Agreement on Government Procurement


The Agreement on Government Procurement is a plurilateral agreement under the auspices of the World Trade Organization which regulates the procurement of goods and services by the public authorities of the parties to the agreement, based on the principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination.
The agreement was originally established in 1979 as the "Tokyo Round Government Procurement Code", which entered into force in 1981 under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. It was then renegotiated in parallel with the Uruguay Round in 1994, and this version entered into force on 1 January 1996.
The text adopted in 1996 anticipated that there would be subsequent improvements. An understanding on the expected revisions was reached in December 2006, and the agreement was subsequently revised on 30 March 2012. The revised GPA came into effect on 6 July 2014 and has applied since 1 January 2021 to all members.

Parties

The following WTO Members are parties to the amended 1994 agreement:
PartiesAccession date
Canada

Observer status

The following WTO Members have obtained observer status with respect to the GPA, with those marked with an asterisk negotiating accession: Afghanistan, Albania*, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil*, Cameroon, Chile, China*, Colombia, Costa Rica*, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Georgia*, India, Indonesia, Jordan*, Kazakhstan*, Kyrgyz Republic*, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman*, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia*, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan*, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

Committee on Government Procurement

Representatives from each WTO member which is a party to the Agreement serve on the Committee on Government Procurement, whose role is to oversee the agreement's implementation. WTO Members with observer status may attend committee meetings as an observer if they provide written notice of their participation., Martin Zbinden of Switzerland is the chair of the committee.

Main principles

The WTO states that the two "cornerstone" principles underlying the agreement are non-discrimination and transparency.

Coverage

Procuring entities bound by the Agreement vary by member state. Each member state has its own Appendix 1 which forms an integral part of the Agreement detailing how the agreement applies to their national procurement activities. Each Appendix 1 has seven annexes:
  • Annex 1: central government entities covered by the Agreement
  • Annex 2: sub-central government entities covered by the Agreement
  • Annex 3: other entities covered by the Agreement
  • Annex 4: scope: goods
  • Annex 5: scope: services
  • Annex 6: scope: construction services
  • Annex 7: general notes.

    Review Body on Bid Challenges

The Review Body on Bid Challenges is a body set up in 1998 by party states in order to allow suppliers to challenge irregular government tenders. The Review Body is independent and endeavors to process each case in an expeditious manner. The Review Body is also empowered to recommend Rapid Interim Measures, which can be recommended within days where a Review Body finds a prima facie case for a bid challenge.

UK membership after Brexit

The UK applied the agreement as part of its EU membership from 1 January 1996. After the UK left the EU on 1 February 2020, the agreement remained in force during the transition period until 1 January 2021. Discussions about continued UK membership were initiated on 27 June 2018, and in October 2020, the UK was invited to become a party in its own right at the end of the transition phase.