Forging a more global procurement market: issues concerning accessions to the Agreement on Government Procurement

Abstract

Originally an important but relatively obscure plurilateral instrument, the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is now becoming a pillar of the WTO system as a result of important developments since the Uruguay Round. This collection examines the issues and challenges that this raises for the GPA, as well as future prospects for addressing government procurement at a multilateral level. Coverage includes: r Issues relating to pending accessions to the GPA, particularly those of developing countries with a large state sector such as China. r The revised (provisionally agreed) GPA text of 2006, including provisions on electronic procurement and special and differential treatment for developing countries. r Procurement provisions in regional trade agreements and their significance for the multilateral system. Attention is also given to emerging issues, especially those concerning environmental, social and SME policy; competition law; and the implications of the recent economic crisis.

The Relationship between Services Trade and Government Procurement Commitments

“…The negotiations commenced in 1997. 8 The revised GPA improves on the existing text of the Agreement in various significant ways. For example, the revised text entails a complete revision of the wording of the various provisions of the Agreement to streamline them and make the text easier to understand.…”

Assessing the Value of Future Accessions to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)

“…4 A further four WTO Members (namely Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia) have agreed to provisions in their WTO accession protocols which call for them eventually to seek GPA accession. 5 Furthermore, at least some other WTO Members without any prior obligation to join the GPA, including India 6 and Viet Nam, 7 are understood to be evaluating their possible interests in acceding to the Agreement.…”

“…See, for example, Financial Express (India), 2009 and LiveMint (India). 7 Press reports have indicated that Viet Nam was considering the possibility of joining the GPA and that as an initial step; it was also considering the possibility of becoming an observer to the GPA, see, for example, "Việt Nam "chuẩn bị" để tham gia Hiệp định GPA", VTCA (Vietnam), 11 May 2011. Subsequently, more recent media stories have indicated that the issue of GPA accession remains under active consideration in Viet Nam, see, for instance, "Officials Admit it's difficult to expand e-bidding", VietNamNet Bridge (Vietnam), 30 June 2011.…”