Latest news with #publicprocurement
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Losing SEAI retrofit services bidder challenges refusal to disclose pricing structure of winning bid
A losing bidder for a €75 million contract to provide surveys for the retrofitting of hundreds of thousands of properties is appealing a High Court refusal to order the winning bidder to disclose its lower and confidential pricing structure. The contract, awarded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), is set to last up to five years and is estimated to be worth €75 million. The services include supplying building energy ratings (BERs), surveys and inspections. The contract is currently held by Kerrigan Sheanon Newman Unlimited Company which has been supplying the services to the SEAI since 2012. The company lost out in the public procurement process when a new contract was publicly offered for tender. That tender was won by Abtran. READ MORE Kerrigan Sheanon Newman then brought High Court proceedings against the SEAI, with Abtran as notice party, challenging the award. It claimed the Abtran tender was too low, pointing out that it was 30 per cent lower than the price currently being paid to it for the service. The SEAI disputes Kerrigan Sheanon Newman's claims. In a pretrial application, Kerrigan Sheanon Newman sought discovery of documents and materials from the SEAI in relation to the Abtran tender. Last February, the High Court refused to grant discovery, saying Kerrigan Sheanon Newman did not provide compelling arguments to justify the 'very significant encroachment on the confidentiality of a winning tenderer's bid'. On Tuesday, Jonathan Newman SC, for Kerrigan Sheanon Newman, told the court his client has brought an appeal over that decision. While there had been certain agreed discovery between the parties, the High Court decision went against 'the run of case law' in discovery. An appeal date had been set in July and the parties were agreeable to a hearing of the matter in December, he said. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said it was clearly a very urgent matter and he would list it for hearing for four days in December.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Chinese Firms Warn EU Procurement Curb Could Hurt Trade Ties
A Chinese business lobby group warned that EU actions to curb access of the country's medical device makers to government contracts in the bloc will hurt trade ties. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU expressed 'profound disappointment' over the EU's use of a trade tool to limit Chinese companies' participation in public procurements, according to a Monday statement from the Chinese group.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
EU backs curbs on Chinese medical device firms' bidding in public tenders
BRUSSELS, June 2 (Reuters) - European Union governments have backed a European Commission proposal to put limits on Chinese medical device suppliers' bidding on public contracts after finding EU companies were not given fair access to China's public tenders, EU diplomats said on Monday. The measures will be the first under the EU's International Procurement Instrument, which is designed to ensure reciprocity, after the Commission launched an investigation in April 2024. Under the instrument, the EU executive can exclude Chinese bidders from larger EU public procurement tenders or attach a penalty score to their bids for five years to tackle discrimination. The European Commission confirmed it put a proposal to EU members on Monday but said it could not disclose the outcome of the vote, the content of its proposal or its next steps. Under EU law, any measures must be "proportionate." The Commission has previously said it found "clear evidence" that China favoured Chinese devices for hospitals and its tender conditions led to abnormally low bids that profit-oriented companies could not offer. The new restrictions are likely to increase tensions inflamed by EU tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and Chinese measures against EU brandy. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic was due to meet Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in Paris on Tuesday, according to Sefcovic's agenda. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU expressed "profound disappointment" about the decision, which it said failed to acknowledge the significant access European medical device firms had enjoyed in China. "At a time when the global trade faces considerable uncertainty, and certain countries are resorting to unilateral tariff measures that disrupt global market order, China and the EU... should jointly uphold free trade," it said. A Commission investigation published in January found 87% of a sample of Chinese public tenders contained direct and indirect restrictions on imported devices. It also said explicit bans on imported devices in Chinese tenders rose from 2022 to 2024. Restrictions primarily affected ear, nose and throat devices, such as used to clear airways, general diagnostic devices and diagnostic imaging devices. The Commission said China had not proposed any corrective action to remedy the situation. The two sides could still reach an agreement to avoid EU measures.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
EU mulls blocking China's access to medical device procurement
The European Union is examining the possibility of imposing restrictions on public procurement contracts across the bloc for Chinese medical device producers, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the plans. Brussels and Beijing have recently been locked in an escalating tit-for-tat stand-off over trade protectionism. Earlier this year, the European Commission (EC) said that a probe launched last year into alleged unfair Chinese trade practices had revealed that Beijing has been limiting access for EU medical devices and suppliers to the Chinese procurement market. Last month, China's Ministry of Commerce announced that its anti-dumping investigation into brandy imports from the EU – initiated in response to a probe by the bloc – had been extended due to the complexity of the case. Members of the 27-nation bloc are expected to vote on the proposed measure on Monday, June 2, the unnamed source told Bloomberg. If approved, the step would mark Brussels' first action under the International Procurement Instrument (IPI), a regulation adopted in 2022 to promote reciprocity in access to public procurement markets, the news agency noted. The IPI enables the EC to introduce a range of restrictions on companies bidding for public contracts – from score adjustments in tenders to a full ban on participation. The news comes ahead of a meeting between the two sides' top trade officials. Maros Sefcovic and Wang Wentao are reportedly expected to meet on Tuesday on the sidelines of an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ministerial conference in Paris. If adopted, the restrictions could further fuel ongoing trade tensions between the EU and China, opening a new front in disputes between both parties, each of which is also engaged in mounting trade frictions with the US.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
EU Poised to Curb China's Access to Medical Device Procurement
The European Union is set to curb Chinese medical device manufacturers' access to public procurement contracts in the bloc, according to a person familiar with the matter. EU countries are due to vote on the proposed measure as early as Monday, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
