On February 16, 2010, the U.S.-Canada Agreement on Government Procurement entered into force. The Agreement has two major elements.
The Agreement provides permanent and reciprocal commitments under the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) with respect to provincial, territorial and state procurement. Canada is covering its provinces for the first time under the GPA, and the United States is providing Canada with access to the 37 states already covered by the GPA.
The Agreement also provides for additional, reciprocal guarantees of access on a temporary basis through September 2011. Canada is guaranteeing American companies access to a broad range of construction projects undertaken by provincial entities (not included in Canada's GPA commitments) and municipal entities. The United States will allow Canadian iron, steel, and manufactured goods to be considered in the following programs funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) where the project is above $7.8 million in value.
(i) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service, Water and Waste Disposal Programs;
(ii) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service, Community Facilities Program;
(iii) U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants;
(iv) U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, State Energy Program;
(v) U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development, Community Development Block Grants Recovery (CDBG-R);
(vi) U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public and Indian Housing, Public Housing Capital Fund ; and
(vii) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, for projects funded by reallocated ARRA funds where the contracts are signed after February 17, 2010.
The Agreement may be found at: U.S.-Canada Agreement on Government Procurement
