This volume is a careful selection of the leading legal and economic papers analysing international discrimination in government purchasing. It also includes the WTO agreement that seeks to curb such discrimination. Studies of individual country experiences are also featured, adding a practical dimension to what often appears to be a narrow technical debate. This authoritative and wide-ranging volume will provide trade negotiators, other government officials including purchasing officers, and scholars with a thorough grounding so as to effectively assess proposals for further international rules on government procurement practices, be they in bilateral, regional, or multilateral arenas.

Regulations and enforcement decisions that at first appear to have only a domestic impact can have substantial spillover effects on other nations' economies. Experience has shown time and again that there is no reason to expect that these effects are confined to jurisdictions at the same level of development. Governments on both sides of the Atlantic recognize this, yet their responses in many policy areas are not aligned - sometimes deliberately so. This creates a complex regulatory landscape that appears to be the product of both cooperation and competition, and which can only be fully understood by looking through a number of disciplinary lenses.Drawing on some of the best legal, economic and political science expertise from both sides of the Atlantic, as well as on the knowledge of officials and private practitioners with experience in both industrialized and developing countries, this timely book assesses the systemic, global implications of transatlantic regulatory cooperation and competition. Insights from thematic papers are integrated with those from sector-specific analyses, and a rich set of implications for policymakers, business and civil society is offered.