China, Australia Struggles with Accession to GPA

One of the biggest possible accessions to the GPA is that of Beijing, which has been under negotiation since 2007. China, with its vast government procurement sector, agreed to join the GPA in its 2001 WTO accession protocol, subject to special negotiations.

The Asian economic giant has already submitted six offers – its initial offer and five revisions – since it began the talks to join the plurilateral pact.

The last revised offer submitted by China was in December 2014, which included changes such as an expansion of coverage of new services sectors and construction services; the expansion of GPA coverage to new procuring entities and procurement in five additional provinces; and lower thresholds for contract coverage that more closely approximate those of the current GPA membership.

Parties reportedly urged Beijing at the latest committee meeting to continue making improvements to its offer, citing concerns over the lack of coverage for certain provinces and state-owned enterprises, among others. China, in turn, indicated that it may take some time for the necessary national conditions to be in place so that it can build on its offer.

Meanwhile, Australia submitted its initial offer for GPA accession in early September, just months after first launching its bid to join the procurement pact.

Seychelles is now the first African country to become an observer of the GPA, with the request approved at last week’s meeting. The Indian Ocean archipelago is one of the WTO’s newest members, having joined this past April. As part of its commitments at the global trade body, Seychelles agreed to begin talks to join the GPA within 12 months of becoming a WTO member.