The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is a
plurilateral agreement A plurilateral agreement is a multi-national legal or trade agreement between countries. In the jargon of global economics, it is an agreement between more than two countries, but not a great many, which would be multilateral agreement.
Use of th ...
under the auspices of the
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation
in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...
(WTO) which regulates the
procurement
Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, Service (economics), services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agenc ...
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 Code on Government Procurement, which entered into force in 1981 under the auspices of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its pre ...
.
[World Trade Organization]
Agreement on Government Procurement
accessed 1 July 2019 It was then renegotiated in parallel with the
Uruguay Round
The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1993 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". The R ...
in 1994, and this version entered into force on 1 January 1996. The agreement was subsequently revised on 30 March 2012. The revised GPA came into effect on 6 July 2014 and applies since 1 January 2021 to all members.
Parties
The following WTO Members are parties to the amended 1994 agreement:
Notes
Observer status
The following WTO Members have obtained
observer status
Observer status is a privilege granted by some organizations to non-members to give them an ability to participate in the organization's activities. Observer status is often granted by intergovernmental organizations (IGO) to non-member parties and ...
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*, North Macedonia*, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman*, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia*, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan*, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
Review Body on Bid Challenges
The Review Body on Bid Challenges is a body set up 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 (RIMs), which can be recommended within days where a Review Body finds a ''prima facie'' case for a bid challenge.
UK membership after
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
The UK applied the agreement as part of its EU membership from 1 January 1996. After it left on 1 February 2020, the agreement remained in force during the
transition period
The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...
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.
References
External links
The plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)(WTO)
integrated Government Procurement Market Access Information Portal(e-GPA), a single point of access to market access information, provided by the WTO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agreement On Government Procurement
World Trade Organization agreements
Agreement on Government Procurement
Treaties concluded in 1994
Treaties concluded in 1979
Treaties entered into force in 1981
Treaties entered into force in 1996
Government procurement
Treaties of Armenia
Treaties of Australia
Treaties of Canada
Treaties entered into by the European Union
Treaties of Hong Kong
Treaties of Iceland
Treaties of Israel
Treaties of Japan
Treaties of South Korea
Treaties of Liechtenstein
Treaties of Moldova
Treaties of Montenegro
Treaties of Norway
Treaties of Singapore
Treaties of Switzerland
Treaties of Taiwan
Treaties of Ukraine
Treaties of the United States
Treaties of the United Kingdom
Treaties extended to Aruba