Revised GPA: Entry into Force Expected in Early 2014 with 2/3^rd Ratification

Sources say that the revised Government Procurement Agreement, or GPA - an outcome of the WTO’s last ministerial conference in Geneva in 2011 - is now likely to enter into force during the first quarter of 2014. Members of the Government Procurement Committee, which is tasked with administering the agreement, had previously hoped to bring the new version of the pact into force in time for the Bali conference.

The agreement - also a WTO plurilateral - commits members to certain core disciplines regarding transparency, competition, and good governance, covering the procurement of goods, services, and capital infrastructure by public authorities.

To date, the committee has received instruments of ratification from Canada, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Chinese Taipei. While the EU, US, Korea, and Hong Kong are also expected to ratify the pact in time for Bali, that number will still fall just short of the two-thirds “critical” mass needed to bring the deal into force.

Even though GPA members will not be able to announce the deal’s ratification in time for the ministerial conference, sources have confirmed that a ministerial-level meeting of the Government Procurement Committee will indeed take place in Bali. At that time, any new accessions to the plurilateral pact will be announced, and participants will also provide an update on ratification procedures and plans for the committee’s future work.