RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONGPA/M/18
5 August 2002
(02-4312)
Committee on Government Procurement
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 31 MAY 2002
Chairman:  Mr. Martin Loken (Canada)
1. The following agenda was adopted:
A. Application for Observer Status
B. Modifications to the Appendices to the AgreementC. Accessions:
(i) Chinese Taipei(ii)  Estonia
(iii) Latvia
(iv) Bulgaria(v) Slovenia(vi) Albania(vii) Moldova(viii) Jordan
(ix) Kyrgyz Republic
(x) Panama(xi) Lithuania(xii) Newly Acceded WTO Members(xiii) Workshop on GPA Accession
(xiv) Streamlining of the Accession Process
D. Review of National Implementing LegislationE. Negotiations under Article XXIV:7GPA/M/18
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F. Other Business:
(i) Notification under Article XXIV:5
(ii) Letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development 
relating to the Committee's work on special and differential treatment
(iii) Procedures for circulation and derestriction of documents
(iv) The date of the next meeting and Chairmanship.
A. APPLICATION FOR OBSERVER STATUS
2. The Committee agreed to grant observer status to UNCTAD in response to a request received
from the UNCTAD Secretariat (GPA/W/188) and pursu ant to the decision it had taken on the matter
of observership (GPA/1, Annex 1).
B. MODIFICATIONS TO THE APPENDICES TO THE AGREEMENT
(i) Recent modifications by Japan relating to Annex 3 of Appendix I
3. The Chairman said that the proposed modifications to Annex 3 of Appendix I by Japan dated
15 March 2002 (GPA/W/186)  had become effective on 15 April 2002 (WT/Let/419).
4. The Chairman said that Japan had proposed further modifications to Annex 3 of Appendix I
circulated in document GPA/W/196 dated 28 May 2002.1
(ii)  Modifications by Hong Kong, China
5. The Chairman said that Hong Kong, China has made a communication proposing changes to
its Appendix II which would be circulated to Parties shortly.2
(iii) Japan's proposed modifications relating to NTT
6. The Chairman said that, with respect to the proposed modification by Japan to its Annex 3 of
Appendix I notified in document GPA/W/91, consulta tions had been held between Japan and the
delegations of the United States, the European Community and Canada on the basis of the questions
put to Japan by these delegations (GPA/W/ 97, GPA/W/99, GPA/W/100 a nd GPA/W/100/Add.1) and
Japan's answers thereto (GPA/W/104, GPA/ W/104/Add.1, GPA/W/107 and GPA/W/108).  In a
communication dated 19 October 2001, the delegation of the United States had withdrawn its
objection to the modifications proposed by Japan (GPA/W/166).
7. The representative of Japan said that Japan's responses to the questions put by Canada during
the bilateral consultations held in October 2001 had been circulated to Parties (GPA/W/199).  Further
bilateral consultations had recently been held with Canada and the European Community.  Her
delegation had responded promptly to a request for clarification by Canada and hoped that Canada
would shortly be in a position to reach a decision regarding the withdrawal of its objection.  Thedelegation of the European Community had made some new comments on the responses received
from Japan, in particular concerning conditions of competition and liberalization in the Japanese
telecommunications market.  Discussions with Canada and the European Community had been
ongoing for a considerable period of time.  Her delegation was reviewing the situation seriously and
expected to report its position vis-à-vis  these Parties before the next meeting.
                                                     
1 These modifications subsequently became effective on 29 June 2002 (WT/Let/425).
2  Subsequently circulated in document GPA/W/198 and became effective on 6 July 2002
(WT/Let/425).GPA/M/18
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8. The representative of the European Community said that constructive consultations had taken
place with the delegation of Japan.  The representatives of the European Community and Canada  said
that their delegations were not in a position to withdraw their objections to the proposed modifications
in GPA/W/91 for the time being.
9. In concluding the discussion, the Chairman encouraged the Parties involved to continue
consultations in order to resolve the issue as soon as possible and said that the Committee would
revert to this matter at its next meeting.
(iv) Japan's proposed modifications relating to railway companies
10. The Chairman said that, with respect to the proposed modification by the delegation of Japan
to its Annex 3 of Appendix I in documents GPA/W/144, 145 and 146, dated 29 August 2001,
communications had been received from the delegations of the United States, Canada and the
European Community (GPA/W/151, 155 and 156) seekin g clarification and objecting to the proposed
withdrawal of the three Japanese railway companies, namely East Japan Railway Company, Central
Japan Railway Company and West Japan Railway Company from the coverage of the Agreement.
Relevant notifications received from Japan had been circulated in documents GPA/W/152,
GPA/W/152/Corr.1 a nd GPA/W/179.  Additional questions had been received from the European
Community and the United States on 19 October 2001 (GPA/W/164 and 165, respectively).  Japan'sresponses to these questions were contained in documents GPA/W/180 and GPA/W/181, respectively.
11. The representative of Japan said that her delegation had held a series of bilateral meetings
with Canada, the European Community and the United States which had involved an extensive
exchange of questions and answers.  Japan believed that the three objecting Parties had had sufficient
time to conduct a careful review of the proposal and come to an adequate assessment thereof.  Her
delegation hoped that a mutual understanding could be reached as soon as possible that Japan's
proposed withdrawal of the three railway companies was consistent with Article XXIV:6(b) of the
Agreement.  In order to expedite the process, Japan also hoped that the Parties objecting to the entry
into force of the proposed modifications could specify in writing any outstanding concerns in regard
to the Japanese proposal before the next meeting.  This would allow Japan to clearly understand thereasons for the objections which could then be addressed in consultations with concerned Parties.
12. The representative of the European Community thanked Japan for the information that had
been provided and for the useful explanations rela ting to the status of Japan railway companies and
the organization of  the rail sector in Japan in general.  His delegation expected to submit further
questions before the next meeting.  Regarding Japan's suggestion that delegations' specific concerns
be expressed, the European Community would seek to achieve a clearer picture of the status of the
market and the situation of Japanese railway companies before it could do so in writing.  Therepresentative of the United States said that her delegation was considering the matter and might have
additional questions to put to Japan.  Joined by the representative of Canada, she said that, for the time
being, no commitments could be undertaken with respect to the suggestion by Japan that her
delegation's concerns be explained in writing.
13. In concluding the discussion, the Chairman encouraged the Parties to continue consultations
with a view to resolving the issue soon and said that the Committee would revert to this matter at its
next meeting in the light of further developments.
(v) Proposed modification by the United States to reflect recent changes in the
administrative structure of its federal Government
14. The Chairman said that, with respect to the proposed modifications to Appendix I by the
United States in document GPA/W/153, dated 25 September 2001, the delegations of Canada, theGPA/M/18
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European Community and Japan had made communications seeking further information from the
United States with respect to the notification in GPA/W/153 and objecting to the proposed
modifications going into effect at the end of the 30-day period (respectively circulated in
documents GPA/W/167 of 24 October 2001, GP A/W/163 of 19 October 2001 and GPA/W/162 of
22 October 2001).  The responses by the United States to the questions raised by the three Parties hadbeen circulated in documents GPA/W/183-185.  A further set of questions had been put by Japan in
document GPA/W/195.
15. The representatives of the European Community and Canada
 said that the responses to their
questions received from the United States were currently being reviewed.  The delegation of the
European Community said that his delegation expected to submit further questions before the next
meeting.  The representative of Canada said that her delegation was not in a position to withdraw its
objection to the modification at the present time.
16. The representative of the United States said that her delegation was in the process of
answering the latest questions received from Japan in GPA/W/195 and would respond to the questions
to be put by the European Community in due course.  
17. The Chairman said that the Committee would revert to this matter at its next meeting.
C. ACCESSIONS
(i) Chinese Taipei
18. Reporting on the developments regarding the accession of Chinese Taipei, the Chairman said
that, at the February 2002 meeting, many delegations had required more time to further review the
offer of Chinese Taipei in document GPA/SPEC/1/Rev.2 and that some delegations had remaining
substantive concerns.   Since that meeting, he had held informal consultations with the Parties so as toreview the status of their bilateral consultations wi th the delegation of Chinese Taipei.  There had also
been several bilateral meetings between the delegation of Chinese Taipei and concerned Parties but
some substantive issues remained to be resolved.  Moreover, a letter elaborating on the issue of
nomenclatures that had been raised by the observer from China at the Committee's February 2002
meeting had been received from the delegation of China on 2 April 2002.  The letter, addressed to theChairman, had been circulated informally to Parties.
19. The representative of Singapore said that, at the February 2002 meeting, Singapore had raised
a number of concerns in regard to the revised offer of Chinese Taipei.  Since then, her delegation had
held two bilateral meetings with the delegation of Chinese Taipei, at which no progress had been
made.  Among other concerns relating to the offer  by Chinese Taipei, her delegation considered that
the exclusion of Singapore from a list of goods such as electricity machinery and rail transport
equipment and services and construction relating to the electricity sector, contained in paragraph 6 ofthe General Notes, constituted discrimination against Singapore; the language contained in Note 4 to
Annex 3 concerning procurement by Chunghwa Teleco m could be open to arbitrary interpretation and
hence should be reviewed; and the word 'leased' contained in Note 3 to Annex 4 should be deleted.
Singapore was not in a position to endorse Chinese Taipei's accession to the Agreement at the present
meeting and expected a positive response from the delegation of Chinese Taipei in addressing itsconcerns.  Finally, Singapore noted the commitments undertaken by Chinese Taipei to accede to the
Agreement after its accession to the WTO, and urged Chinese Taipei to adopt a more forthcoming
attitude in order to achieve this end expeditiously.
20. The representative of the European Community said that his delegation had a concern with
regard to the Note 4 to Annex 3 concerning Chunghwa Telecom.GPA/M/18
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21. The representative of Japan said that his delegation had not yet concluded bilateral
negotiations with the delegation of Chinese Taipei and had concerns similar to those raised by
Singapore regarding Chunghwa Telecom.
22. Regarding the next steps in the accession of Chinese Taipei, the Chairman urged delegations
who had not yet completed the bilateral consultations with Chinese Taipei to do so as soon as
possible, and added that he would continue to be available to consult and use his good offices in order
to facilitate final agreement.  He suggested th at the Committee revert to this matter at the next
meeting.
(ii) Estonia
23. The Chairman said that the revised offer of Estonia was contained in GPA/SPEC/9/Rev.1
dated 12 February 2002.  Further questions received from the United States regarding Estonia's offer
and Estonia's replies thereto had been circulated in document GPA/W/190/Rev.1.
24. The representative of Estonia said that, in addition to the exchange of information with the
United States, consultations had recently been held with the delegations of Canada and the European
Community, in which domestic legislation and certain aspects of the revised offer from Estonia had
been discussed.
25. The representative of Canada said that her delegation would continue to review the revised
offer and expected to give some comments to the delegation of Estonia prior to the next meeting.
26. The representative of Israel said that Estonia's revised offer was currently under review and
reserved the right to make comments to or requests of the delegation of Estonia.
27. As a means of moving the process of accession of Estonia forward, the Chairman suggested
that further plurilateral consultations be held between Estonia and interested Parties before the
October 2002 meeting of the Committee.  The Committee so agreed.
(iii) Latvia
28. The representative of Latvia said that, since the previous Committee meeting, bilateral
consultations had continued with the European Community, in the course of which issues that
warranted further reflection had been raised.  Most of these issues were very detailed in character and
involved substantial technical work on behalf of Latvia.  His delegation continued to work on all
concerns raised in the course of bilateral consultations and would provide a report on the status of the
negotiations at the next meeting.
29. The representative of Switzerland said that, despite the completion of discussions between
Switzerland and Latvia, a number of issues between other delegations and Latvia that remained
unresolved created uncertainty as to the future of Latvia's accession.   It was not encouraging in termsof the accession process that the developments reported were the same at every meeting.
30. The Chairman said that, in order to expedite the accession of Latvia, further plurilateral
consultations could be held between Latvia and interested Parties at the time of the October 2002
meeting which would, among others, address certain systemic issues related to Latvia's accession.
The Committee so agreed.GPA/M/18
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(iv) Bulgaria
31. The Chairman said that, pursuant to the inform al plurilateral consultations that had been held
between Bulgaria and interested Parties on 21 February 2002, a number of follow-up questions and
comments from the United States and Bulgaria's answers thereto had been circulated in document
GPA/W/189/Rev.1.
32. The representative of Bulgaria said that, in April 2002, the Parliament had passed the  new
amendments to the Public Procurement Law, which were published in the State Gazette on
26 April 2002.  In response to a question by the Chairman whether the amendments made to the
Procurement Law would alter the substance of the responses of Bulgaria to the Checklist of Issues, the
representative of Bulgaria said that her delegation was engaged in reviewing whether the Checklist
needed to be updated in light of the recent amendments.  She reiterated a request that her delegation
had made at the informal plurilateral consultations held in February 2002 that Parties provideinformation pertaining to export opportunities in their markets so as to enable Bulgaria to assess its
existing and potential export capabilities.  She said that that request had been made pursuant to the
Marrakesh Decision on Accession to the Agreement and the Protocol of Accession of Bulgaria to the
WTO.  Her delegation considered that the provision of technical assistance and information from
Parties pertaining to potential export capabilities and domestic market opportunities would enableBulgaria to make an assessment of the content of an eventual offer and the conditions under which
Bulgaria would accede to the GPA.  With regard to the submission of an initial offer, she said that,
while intensive domestic consultations were taking place, her delegation was unable to provide a date
for the submission of an offer.
(v) Slovenia
33. The Chairman said that, pursuant to the inform al plurilateral consultations that had been held
between Slovenia and interested Parties on 21 February 2002, a number of follow-up questions and
comments from the United States had been circulated in GPA/W/192 dated 25 April 2002.
34. The delegation of Slovenia said that the Slovenian Public Procurement Legislation was under
substantive revision in order to ensure its adhere nce to the rules and procedures of international
agreements to which Slovenia was acceding, notably the GPA and the relevant EC Directives, and
achieve fine-tuning with practices in Slovenia.  Further, the amendments were also aimed at setting
out criteria defining the various categories of entities that would reflect the broad coverage of the
Agreement, while capturing national specificities.  She said that GPA Parties would be regularly
informed of progress concerning legislative harmonization which was deemed to be an essential pre-
condition for undertaking an international commitment that required ratification by Parliament.  Her
delegation reiterated the importance of the process of accession to the Agreement in terms of both the
development of the domestic public procurement market and the opening of opportunities for national
bidders in the markets of GPA Parties.
(vi) Albania
35. The Chairman said that, at the last meeting Albania had been invited to reply to the questions
received from the European Community;  H ong Kong, China;  Switzerland;  and Canada
(GPA/SPEC/26, GPA/W/169,  GPA/W/174 and GPA/W/178, respectively).  Since the February 2002
meeting, Albania had communicated additional information on its national legislation in
GPA/65/Add.1 dated 17 April 2002.GPA/M/18
Page 7
(vii) Moldova
36. The Chairman said that Moldova's replies to th e questions put to it by Hong Kong, China and
questions put by the United States had been circulated in documents GPA/W/191 and GPA/W/193
respectively.  The representative of  the European Community said that his delegation was currently
reviewing the information that had been provided, and its questions would be submitted before the
next meeting.
37. The representative of Moldova said that the Ministry of Economy had undergone some
structural adjustment which included strengthening of the capacity of the structure responsible for
government procurement.  Officials responsible for accession to the Agreement would initiate the
relevant work shortly.
(viii) Jordan
38. Reporting on the progress of Jordan's accession, the representative of Jordan highlighted the
following information.  First, the national committee comprised of members from both the private and
public sectors was working on the preparation of an initial entity offer.  Several working groups had
been formed and were currently collecting and analysing data related to procurement of works, goods,
and services in order to assess the impact of accession to the Agreement on local industries.  Positive
progress had been made in assessing technical assistance needs in this context.  Second, dataregarding procurement of goods, works and services in 1997 to 2000 had been compiled and delivered
to serve as a database for comprehensive studies.  These studies were designed to cover eight out of a
possible 14 industrial sectors which might be affected by the requirements under the GPA.
Independent studies were also being carried out by the chambers of commerce and industry, and
engineers' and  contractors' associations.  The findings of these studies would be considered in thepreparation of the initial entity offer, which was anticipated to be submitted before the end of the year.
Third, legislative bodies were working on the new version of the procurement legislation.  Regarding
the organizational structure of the procurement entities of goods, works and services, a decision had
been taken by the government on 8 May 2002 to maintain the two central procurement entities in
operation as two independent bodies.  One entity would be specialized in the procurement of goodsand services and the other specialized in the procurement of works and engineering services.
Moreover, the decision advised the issuance of a by-law in order to guarantee harmonization of the
procurement process between the two entities and other governmental departments.
39. The representative of the United States, joined by the representative of Canada
, said that her
delegation looked forward to receiving Jordan's offer, hopefully by the end of the year.  With regard
to the market studies under way in Jordan, the representative of Switzerland said that procurement
data analysis and the studies on the impact of public procurement liberalization were very difficult to
conduct, partly due to the lack of an accepted general methodology.  In the experience of Switzerland,
a major consequence of accession to the Agreement had been the creation of an internal market for
public procurement which resulted in greater competition among local firms.
(ix) Kyrgyz Republic
40. The Chairman said that the Kyrgyz Republic  had recently submitted its replies to the
Checklist which had been circulated in document GPA/W/197.  Any questions to be put to the Kyrgyz
Republic, in respect of its responses to the Checklist of Issues, should be submitted by 2 August 2002.
41. The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic said that major work was currently under way in
the Kyrgyz Republic aimed at bringing national legislation into conformity with the standards of
international instruments including requirements pertaining to local content and bidding procedures.He said that technical assistance in the form of plurilateral or bilateral consultations with delegations,GPA/M/18
Page 8
or sharing views and experiences on the implementation of the Agreement on a bilateral basis would
be welcome.  His delegation anticipated fruitful and mutually beneficial negotiations, and was looking
forward to receiving questions pertaining to its replies to the Checklist.
(x) Panama
42. The Chairman said that there had been no recent reports regarding Panama's accession to the
Agreement.  He suggested that plurilateral consultations could be held with Panama before the
October Committee meeting in order to move the process of accession forward.  The Committee so
agreed.
(xi) Lithuania
43. The representative of Lithuania said that Lithuania had applied for accession to the
Agreement on 8 March 2002 (GPA/66).  His authorities were proceeding with the revision of the
relevant national legislation in the field of government procurement.
44. On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman invited Lithuania to submit its replies to the
Checklist as soon as possible.
(xii) Newly Acceded WTO Members
- Oman
45. The Chairman said that Oman's replies to the Checklist of Issues had been circulated in
GPA/W/141.  Questions put by the European Community, the United States and Canada to Oman in
November and December 2001 had been circulat ed in documents GPA/SPEC/27, GPA/SPEC/25 and
GPA/W/176, respectively.  In the informal discussi ons he had held with the delegation of Oman, he
had urged it to apply for accession formally, and hoped that this would be achieved soon.
-G e o r g i a
46. The Chairman said that the replies of Georgia to the Checklist had been circulated in
document GPA/W/187.  The United States had put questions to Georgia in document GPA/W/194.
Georgia had provided information on its national legislation in document GPA/68.
- Croatia
47. The Chairman said that he had been informed by the delegation of Croatia that work under
way on its procurement legislation was continuing.
- Other WTO Members with commitments in respect of the Agreement
48. The representative of China said that the achievement of observer status in February 2002
demonstrated the willingness of China to implem ent commitments they had undertaken in relation to
the GPA on accession to the WTO.  Following the progress made over the last few years in the
establishment of the government procurement legislative regime, the new government procurement
legislation had entered the final stage of preparation and was expected to enter into force in the near
future.GPA/M/18
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(xiii) Workshop on Accession
49. The Chairman said that a WTO Workshop on Accession to the Agreement had been held in
Geneva on 27-28 May 2002, in which more than 45 capital-based officials from acceding and other
observer countries had participated.  He thought that the event had been useful to acceding countries
as well as to the Parties to the Agreement.  He noted the relevance of the Accessions Workshop notonly to the accessions currently under way, but also to the work on the review of the Agreement in
which the question of how to optimize the accession procedures, among other issues, was being dealt
with.
50. The representatives of the United States, Switzerland
, the European Community , Canada , the
Kyrgyz Republic, China  and Lithuania  expressed their appreciation of the Workshop.  The
representative of Bulgaria said that the Workshop had been timely and useful.  The representative of
the Kyrgyz Republic said that officials had been trained in the course of the Workshop and had
acquired some useful and fruitful knowledge. The representative of China considered that further
training programmes would prove useful.  The re presentative of Lithuania said that the Workshop
constituted a valuable input into the process of accession.
51. The representative of the United States  said that the Workshop had provided a good
opportunity to discuss issues on a broader basis than was sometimes possible in the Committee, and
that the Committee should consider the possibility of following up on the initiative through holding
small group discussions with acceding countries focused on particular issues, which could take place
possibly on an informal basis and in the margins of formal Committee meetings.
52. The representative of Switzerland emphasized the importance of technical assistance provided
by multilateral development banks as well as Parties, such as the European Community and the
United States, in relation to the ongoing accession processes.  He said that the Committee should be
able to draw useful lessons from the Workshop a nd sharpen the link between technical assistance and
the process of accessions.  In regard to procedures for accession, he noted the possibility that
individual Parties might provide counsel and advise to individual acceding countries in preparing or
modifying their offers.
53. The representative of the European Community said that a number of issues had been raised
in the Workshop with regard to the accession process that warranted consideration.  His delegation
had noted that countries initiating the accession process had found it useful to have an exchange of
information with countries at a more advanced stag e in the accession process.  In that regard, the
European Community believed that the Committee s hould consider ways in which a more informal
exchange of information on practical issues on accession could be organized.
(xiv) Streamlining of the Accession Process
54. In response to a point raised by the representative of the Kyrgyz Republic, that economies in
transition that are acceding to the Agreement could be allowed certain flexibility in the process, the
representative of Switzerland said that the situation of economies in transition differed substantially
from that of long standing Parties to the Agr eement, and therefore urged the Committee to find
appropriate solutions, so that accession process was not unduly slowed down.  The notion that aneconomy in transition must undergo a period of adaptation would suggest that there would be
recurring changes in the government procurement regime.  His delegation recognized that such a
period of transition may take between five and eight years and structures of ownership within the
government may be modified, and functions rearranged.  He suggested that the Committee adopt an
appropriate methodology in the light of the particular circumstances of economies in transition.GPA/M/18
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55. The European Community suggested that the Committee examine in the informal discussions
on the review of the text of the Agreement the appropriateness of a definitions-based approach to the
preparation of an offer.   He noted that, although positive lists allowed a certain clarity, continued
changes in the entity lists as a consequence of the evolution of government structures were
undesirable.
56. The Chairman suggested that the Committee take up the question of how procedures on
accessions could be improved at an informal meeting in October.  The Committee so agreed.
D. REVIEW OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION
57. The Chairman said he had been informed by the delegation of Iceland that the preparation of
Iceland's replies to the Checklist were in progress.
58. The representative of the Kingdom of Netherlands with respect to Aruba said that Aruba was
not yet in a position to submit the notification given the current revision of the major procurement
regulation.  The authorities in Aruba preferred to base the review of  the implementing legislation on
the most recent regulations and the notification of complementary legislation would be submitted
upon completion of the legal process.
E. NEGOTIATIONS UNDER ARTICLE XXIV :7
59. The Chairman said that an informal meeting on Article XXIV:7 negotiations had been held on
30 May 2002.  The group had pursued the Article-by-Article review of the Agreement on the basis of
the proposals by various delegations compiled in the Secretariat's Note 'Suggested Drafting Changes
to the 1994 Agreement', dated 1 May  2002 (Job 3576).  Delegations also had available to them a
non-paper by the European Community entitled 'Drafting Proposals on the Preamble and Articles I, II,
III, XVI, XVII and XXIV of the Agreement' (Job 4312), a proposal by Korea on amendments toArticle XXIV:6(b) of the Agreement;  a communication from Japan entitled 'Japan's comments on the
United States' proposals in Jobs 2667 and 1051 and the proposal by the European Community in
Job 876' (Job No. 5474);  and a Note by the Chairman 'Annotated Agenda on Basket 1 Issues'
(Job 3893).  The Group had a detailed discussion of the proposed drafting changes to the Articles of
the Agreement relating to basket 1 items in the work programme, namely basic principles, scope andcoverage and related definitions, exceptions, developing countries, and accessions.  The main focus of
discussions had been on the issues raised in the Annotated Agenda.  In the context of the discussion
on developing countries and accessions, the group had agreed that the Chairman would write a letter
to the countries with observer status in the Committee inviting them to make written contributions on
how the relevant provisions and decisions could be improved.  The group had also reverted, briefly, to
the basket 2 items which included tendering procedures and technical specifications and related
definitions.  The Secretariat would update the side-by-side document 'Suggested Drafted Changes tothe 1994 Agreement' in light of the proposals recently submitted, and the detailed comments made
and clarifications sought at the meeting.  Delegations were reminded that the work programme
discussed and agreed at the February meeting foresaw the tabling of all proposals relating to the
review of the text of the Agreement no later than 1 September 2002.  Regarding the next informal
meeting to be held on 7 October 2002, the Chairman suggested that the Group have a focused
discussion on basket 2 issues, relating to tendering procedures (Articles VII–XV and Article XVIII,
paragraphs 1, 3, and 4), technical specifications (Article VI) and related definitions, and also have a
focused discussion on basket 3 issues (enforcement, institutions, and statistical reporting).  He
proposed that, at the next informal meeting, the group revert to the discussion of developing countries
and accessions.  To facilitate the discussion on basket 2 and basket 3 issues, an Annotated Agendawould be circulated which would set out the issues that the group might discuss in relation to those
baskets.  Delegations would also have an opportunity at that time to revert to the basket 1 issues.
With regard to the work on the other two elements of the Article XXIV:7 negotiations, namely theGPA/M/18
Page 11
expansion of coverage and the elimination of discriminatory measures, the Work Programme agreed
to at the February 2002 meeting provided for a preparatory phase in 2002, aimed at the identification
and study of the areas to be negotiated, and agreeing on a detailed programme for the negotiations by
the end of 2002.  In this connection, he reminded delegations that possible approaches regarding these
negotiations should be put forward, including the request for tabling of offers, by 15 October 2002.
60. The Committee agreed to proceed as proposed by the Chairman.
F. OTHER BUSINESS
(i) Notification under Article XXIV:5
61. The representative of Japan said that information on modifications to Japan's regulations
concerning government procurement had been communicated in document GPA/67 dated
15 April 2002.  The new notification related to modifications notified by Japan in April 2001.  Her
delegation therefore considered that the basic notification had already been made, and that the newsubmission reflected only minor changes to the modification.
(ii) Letter from the Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development relating to
Special and Differential Treatment
62. The Chairman drew the attention of the Committee to a letter that had been received from the
Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Development requesting that the Committee be kept
informed of discussions or developments relating to special and differential treatment taking place in
the Committee.  The Chairman proposed to answer the letter on behalf of the Committee, drawing
attention to the provisions of the Agreement relating to developing countries as well as pointing out
relevant work of the group in the context of the re view of the Agreement.  He also suggested that it
would be useful to point out that WTO Members could become observers in the Committee andtherefore participate in discussions.  In that regard, he said that the involvement of as wide a group of
Members as possible in the review of the Agreement would be useful in terms of hearing ideas and
suggestions relating to special and differential treatment provisions, and other provisions of interest to
developing countries.
(iii) Procedures for circulation and derestriction of documents
63. The Chairman drew attention to the General Council Decision of 14 May 2002 on Procedures
for the Circulation and Derestriction of WTO Documents (WT/L/452).  He proposed that the
Committee update its Decision on Circulation a nd Derestriction of Documents (GPA/1/Add.2) in
order to reflect the new WTO procedures.  He suggested that the Secretariat would prepare a draft
decision for adoption by the Committee.  It was so agreed.
(iv) The date of the next meeting and Chairmanship
64. The Committee agreed to hold its next meeting on 8 October 2002.
65. The Chairman said that, as he had indicated was a good possibility at the meeting in
February 2002, he would indeed be returning to Ottawa in August, but was prepared to continue to
serve as Chair and carry out consultations until his departure.
66. The representatives of the United States; Switzerland ; Jordan ; Korea ; the European
Community; Chinese Taipei ; Japan ; Canada ; Bulgaria ; Hong Kong, China ; and Norway  thanked the
Chairman for his Chairmanship of the Committee.  The Chairman thanked the Committee membersGPA/M/18
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for the confidence they had shown in him and for their cooperation, and noted that the achievements
of the Group had largely been due to its acting collectively.
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