was prepared by the Inter-American Development Bank, at the request of the Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) Working Group on Government Procurement, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the Inter-American Development Bank.
Original: Spanish/English
Code:
FTAA/WG8/TD/IDB/02/98
Date: March 13, 1998
Available in Spanish and English
To order, please
contact:
Inter-American Development Bank
Department of
Integration and Regional Programs
Division of Integration, Trade and
Hemispheric Issues
Tel: (202) 623-3168
Fax: (202) 623-3030
E-mail:
ITD-FTAA@IADB.ORG
This report can be found in the Internet at the following
site on the World Wide Web: www.ftaa-alca.org
Inter-American Development Bank, 1998
Not for
commercial use. Reproduction without charge for non-profit use is
permissible.