The most recent attempts to reform public procurement have essentially failed. A series of implementing ministerial decrees and determining ANAC which, despite some aspects (e.g. the drafting from a Soft Law perspective), have ensured that the entire regulatory framework has remained incomplete, especially for the innovative part it wanted to express.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – perhaps President Xi Jinping’s signature policy program – is hitting major roadblocks in South Asia. These challenges present significant opportunities for the international community, including Canada, to balance China’s influence in the region.

This report examines Mexico’s’ continuing transition and the issues and opportunities that it presents for Bay Area companies. It particularly does this through the lens of cities and regions that cluster assets that Bay Area/Silicon Valley companies look for: infrastructure, talent, universities, R&D, and entrepreneurs.

The Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated the importance of international trade for access to all kinds of medical supplies, with many countries suffering from shortages of essential medical goods as a result of various government-imposed trade barriers. The negative impact of these new restrictions is now the subject of high-level political attention. Both within the policy response to Covid-19 and more broadly, the substantial adverse impacts of government-imposed import tariffs on global access to medicines and medical goods is still largely unaddressed.