The EU Public Procurement Directives only apply to contracts of a value that meet or exceed the relevant EU financial threshold. Below threshold contracts are not covered by the procurement Directives. However, below threshold contracts comprise the vast majority of contracts awarded by...

When a contracting authority enters into a contract with an economic operator, the arrangement cannot just be left to run. It must be managed to enable both the contracting authority and the economic operator to meet their contractual obligations. Contracts are frequently complex, may involve...

All countries need vaccines but not all can produce them. Vaccine production is highly specialised, subject to comparative advantages, and concentrated in few countries, making trade a vital means to deploying vaccines broadly. Keeping markets open by reducing tariffs, streamlining trade-related...

While the impacts of COVID-19 are still unfolding, experience so far shows the importance of an open and predictable international trade environment to ensure food can move to where it is needed. The biggest risk for food security is not with food availability but with consumers’ access to...

The goods needed to vaccinate, protect and test during the COVID-19 pandemic are produced across many different countries. This brief tells the tale of three products ‒ vaccines, face masks and tests ‒ and highlights the role of trade in the fight against COVID-19. International markets and...