$US80 billion WTO procurement deal hangs in the balance

Ten years of talks working to open $US80 billion or more of government contracts to foreign competition are faltering as the European Union, Japan and the US wrangle over final details, just weeks before an effective deadline for an agreement.

The negotiations are aimed at widening and modernising the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), a voluntary part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that 42 countries have signed.

A bigger GPA would be a boon to engineering, construction and telecom firms that could bid for government projects around the world and should also help governments cut costs by making contractors compete harder for jobs.

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