Public procurement

Based on the comprehensive plurilateral agreements between the 40 current member states on the public procurement of the World Trade Organization of 15 April 1994 (GPA), an international request for a proposal for the procurement of goods and services and construction projects by certain clients over a certain amount – termed the threshold value – must be made in order to promote transparency and competition within public procurement. With the EU agreement on public procurement, the scope of application of the GPA of the federal government, cantons and sectors has been extended to areas that are not covered by the list of obligations of the EU and Switzerland. The agreement now extends to the districts and communities and certain sectors (telecommunications, rail transport, energy and private clients in the sectors of water, electricity, local transit, harbours and airports) which operate on the basis of exclusive rights. Public law sectors are already subject to GPA regulations. The 50% origin clause and the requirement that a foreign bid must be lower by 3% to be successful in Switzerland have been eliminated.

As liberalization progresses, the telecommunication sector and the rail freight (by the Swiss) on standard gauge rail are now no longer subject to the regulations. Federal and cantonal requests for proposals are posted on an electronic information system. In light of the considerable expenses incurred by the public sector in the EU and Switzerland, this further opening of the procurement market creates opportunities for the export industry (e.g. machine construction) and the services sector (e.g. for engineering and architecture firms). The heightened competition among providers at reduced prices leads to considerable savings for the states submitting the orders.