1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |New Zealand Companies Out of the 'Chillybin'

New Zealand Companies Out of the 'Chillybin'

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 08.19.15

On August 12, the U.S. in a Federal Register notice confirmed that it "has agreed to waive discriminatory purchasing requirements for eligible products and suppliers of New Zealand beginning on August 12, 2015," due to the WTO's approval of New Zealand as a member of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Joining the 43-member GPA will provide new access to the U.S. federal marketplace for New Zealand-based companies, including "designated country" status under the Trade Agreements Act, and will open immediate doors to federal government contracting opportunities, including GSA and VA Schedule contracts, that generally limit  acquisition to end products that are manufactured or substantially transformed in the U.S. or a "designated country."

 

Insights

Client Alert | 3 min read | 07.23.26

Protester Beware: Recent GAO Decision Suggests Traditional “Reasonable Possibility” Prejudice Standard May Be Evolving

It is well established that “[c]ompetitive prejudice is an essential element of every viable protest.” Yet, for decades, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has tempered this requirement with two critical corollaries: protesters need only demonstrate a “reasonable possibility” that they were prejudiced by an agency’s actions, and GAO “will resolve doubts regarding prejudice in favor of the protester.” These principles have been consistent features of GAO’s bid protest jurisprudence for more than 30 years. See, e.g., United Int’l Eng'g, Inc., B-245448, Jan. 29, 1992, 71 CPD ¶ 177....