Government procurement as an instrument of trade policy in developing countries

Abstract

Growing intensity of foreign trade liberalization during last decades, mainly evident in tariff reductions and increased access to domestic service sectors, provokes application of new protectionist trade policy methods, like restrictions on foreign participation in government procurement. Such measures become of vital importance in case of developing countries after their accession to the WTO. The article deals with the possible ways of providing support to national producers through government orders allocation in theory and in practice, illustrated by public procurement regimes in China, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico.