Brussels, 04/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - The ratification of the revised WTO agreement on government procurement (GPA) by two thirds of the stakeholders paves the way for its entry into force on Monday 6 April.
After ratification by Liechtenstein, Norway, Canada, Taiwan, the USA, Hong Kong, the EU, Iceland and Singapore, the ratification of the revised WTO GPA by Israel on 7 March makes it effective from the beginning of next week. It will only enter into force on 16 April for Japan as this country only ratified it on 17 March. Four other stakeholders are still due to ratify the protocol - Armenia, Aruba, South Korea and Switzerland (see EUROPE 11038).
“The revised GPA will give businesses in the countries that are party to the agreement significant additional opportunities on each other's public procurement markets. It will also make public procurement rules in the GPA jurisdictions more transparent and predictable, in line with the spirit of the recently adopted reforms of EU public procurement rules”, said European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier on Friday 4 April.
Adopted in March 2012, the revised version of the GPA modernises and streamlines the 1994 text. The revised GPA particularly takes account of the generalised use of electronic public procurement tools. It brings annual gains of between $80-100 billion in market access for the businesses of countries that are party to the agreement. This results from the scope of the GPA's application being extended to numerous government entities (ministries and agencies) and it also results from the coverage of new services and other areas of public procurement activity. The revised GPA also integrates improved transitional measures to facilitate the accession of developing and less developed countries.
The GPA commits those party to it to discipline in transparency, competition and good governance in public procurement. It covers the acquisition of goods, services and infrastructure by public authorities. Its objective is to open public markets to international competition as much as possible and to eradicate corruption from this sector. In addition to the 43 WTO member countries party to the GPA, ten other members - including China, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand and Ukraine - are negotiating their accession. Government procurement accounts for 20% of global GDP. (EH)