WTO First Online Global Workshop on
Government Procurement Concludes
Close to 70 senior government officials from 37 WTO members and
observers discussed key aspects of the revised Government Procurement Agreement
at the 2020 Advanced Global e-Workshop on Government Procurement held virtually
from 7 to 17 December 2020. Improving the efficiency of
government procurement markets, good governance and data-based policy making were
some of the topics considered by the participants.
The workshop
allowed participants to pool their knowledge and experiences on the benefits of
the revised
WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) adopted in 2012.
In addition
to opening procurement markets of its parties, the plurilateral
agreement provides for transparency and good governance as a means of making government
procurement markets more efficient while supporting economic growth. This annual
workshop was organised virtually this year in light of
the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants comprised senior officials with policy responsibility
or experience in trade and government procurement policy matters from 37 economies.(1)
In his
opening address on 7 December, WTO Deputy Director-General Xiaozhun
Yi said the workshop was a “wonderful opportunity to disseminate information, deepen
participants' knowledge and foster dialogue on various aspects of trade and government
procurement”. He highlighted “the significant positive implications of government
procurement for economic growth, sustainable development, good
governance and for attracting foreign direct investment. In addition to reflecting
recent international best practices in government procurement”, he added, “the revised GPA is considered the “gold standard” for international
trade agreements covering procurement.” DDG Yi’s full speech is available here.
The workshop
emphasized the GPA’s growing relevance in today’s global economy, as evidenced by
the increasing number of WTO members currently
negotiating their accession to the Agreement. The workshop delved into
the accession process and discussed ways of generating support for acceding to the
Agreement domestically. Currently, 48 WTO members are bound by the Agreement. Brazil
is the latest WTO member to have submitted an application to join the
GPA in May.
Also
under discussion were transitional periods for developing countries to negotiate
their accession and the benefits of participating in the Committee on Government
Procurement as observers. The number of observers has been steadily growing and
diversifying over recent years. Côte d'Ivoire is the latest WTO member to have been
granted observer status
in July.
The workshop
also explored the flexibilities contained in the 2012 GPA to allow parties to carry
out procurement procedures in emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
More
information about the revised GPA can be found here.
The workshop
benefited from the expertise and contributions of numerous policy practitioners
and experts from WTO bodies, other international organisations,
national authorities, and academia. These included the Chair of the Committee on
Government Procurement — Carlos Vanderloo of Canada, the
Central European University, Australia's Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development, the European Commission, the George Washington University
Law School, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), the United Nations Commission on International
Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the University of Nottingham School of Law.
1 Afghanistan; Albania; Azerbaijan; Bangladesh; Belarus; Bhutan;
Brazil; China; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Guyana; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia;
Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Malaysia; Maldives; Mexico; Moldova; Myanmar; Namibia;
Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Serbia;
Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Tajikistan; Thailand; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine;
Uzbekistan.