Government Procurement Agreement Members

kenty9x | December 9, 2020 | 0

In most countries, the central government is the main buyer of goods and services of all kinds. Worldwide, this market is estimated at more than $2,400 billion. In fact, much of this market would generally be closed to U.S. suppliers when non-GPA countries can apply opaque procurement policies that effectively separate the market from foreign suppliers. Purchase agreements such as the GPA open up these markets and create a level playing field in which U.S. suppliers can effectively compete with foreign suppliers. International intergovernmental organizations that have been granted observer status on the GPA committee are required to publish summary notices on the potential for procurement of contracts covered by the agreement. Each member has identified publications in which these sales opportunities are displayed. Publications are listed in Appendix II (local link). The WTO GPA is a multi-lateral agreement with 48 Member States committed to making covered purchases in a transparent, predictable and non-discriminatory manner. The most recent member is Australia, which joined in 2019. The agreement was revised in March 2012 and contracting frameworks were expanded.

It came into force on April 6, 2014, after reaching the two-thirds acceptance threshold of the parties on March 7, 2014. There is no expiration date. The revised GPA, which came into force on 6 April 2014, is attracting increasing attention around the world, but the liberalisation of public procurement is not a completely new idea. Within the OECD, efforts have been made at an early stage to ensure that public procurement is subject to internationally accepted trade rules. The case was then included in the Tokyo trade negotiations under the GATT in 1976. In 2016, several commentators suggested that after the UK`s withdrawal from the European Union (EU), the UK would have to renegotiate to become a member of the GPA itself, given that the UK`s membership is being born because of its EU membership. [7] Any company in a signatory country wishing to sell GPA goods or services to a purchasing entity in another signatory country, which is listed in Schedule I of the GPA, may benefit from this agreement. The World Trade Organization estimates the value of the public procurement opportunities covered by the agreement at several hundred billion dollars a year. The Public Procurement Agreement (GPA) is made up of parties that cover WTO members (with the census of the European Union and its 27 member states, as well as the United Kingdom, all of which are covered by the agreement as a party).