In April, Christopher R. Yukins, Lynn David Research Professor in Government Procurement Law, traveled to Brussels to testify before the Committee on International Trade and Internal Market and Consumer Protection. Professor Yukins made the trip to speak about procurement issues in the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations.
The contentious TTIP negotations have been slowed by strong disagreements over access to procurement markets. European negotiators want the U.S. to dismantle "Buy American" requirements and allow greater access to state markets. United States negotiators are arguing that Europeans already have broad access to U.S. public procurement markets.
In his testimony, Professor Yukins offered a potential way forward: compromise on structural reforms. "Initiatives in harmonizing procurement regulation could be folded, quite easily, into the European Commission’s current proposal for regulatory coordination, and they would mark an important step forward in cooperation between the European Union and the United States," he said. Professor Yukins offered several potential areas of compromise in his full testimony.
Speaking before the EU Parliament puts Professor Yukins in a unique group of people who have provided their expertise to legislatures on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In 2011, he also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee in a hearing that examined proposals for a medium-sized business program.
"In both cases I testified on procurement and trade," said Professor Yukins. "While many of us at GW Law have testified before Congress, what was striking was that the same topics are now relevant on both sides of the Atlantic—an important reminder that legal issues, and our programs at the law school, are becoming more 'international' every day."