Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks. Please refer to “Project Financing” section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information. Government procurement in Europe is governed by both international obligations under the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and EU-wide legislation under the EU Public Procurement Directives. U.S.-based companies can bid on public tenders covered by the GPA, while European subsidiaries of U.S. companies may bid on all public procurement contracts covered by the EU Directives in the European Union.
For more information, please visit the U.S. Commercial Service at the U.S. Mission to the European Union website dedicated to EU public procurement. This site also has a database of all European public procurement tenders that are open to U.S.-based firms by virtue of the Government Procurement Agreement. Access is free of charge.
Government procurement in Latvia is governed by the Public Procurement Law. There have been reports of corruption and a lack of transparency in public procurement in Latvia. Businesses interested in entering this market may wish to consult legal counsel and the U.S. Embassy for guidance.
All EU government tender notices can be viewed in English at: TED Home. In addition, the U.S. Department of State has developed the State Business Information Database System (https://bids.state.gov/map), which includes information on public procurement opportunities.
U.S. companies bidding on government tenders may also qualify for U.S. government advocacy. A unit of the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center, coordinates U.S. government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters bidding on public sector contracts with international governments and government agencies. The Advocacy Center works closely with our network of the U.S. Commercial attachés worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves the U.S. Embassy or other U.S. government agencies expressing support for the U.S. bidders directly to the foreign government. Consult Advocacy for Foreign Government Contracts for additional information.
Financing of Projects
Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). A helpful guide for working with the MDBs is the Trade Finance Guide. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (USDOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.
Learn more by contacting the Commercial Liaison Office to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) offers a full range of financial services to U.S. investors in Latvia. EBRD offers financial products tailored to each client and its financing for private sector projects generally ranges from $5 million to $250 million, in the form of loans or equity. More information can be found on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development website.
Foreign companies can obtain financing from local banks for project financing, in addition to EU funding. For information on financing your project with EU structural funds, consult the Central Finance and Contracting Agency of the Republic of Latvia.
EU financial assistance programs provide a wide array of grants, loans, loan guarantees and co-financing for feasibility studies and projects in several key sectors (e.g., environmental, transportation, energy, telecommunications, tourism, public health). A number of centralized financing programs are also generating procurement and other opportunities directly with EU institutions.
The EU provides project financing through grants from the EU budget and loans from the European Investment Bank. Grants from the EU Structural and Investment Funds program are distributed through the member states’ national and regional authorities.
For more information on European grants and tenders, please visit the following website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home.