US companies bidding for EU public tenders.

What’s open to US companies

Central government: covered

US suppliers are covered for the EU institutions and member-state central bodies listed in the EU’s GPA Annex 1, above the GPA thresholds. Exceptions:

• air traffic control equipment is excluded for US suppliers;
• defence: only the non-sensitive, non-warlike items in Annex 4. Warlike procurement falls under the Defence Procurement Directive and outside the GPA;
• a few entities marked in the schedule aren’t covered for the US.

See how to bid for EU tenders on TED.

Regional and local authorities: the biggest gap

The EU’s Annex 2 covers regional and local authorities and bodies governed by public law in all 27 member states, but with a note excluding procurement “in regard of suppliers, services and service providers from the United States”.

• Services and works: the US Commercial Service reads this as shutting US companies out of sub-central works and services contracts.
• Goods: less clear. The note doesn’t list goods, unlike the equivalent note for Canada, so US goods sold to regional and local buyers may still be covered.

In practice: a city, region or public hospital can still accept your bid, but it isn’t obliged to treat you equally. Under the Kolin ruling it may exclude you.

Utilities, sector by sector

Central and local authorities buying for water, energy, transport or postal activities are covered only if the sector is listed in the utilities annex.

Services, works and concessions

• Services: the EU covers a service for a partner only to the extent that partner covers it. The US excludes all transport services, so EU land and air transport services aren’t covered for US providers.
• Works: construction is covered at central level above the GPA works threshold.
• Works concessions: covered only for a short list of partners (including the UK, Korea, Norway and Switzerland), not the US.
• SME carve-out: the EU denies US suppliers the right to challenge awards to EU small and medium-sized enterprises, linking this to US small-business set-asides.

What happens where you’re not covered

• The Kolin ruling (Court of Justice, C-652/22, October 2024): EU buyers may exclude or disadvantage operators from countries that have no agreement covering that procurement. That applies to US firms in all the excluded segments above.
• Utilities Directive Article 85: for supply contracts in utilities, buyers can reject a bid where more than 50% of the goods are non-EU and from countries without an access agreement, or prefer an EU bid within 3% on price. It can apply to US goods in the excluded utilities sectors.
• The International Procurement Instrument has been used once, against Chinese medical devices in June 2025. Nothing targets the US.

The strongest route: an EU subsidiary

The US Commercial Service is explicit: EU subsidiaries of US companies may bid on all public procurement contracts covered by the EU directives. An EU-established company is an EU operator, whoever owns it. Two caveats:

• Origin of goods still matters. Article 85 and any future European preference rules look at where products come from, not who owns the bidder.
• Watch the EU Public Procurement Act, which may define how preference applies to EU subsidiaries of non-EU groups.

Practical steps

1. Find tenders on TED (all notices use eForms since October 2023) and national platforms.
2. Check coverage: central or sub-central buyer; utility sector; value against the GPA thresholds; service on the covered list.
3. Complete the ESPD (European Single Procurement Document), and use eCertis to map US certificates to EU equivalents.
4. Bid in the notice’s language. That’s usually the national language, so plan for certified translations.
5. Use consortia or other companies’ capacity where it helps; both are allowed under the directives. See consortium and joint venture bidding rules.
6. Check national qualification systems for works, such as Italy’s SOA and Spain’s classification. See bidding for public construction contracts abroad.
7. For regional, local and utility markets, use an EU subsidiary, or partner with an EU company as prime.

What changed in 2025–2026

• 21 August 2025: the EU–US joint statement set a 15% tariff ceiling on most EU goods. The EU said it plans to buy substantially more US military equipment, and both sides agreed to work on procurement reciprocity with third countries. The statement is non-binding and doesn’t change GPA coverage.

• 2025: the EU’s SAFE defence loans (€150 billion) limit non-EU components to about 35%, and the Defence Procurement Directive is under review in 2026, with stronger European preference expected.

• 9 September 2026: the Commission proposed the Public Procurement Act:

  • one regulation replacing the three directives;
  • a European preference framework “in line with the EU’s international commitments”;
  • a tool telling buyers which operators and products are covered by agreements;
  • power to exclude operators from countries without commitments, and for the Commission to restrict access where a partner doesn’t grant agreed access;
  • price-quality award as the default.

  It’s before Parliament and the Council.

For the reverse direction, see EU companies bidding for US federal contracts. For every country pair, see which countries can bid on which government tenders.

Questions

Sources

• WTO: EU GPA schedule, Annex 2 (sub-central entities)
• WTO: EU GPA schedule, Annex 3 (utilities)
• WTO: GPA appendices index
• US Commercial Service: EU, selling to the public sector
• European Commission: public procurement
• White House: EU–US joint statement on a framework agreement (21 August 2025)

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.