Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or is a party to a government procurement chapter in a U.S. FTA. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.
Last Published: 7/23/2018

Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks. Please refer to “Project Financing” Section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information.

Australia’s public procurement is estimated to account for 15-18% of GDP. Australian federal, state and local government agencies remain significant purchasers of goods and services.  Under the US and Australia Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) federal and state-based government purchasing entities may not:

(a) treat a locally established supplier less favorably than other locally established suppliers on the basis of degree of foreign affiliation or ownership; nor

(b) discriminate against a locally established supplier on the basis that the goods or services offered by that supplier for a particular procurement are goods or services of the other party.

The AUSFTA permits the use of three procurement methods: open tendering; select tendering (referred to as ‘multi-use lists’); and limited tendering.

While federal and state-based entities cannot favor Australian-made goods over US-made goods, it is still critical for US suppliers to establish a physical presence in the market to be able to address critical buying factors such as delivery and after sales service.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.