Main headlines from this issue

Israel cuts the number of agencies asking for commercial offsets

Israel’s Industrial Cooperation Authority is changing how it implements offsets. The changes are being made to comply with the World Trade Organisation’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). Some government agencies have started the process early. Commercial purchases from non-GPA countries will continue to attract an industrial cooperation requirement.

Austria’s offset policy is “redundant”

The Austrian government is cocked and loaded to officially declare its offset policy redundant. The guidelines, never officially distributed, will remain in place but in practice Austria will no longer require domestic benefits for defence procurements. Scandals, a dissenting MoD, and concerns about displeasing the EC, have tipped the balance.

South Africa adds another convoluted layer to the B-BBEE Codes

South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry has gazetted amendments to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (\B-BBEE\") Codes of Good Practice. The amendments will become effective on November 31st2019. Currentlythe target for procurement of goods and services from 51 percent Black-owned suppliers is 40 percent. The amended codes have increased this target to 50 percent of the total measured procurement spendwith a commensurate increase in points awarded from 9 to 11..."

India wins local content WTO case against U.S.

The WTO has ruled in favour of India in a dispute with the U.S. concerning mandatory local content requirements for renewable energy projects. India claimed that the domestic content requirements and subsidies instituted by the state governments of Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware and Minnesota violated several provisions of...

EU-Iran barter instrument becomes operational

The European Union has announced the launch of an alternative financial mechanism to facilitate international commerce with Tehran. The mechanism will circumvent U.S. sanctions. The EU has established a complex barter instrument known as the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), and it is now “operational.”