On the Non-Tariff Barriers Obstructing Free Trade in the Transatlantic Defense Procurement Market

Abstract

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) promises to liberalize trade between the European Union and the United States. Although the negotiations have so far excluded defense, this essay considers what would happen if a TTIP removed overt restrictions. What barriers would remain? Sue Arrowsmith has observed that the unfamiliarity of a foreign government's public procurement regimes can create "structural restrictions" and Steve Schooner and Chris Yukins have in turn observed that such structural restrictions can "raise practical barriers to entry as foreign vendors run headlong into dense and alien procurement regimes." This essay diagnoses some of these subtle barriers and prescribes remedies to foster greater cross-border competition in transatlantic defense procurement.

Keywords: Public Procurement, Acquisitions, TTIP, free trade