Doing business with the UN.

The United Nations system spends $3.7 billion a year on goods and services to carry out its many programmes throughout the world. Of this, 51.1 billion is spent to support United Nations peacekeeping operations around the globe. The remaining $2.6 billion is distributed among humanitarian assistance missions and economic development projects. The United Nations procurement system is decentralized--30 agencies worldwide carry out their own purchases and contracting, and each of them has additional field offices in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

The United Nation's largest supplier is the United States, with 18 per cent of the Organization's total procurement worldwide--some $658 million.

Each year, the United Nations spends several hundred million dollars on food, vehicles, computers, logistics services, and air and sea freight services. Other major items include tents, trucks, audiovisual equipment, relief goods, helmets, communication equipment, and even satellites. The United Nations is the largest buyer of vaccines in the world.

In 1995, the United Nations system, comprised of 30 agencies and hundreds of field offices around the world, procured goods and services worth approximately $4 billion. It is one of the largest sources of multilateral procurement in the world.

The 10 countries with the largest concentration of United Nations procurement activity in 1995 were: United States, $658 million (17.8 per cent); Italy, $448 million (12.1 per cent); United Kingdom, $171 million (4.6 per cent); France, $137 million (3.7 per cent); Germany, $134 million (3.6 per cent); Switzerland, $ 112 million (3.0 per cent); Japan, $ 111 million (3.0 per cent); Canada, $104 million (2.8 per cent); Belgium, $92 million (2.5 per cent); and Denmark, $83 million (2.2 per cent).

United Nations field offices in Croatia and Angola purchased goods and services worth $185 million and $89 million, respectively, demonstrating the need for vendors to visit United Nations procurement offices all over the world.

The Procurement and Transportation Division at United Nations Headquarters makes purchases for the Headquarters and for UN peacekeeping operations around the world-$399 million in 1995. The United States share of that amount...