RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/81  
 
20 January 2021  
(21-0583) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Government Procurement    
 
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 26 NOVEMBER 2020  
(VIRTUAL MEETING)  
CHAIR: MR CARLOS VANDERLOO (CANADA)  
The Chair opened the meeting by noting that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had 
received an Airgram1 setting out the proposed agenda, and an Annotated Agenda.2 The proposed 
agenda for the meeting was as follows:  
 
1. Review and approval, with any amendments, of the Committee's draft Annual Report to 
the General Council; and  
2. Other business, if any.  
The Chair noted that prior to the meeting he had been informed by the United States about a pending 
update to the Committee's draft Report that related to an imminent notification by the United States 
under Article XIX and that the United States wished to pr opose for inclusion in the draft Report 
before it would be  adopted. In the light of this new situation, the Chair proposed that the Committee 
review the text of the Annual Report at the meeting and adopt it early in the following week, through 
a written pr ocess, on the understanding that the filing of the notification at issue was imminent. He 
further proposed that the Secretariat circulate a revised version of the draft Report as soon as 
possible after receiving the notification and that Parties submit any  comments or objections in writing 
by no later than Wednesday, 2 December 2020.3 Absent any comments or objections, the updated 
Report would be deemed adopted through a written process. The adopted Report would then be 
transmitted to the General Council o n 3 December, before the agenda for the General Council 
meeting closed.4  
Under the heading of "Other business", the Chair mentioned that he would note the expected entry 
into force of the revised GPA for all GPA Parties and would recall the dates that had already been 
shared with the Committee for its substantive meetings in 2021.  
The Committee adopted  the agenda, as proposed by the Chair.  
1  REVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE'S DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL  
1.1.  The Chair noted that Article XXI:3 of the revised GPA and Article XXIV:7(a) of the GPA 1994 
required the Committee to review annually the implementation and operation of the Agreements, 
and to inform the General Council of developments during the periods covered by  such reviews. In 
light of these requirements, a draft of the Report had been circulated to delegations on 
11 November  2020.5 A revised version incorporating, in track changes, minor updates and changes 
to reflect additional notifications and also some mi nor corrections, had been circulated by 
the Secretariat on 20 November 2020.6 
 
1 WTO/AIR/GPA/23   
2 ICN/GPA/1/Add.1  
3 Subsequently circulated as RD/GPA/110/Rev.2 . 
4 No comments or objections were received with regard to the further revised draft Annual Report as 
contained in RD/GPA/110/Rev.2 . The Report was therefore deemed adopted through a written process at COB 
on 2 December 2020. The final version of the Annual Report was circulated as GPA/AR/3  on 3 December 2020.  
5 RD/GPA/110  
6 RD/GPA/110/Rev.1  GPA/M/81  
 
- 2 - 
 
 1.2.  The Committee  reviewed the revised draft Annual Report section by section, covering 
(i) the introduction; (ii) the entry into force and implementation of the GPA; (iii) accessio ns to 
the GPA and observerships in the Committee; (iv)  the Committee's agreed Work Programmes; and 
(v) notifications under the Agreements.  
1.3.  As foreshadowed by the Chair, under the section on the entry into force and implementation 
of the GPA, the representa tive of the United States  updated the Committee on the United States 
Executive Order on Essential Medicines, Medical Countermeasures and Critical Inputs, issued on 
6 August 2020. She said that a notification under Article XIX would be circulated the follow ing day. 
For purposes of transparency and completeness of the Annual Report, the United States asked for 
inclusion of this notification in the notifications section of the Report.  
1.4.  No other comments were made by delegations regarding the text of the draft A nnual Report.7 
2  OTHER BUSINESS  
2.1.  The Chair  noted that, as indicated by Switzerland at the Committee's October 2020 meeting, 
Switzerland had completed its domestic procedures to ratify the revised GPA and had indicated its 
intention to deposit its instrument of acceptance on 2 December 2020. Consequently, the revised 
GPA was expected to enter into force for Switzerland on 1 January 2021. With Switzerland joining, 
all GPA Parties would have accepted the 2012 Protocol Amending the GPA. It further followed from 
paragraph 1 of the same Protocol that, from 1 January 2021, the revised GPA would formally replace 
the 1994 Agreement in relation to all GPA Parties, and that the period of coexistence between the 
two versions of the Agreement would come to an end. This dev elopment would mark a historic 
milestone for the Agreement, the Committee and the WTO as a whole. The Chair congratulated all 
Parties on this long -awaited historical day.  
2.2.  The Chair also recalled that the following dates had previously been agreed upon for  
the Committee's meetings in 2021: (i) Wednesday, 3 March; (ii) Wednesday, 2 June; and 
(iii) Wednesday, 20 October. As usual, Monday and Tuesday of the meeting weeks would be set 
aside for bilateral meetings. In addition to the three substantive meeting we eks, the Committee 
would hold its usual end -of-year house -keeping meeting for attendance by Geneva representatives. 
The end -of-year meeting was expected to take place in mid -to-late November.  
 
__________  
 
7 In line with the procedure set out b y the Chair as part of the adoption of the agenda by the 
Committee, a further updated draft Annual Report was circulated to the Committee on 27 November 2020 
(RD/GPA/110/Rev.2 ). No comments or objections were received by 2 December 2020. Consequently, the 
Annual Report was circul ated as adopted by written procedure on 3 December 2020 ( GPA/AR/3 ) and 
transmitted to the General Council  for its consideration .