RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
16 June 1999 
(24-2674) Page: 1/36 
Committee on Government Procurement  
Negotiations under Article XXIV:7 of the GPA 1994  
Comité des marchés publics  
Négociations au titre de l'article  XXIV:7 de l'AMP 1994  
Comité de Contratación Pública  
Negociaciones en el marco del párrafo 7 del artículo XXIV  
del ACP 1994   
 
  
CHECKLIST OF ISSUES RAISED IN INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS REGARDING 
MODALITIES FOR THE REVIEW OF THE AGREEMENT ON  
GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT1* 
Revision  
Table of Contents  
A. AREAS TO BE CONSIDERED  ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
1. Simplification and improvement of the Agreement  ................................ ........................  2 
(a) General  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
(b) General principles in the Agreement  ................................ ................................ ............  2 
(c) Enforcement and monitoring mechanisms  ................................ ................................ .... 3 
(d) Information technology  ................................ ................................ .............................  4 
(e) Procurement methods  ................................ ................................ ..............................  10 
(f) Statistical reporting  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 14 
(g) Article -by-Article review of the Agreement  ................................ ................................ .. 18 
(h) Improving the structure of the Agreement  ................................ ................................ .. 27 
(i) Appendices to t he Agreement  ................................ ................................ ...................  28 
2. Elimination of discriminatory measures and practices which distort open procur ement  ....... 28 
(a) General  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  28 
(b) Mutually agreed coverage of services  ................................ ................................ .........  30 
3. Expansion of the coverage of the Agreement  ................................ ...............................  31 
B. INSTITUTIONAL/PR OCEDURAL POINTS  ................................ ................................  33 
1. Work on government procurement in other WTO fora  ................................ ...................  33 
2. Institutional arrangements for the review  ................................ ................................ ... 33 
3. Participation of WTO Members in the review  ................................ ................................  33 
4. Next steps  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  33 
ATTACHMENT  1  CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE INFORMAL 
MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE HELD ON 10 MAY  1999 REGARDING THE TIME -FRAME  
AND THE WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS UNDER ARTICLE XXIV:7  ..........  35 
 
1 English only.  
* Pursuant to the relevant Decision of the Committee on Government Procurement ( GPA/CD/5  
(16/11/2023)), this document (informal document symbol: gpa95 ) was derestricted on 8 November 2023.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  The following attempts to set out points made by Parties to the Agreement in the informal 
consultations held since February  1997 pursuant to the decision of the Committee in its 1996  Report 
to the Ministerial Conference that it would "undertake an early review, starting in 1997 with an 
examination of modalities, with a view to the implementation of Article XXIV:7(b) an d (c)" ( GPA/8 , 
paragraph  22). 
The list may not be exhaustive and will, of course, need to be amended and updated as further 
discussion develops.  
A. AREAS TO BE CONSIDERED  
1.  The point has been made that the key to the review lies with the issue of simplification and 
improvement of the Agreement and that, if this aspect were to be satisfactorily resolved, then the 
other two elements of the review would also largely have been addressed . In this connection, it has 
been suggested that an improved and simplified Agreement woul d be likely to result in a reduction 
in the number of exceptions to the Agreement and would therefore lead to a more uniform 
application . On the other hand, the point has been made that the work on all three elements of the 
review should be advanced simult aneously and in parallel . The concept of reciprocity had been at 
the basis of the rationale for the present coverage of the Agreement . Therefore, it could not 
reasonably be expected that a mere improvement and simplification of the Agreement would lead 
to the expansion of its coverage.  
2.  It has been stated that the elements of the review on the elimination of discriminatory measures 
and practices which distort open procurement and on the expansion of the coverage of the 
Agreement were linked in many respects . Since it might be difficult to make a distinction between 
these two aspects, future negotiations on the two issues should be held simultaneously.  
3.  It has also been stated that the discussion of the review item on discriminatory measures should 
not be made dependent on the discussion of the other two elements of the review.  
1. Simplification and improvement of the Agreement  
(a) General  
4.  It has been emphasized that simplifying and providing greater flexibility to the procedures under 
the Agreement should not lead to a weakening of commitments and thus result in less open markets . 
Rather, simplification should aim at obtaining effective but more easily applicable disciplines and 
should improve the balance between the advantages of certain requirements and the a dministrative 
burden of complying with them . Compatibility between the concepts of simplification and effective 
disciplines should be secured . For example, any flexibility on the requirements on deadlines should 
be accompanied by the elaboration of objecti ve criteria for providing sufficient time for bidding by 
domestic and foreign suppliers.  
5.  With regard to the Committee's stated aim that the review shall seek the expansion of 
membership by making the Agreement more accessible to non -Parties ( GPA/8 ), the point has been  
made that improving and simplifying the procedural provisions of the Agreement would increase its 
appeal to non -Parties . Simplifying the Agreement would also help in promoting the common 
objective sought by the review of the GPA, of the Working Group on T ransparency in Government 
Procurement and of the Working Party on GATS Rules which is to establish a set of rules and 
principles that could ultimately be adopted on a multilateral basis.  
6.  The point has been made that Parties should take into account the cos ts that may have to be 
borne by procuring entities and suppliers in adapting to new changes in the procedures under the 
Agreement which has been in force for only three years . Simplification of the provisions should be 
limited to what is absolutely essenti al for the purposes of the efficiency of procurement regimes.  
(b) General principles in the Agreement  
7.  It has been suggested that consideration might be given to whether some provisions of the 
Agreement could be expressed in terms of more general principles  that were widely accepted in 
day-to-day procurement practices such as transparency, equality of opportunities, 
non-discrimination, proportionality, competition, liberalization and expansion of world trade . While GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  such principles were already included in th e Preamble or were implicit in some of the main provisions, 
they should be clearly spelled out as operational principles of general application.  
8.  The following points have been made regarding the application of such principles in the 
Agreement:  
- "proportio nality" was an underlying principle in a number of provisions, for 
example in the term "unnecessary obstacles" in Article  VI on Technical 
Specifications and the term "within a reasonably short time" in Article  VIII(d) on 
Qualification of Suppliers . Moreove r, it was essential that any requirements 
relating to technical, financial or professional capacity of suppliers should be 
strictly limited to what were necessary and justified with respect to the objectives 
of the procurement in question;  
- the principle of proportionality might be introduced as one of the objectives of the 
Agreement in the Preamble . However, it might be difficult to set out clear criteria 
for determining the proportionality of a given procedure to the objective sought . 
Any unclear criteri a regarding such principles would constitute an element of legal 
uncertainty;  
- the non -discrimination principle was an explicit requirement in Article III . On the 
other hand, it might be difficult to incorporate obligations based on the abstract 
notions o f competition, liberalization and expansion of world trade in the 
operational articles.  
(c) Enforcement and monitoring mechanisms  
9.  The point has been made that an approach of providing greater flexibility and more general 
principles may result in the need f or a re -examination of the mechanisms aimed at ensuring the 
effective enforcement of the Agreement . There was room for the improvement of the functioning of 
the Agreement by increasing the effectiveness of the existing enforcement mechanisms that 
guarantee d the rights of suppliers . On the other hand, it has been said that a case had yet to be 
made that the greater flexibility in the rules that might be envisaged as a result of the process of 
simplification and improvement of the Agreement that was presently  under way would give rise to 
the need for improved mechanisms for enforcement and monitoring . The outcome of the discussions 
on the simplification and improvement of the Agreement might show that there was no relationship 
between the two processes.  
10.  The suggestion has been made that Parties should consider to what extent Article  XX on bid 
challenge procedures had been effective in achieving this objective . In addition, or as an alternative 
to, enforcement mechanisms based on the bid challen ge procedures under Article  XX and dispute 
settlement procedures between governments under Article  XXII, independent enforcement agencies 
could be established in individual Parties to address allegations of violations of the principles of the 
Agreement by aggrieved suppliers or investigate and monitor the application of procurement rules 
and procedures on their own initiative since suppliers might often be reluctant to bring cases against 
procuring entities.  
11.  A note addressing the issue  of enforcement and mo nitoring mechanisms , in particular in the 
light of the EC's own experience on the enforcement and monitoring mechanisms of public 
procurement rules, has been circulated in Job  No. 3871.  
12.  Whether the Agreement should prescribe in detail how government author ities should organize 
their interaction with suppliers has been questioned . It has been said that the establishment of 
independent review bodies in individual Parties provided for under Article  XX:6 w ould reduce the 
need for any additional procedures in th is respect.  
13.  With regard to the suggestion relating to the addition of  add new paragraphs  9 to 11 to 
Article  XX concerning the establishment of independent authorities (see section A.1.(f)), a  view has 
been expressed opposing the addition of such paragraphs . More time was needed for the evaluation 
of the operation of the arrangements under Article  XX which was a new feature of the 1994 
Agreement . A case had yet to be made that the current procedures in the Agreement on review, GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  consultations and monitoring ha d not been adequate and that there was need for new requirements 
and additional mechanisms . The fact that only a limited number of cases had been reported under 
formal challenge procedures did not necessarily mean that the aims of Article  XX had not been 
achieved . It had not been established that suppliers had been ignorant of, or had been intimidated 
from using the procedures available to them under Article  XX. It has also been said that paragraph  1 
of Article  XX required Parties to encourage the complaina nt supplier to seek resolution of its 
complaint in consultation with the procuring entity before resorting to challenge procedures . 
Suppliers might have used the route of informal consultations for resolving their disputes with 
procuring entities and promo ting mutual understanding and good relationships between them . 
Further views on this matter have been included in a non -paper by Hong Kong, China circulated in 
Job No. 5269. The point has also been made that any further procedures relating to enforcement 
might be perceived as an additional burden by those non -Parties that were considering accession to 
the Agreement . Moreover, the use of information technology as a vehicle for monitoring and 
enforcement should not lead to additional reporting requirements.  
14.  The following have been mentioned as among the other mechanisms which could be envisaged 
to guarantee transparency of procurement proceedings and accountability of procurement agencies 
and to limit the scope for arbitrary dealings and discrimination in proc urement practices : publication 
of a schedule of prices offered which would show whether the contract had been awarded to the 
lowest price bidder ; and a declaration that all complaints, including anonymous complaints, would 
be investigated . It has also been  said that the Agreement included provisions relating to information 
on contract prices or the highest and lowest offer that had been taken into account in the award of 
the contract (Article XVIII:1(c)).  
15.  It has been said that transparency through public sc rutiny and monitoring by other suppliers 
was more effective in promoting compliance than the institution of additional bureaucratic 
procedures.  
16.  In this connection, another view has been expressed that a review of the operation of Article  XX 
should be witho ut prejudice to whether or not Parties should consider alternative enforcement 
mechanisms . Another view has been that a layer of obligations relating to enforcement and 
monitoring mechanisms additional to the challenge procedures of Article XX might deter non-Parties 
considering membership of the Agreement . Other views expressed on the matter have questioned 
the way in which independent mechanisms could operate in Parties with federal governments . On 
the other hand, the point has been made that independent enforcement mechanisms offered the 
possibility of arriving at rapid resolution of disputes and also avoiding the inconvenience of formal 
court proceedings . Provisions requiring the establishment of such mechanisms would provide an 
additional incentive to n on-Parties to join the Agreement.  
(d) Information technology  
(i) General  
17.  It has been suggested that, in accordance with the terms of Article XXIV:8, the Agreement 
should be adapted to take into account advances in the area of information technology since the 
conclusion of the Agreement.  
18.  In this connection, it has been suggested that the text of the Agreement should be amended to 
provide flexibility and to clarify any ambiguities with respect to the use of information technology.  
19.  The need to continue the information -gathering process in response to the revised questionnaire 
on information technology was referred to.2 
20.  It has been said that new obligations in the Agreement regarding the use of electronic 
publications and any requests to  acceding countries to undertake commitments in this respect would 
cause them to incur considerable costs . It has also been said that, in view of the objective of 
 
2 Responses to the revised questionnaire ( GPA/W/24 ) were submitted by Norway ( GPA/W/24/Add.1 ), 
Canada ( GPA/W/24/Add.2 ), Korea ( GPA/W/24/Add.3 ), Hong Kong, China ( GPA/W/24/Add.4 ), the European 
Community ( GPA/W/24/Add.5 ), the United States ( GPA/W/24/Add.6 ) and Singapore ( GPA/W/24/Add.7 ). GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  expanding the membership of the Agreement, technical cooperation could be provided to those 
countries that did not have the means to use information technology in government procurement.  
(ii) Non-discrimination  
21.  It has been stated that information technology should be accommodated in such a way as to 
enhance rather than undermine the basic objectiv es of transparency and non -discrimination in the 
Agreement and not to put at a disadvantage the suppliers of actual or potential Parties less 
well-equipped in information technology or without adequate links to international networks . 
Concern has been expr essed that, unless appropriate safeguards are established, the use of 
information technology in government procurement may lead to de facto discrimination against 
foreign suppliers . It has also been mentioned that the use of information technology may crea te or 
widen the gap between entities and suppliers which can effectively operate in the information age, 
and those, in particular SMEs, which cannot, thus creating a competitive advantage in favour of the 
former group.  
22.  The point has been made that the non -discrimination aspect of the use of information technology 
should be considered against the background of the existing procedures and practices under the 
Agreement . The paper -based method of publication and other tendering procedures might also have 
some f orm of unequal impact on different suppliers . The discussion of this matter should focus on 
the relative discriminatory effects of introducing information technology . Attention has been drawn 
to the arguments put forward in section 1(c)(iii) below as to wh y electronic dissemination of tender 
information would be more effective in reaching all interested suppliers than paper -based methods.  
23.  With regard to the suggestion that the Agreement should include a provision to the effect that 
the means of communicatio n in submission of bids can be specified by the procuring entity, it has 
been said that if a procuring entity only allowed communication by electronic means, this might 
discriminate against suppliers that did not have the required information technology to ols. In this 
respect, it has also been said that there should be a general non -discrimination provision, which 
would ensure that procuring entities did not make choices, for example by asking supplier from other 
Parties to use a special information technol ogy tool with a view to discriminating among suppliers 
from other Parties . However, to the extent that individual suppliers had the possibility of using the 
required information technology, for example by taking a subscription with an Internet provider or 
by using email, purchasing entities should be allowed to require the use of electronic means of 
communication, irrespective of the individual decisions of suppliers.  
24.  The comment has been made that the provisions on the use of information technology which 
would allow entities to favour only those suppliers who had access to information technology would 
be inconsistent with Articles VI:4 and VII:2 of the Agreement.  
25.  The point has also been made that fears that technical and content -related compatibility issues  
in connection with the use of information technology might lead to de facto discrimination against 
foreign suppliers were largely resolved through the use of the Internet . Nevertheless, Parties' 
willingness to accept electronic bids would proceed at diffe rent speeds because of considerations 
related to security of data transmission issues and feasibility for large and complex bids.  
(iii) Publication requirements  
26.  The view has been held that procuring entities should be allowed to choose between the use of 
electronic publications and/or hard copy means in order to comply with their publication obligations 
under the GPA . Publication of information on tendering opportunities only through the use of 
electronic media should be sufficient to meet the relevant requ irements under the Agreement . It has 
also been said that denying easy access to information on procurement opportunities through the 
use of the most up -to-date publication and dissemination systems would go against the objectives 
of the Agreement of openin g procurement markets to competition and fostering transparency . 
Another view has been that any modifications to the Agreement should be limited to provisions 
allowing the use of information technology in parallel with the paper system currently in use.  
27.  It has been said that Article  IX:1 required publication of tender notices in the "appropriate" 
publication listed in Appendix  II. If electronic publication was considered to be an "appropriate 
publication", there would not be a need for any additional prov isions specifically stipulating the use GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  of electronic publications . Appendix  II currently contained references to the websites that were being 
used in some Parties to disseminate tender information . Another view has been expressed 
questioning the use of we bsites as Appendix  II publications.  
28.  It has been said that, whatever the means used, publications should be accessible and 
recordable . The question has been asked whether a website would need to have certain features of 
publications that were essential to t he users for instance relating to record keeping or legal evidence, 
the core elements of transparency and due process . The point has also been made that more 
conventional means, such as facsimile or CD -ROMs or responses to telephone requests could be 
considered as fail -safe alternatives for safeguarding the accessibility of procurement information to 
those without ready access to electronic networks.  
29.  Another view has been that the provisions on the use of electronic publications should be set 
out as an opti on rather than as a requirement in the Agreement . While the Agreement should not 
exclude the possibility of publishing in hard copy version, it should allow Parties to review the need 
for continuing with paper -based publication, for example for advertising  tenders in the area of 
advanced technological systems and information technology.  
30.  Suggestions have been made concerning the provisions of the Agreement relating to publication 
requirements (Article IX on invitation to participate regarding intended procur ement) ; Article XI on 
time-limits for tendering and delivery ; Article XVII on transparency ; Article XVIII on information and 
review as regards obligations of entities ; and Appendices  II and III to reflect the practice of electronic 
publication of notices ( Job Nos. 3887 and 5211) . These are reproduced in Attachment  1 to this note.  
31.  It has been stated that increased transparency of procurement opportunities was one of the 
main benefits of the electronic dissemination of tender notices . The Internet permitted v iewing of 
notices anywhere in the world, regardless of where those notices may have originated . It has been 
suggested that the Agreement should include provisions requiring Parties to provide, in the GPA 
Appendices, the addresses of any Internet sites that  gave procurement opportunity information in 
their country . This would help suppliers from countries Parties to the Agreement to locate and easily 
access information on procurement opportunities that was currently published electronically . Parties 
should a lso update and supplement this information as necessary . On the other hand, a view has 
been expressed that providing addresses of Internet sites in the GPA Appendices should not be a 
requirement in the Agreement . In most countries, tender notices were auth entic only in hard copy 
form published in a government gazette . With the present technology it was not possible to verify 
the date of appearance of the electronic version of tender notices on the Internet whereas there 
could be no problem in proving the da te of publication of the hard copy form . Another suggestion 
on this matter has been that the WTO Home Page could be used to provide the addresses of sites 
with information on procurement opportunities in individual countries . In this connection, it has bee n 
said that it might not be necessary to stipulate such practices in the Agreement itself.  
32.  The point has been made that advances in information technology had the greatest potential 
for achieving efficiency gains in public procurement in the area of the pu blication of procurement 
opportunity information . Electronic publication would have the following benefits:  
 - the timeliness of dissemination of tender notices and documents to all suppliers 
irrespective of their location . Transmission of paper copies of voluminous documents by 
mail were subject to delays which varied depending on the distance . Suppliers saved 
time by receiving information of procurement opportunities on a real -time basis and by 
ordering tender documents instantaneously;  
 - the extension o f the reach of dissemination of information to suppliers . The experience 
of Parties showed that the number of suppliers using electronic publications was 
substantially higher than those who subscribed to hard copy publications;  
 - the cost -effectiveness of  obtaining information . The cost of subscription, downloading 
and printing of electronic publications was significantly lower than the cost of publishing 
and mailing documents in the paper format ; in particular, those suppliers who may be 
interested in onl y a few specific tendering opportunities per year would not need to 
subscribe to numerous paper publications;  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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   - the increased rapidity of obtaining information . Searching by word, the code number or 
the date of issue of notices for specific products or services in user -friendly versions of 
electronic publications was less time -consuming and costly than the process of scanning 
through and obtaining hard copy publications on procurement opportunity;  
 - the widening of the scope of accessible da ta. The establishment of links between tender 
notices and tender documents and any other information relevant to a procurement 
would widen the scope of the information available to suppliers . For example, tender 
notices published in the electronic version of the US Commerce Business Daily had links 
to the US Federal Acquisition Virtual Library which provided policy guidance and 
information on current trends in procurement procedures as well as data on 
procurement legislation.  
33.  It has been suggested that, in order to ensure continued open access by all suppliers, Parties 
choosing to only utilize electronic publishing methods should use an electronic system that was 
accessible on the Internet . Alternatively, Parties could use other electronic means as long as t hey 
provided convenient and universal access through a single point of entry, for instance by establishing 
a website that would be linked to several websites . In connection with the use of the Internet it has 
been said that, while the Internet was currentl y the most widely used means of electronic 
distribution , a generic term should be used in the Agreement for electronic networks in order not to 
prejudge the selection of the actual mechanism used for electronic transmissions and to allow for 
future evoluti on of information technology . The relevant provisions in the Agreement should be in 
the form of basic obligations requiring Parties to use the means of publications which, at a given 
point in time, maximized the ease of access to the broadest range of supp liers from the GPA member 
countries.  
34.  In this connection, the view has been expressed that, while information on procurement 
opportunities could be stored in a decentralized manner, there should be a provision in th e 
Agreement requiring Parties to guarantee  access to the relevant information in their countries 
through a single point of entry and that the use of electronic means of publication would facilitate 
this. 
35.  It has been said that a requirement to publish tender notices on the Internet would discriminate 
against those Parties who did not have the necessary resources to maintain two parallel systems, 
especially if publications on the Internet were to be in a non -national language . In addition, a country 
that used a non -western alphabet would ha ve the additional cost of maintaining electronic data 
systems in the characters of both alphabets.  
36.  It has been suggested that Parties could be invited to provide addresses of any sites on the 
Internet that give information on procurement opportunities in t heir countries . There was also a 
need to examine how information was structured in national databases . In this respect, it has also 
been mentioned that some national electronic tendering systems may not cover all procurement 
covered by the Agreement.  
37.  With regard to the question of whether electronic publications should be accessible to suppliers 
in GPA Parties at minimal or no cost,  it has been said that, in the absence of evidence that the cost 
of using electronic publications represented a true barrier to  access, the Agreement should not have 
provisions regulating the charging of fees for electronic or hard -copy publications . In this connection, 
it has been mentioned that governments had been increasingly devolving the activities relating to 
information te chnology to private sector service providers which might imply that access to tender 
information and documentation would not be free of charge to suppliers . It has been suggested that 
Parties should have the flexibility to consider, having regard to overal l policies, whether to charge a 
reasonable fee.  
(iv) Electronic submission and receipt of tenders and other communications 
between the tenderer and the procuring entity  
38.  Suggestions have been made concerning the provisions of the Agreement relating to submi ssion 
of tenders (Article  XIII:1 and Article  IX:6) and to communications between tenderers and the 
procuring entity (Article  X:4) to allow entities to require electronic submission of bids and to allow GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  electronic means for other communications (Job Nos.  3887 and 5211 (1997) and Job No.  3842 
(1998)).  
39.  It has been said that entities could be given incentives to use new technologies, for instance 
those entities that made tender documents available through electronic means at the time of 
publication of tender no tices could be allowed the possibility of using reduced time -limits.  
40.  The view has been expressed that it was premature to consider a requirement to provide all 
tender documents, in particular in the case of complicated works contracts, electronically on th e 
Internet . Another view was that interested parties could be given incentives to offer on -line access 
to electronic versions of tender documents on the Internet, for example by reducing the required 
deadlines.  
41.  It has been mentioned that technical and cont ent-related compatibility issues for the receipt of 
electronic bids could be resolved, particularly for routine transactions, through the use of the 
Internet . Widely available (and free) readers, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader, would permit the 
sender an d the recipient of a bid to be able to read and, if desired, print information in various word 
processing formats . Using the Internet, "fill -in-the-blanks" bids could be completed on -screen or 
downloaded and email ed by return to the procuring organization.  
42.  Also, a suggestion has been made that the GPA should not require entities to submit paper 
copies of tender confirmations.  
43.  It has also been said that, for suppliers other than of standardized and off -the-shelf products 
and services, electronic  tendering could be more costly and time -consuming where tender 
documents were voluminous since the traditional methods of transmission were less costly than 
downloading and printing them.  
44.  Reference has also been made to legal and technical difficulties re lating to the electronic 
submission of bids and transmission of documents between the tenderer and the procuring entity 
through public networks . In this connection, it has been suggested that the Agreement should 
contain provisions that address the use of electronic signatures . The UNCITRAL Model Law on 
Electronic Commerce, particularly Articles 5 -7 relating to the legal recognition of data messages, 
writings and signatures, could provide guidance to revising the GPA in these areas . It has been said 
that su ch issues as the confidentiality and security of data contents of tenders and the legal effects 
of electronic signatures required careful consideration.  
45.  It has been said that the work that was being carried out under the mandate of Article  XXIV:8 
to negoti ate modifications to the Agreement in the light of developments in information technology 
was different from the work on possible changes in the tendering procedures under the Agreement 
to reflect new procurement methods . The discussion of the two topics s hould be kept separate.  
(v) Commercially run websites  
46.  It has been said that commercially run websites which listed all or a selected range of suppliers 
of similar equipment and permitted a procuring entity to search for the best price were being used 
increasingly . The review should address the question of how would the rules of the Agreement apply 
to purchases made as a result of the use of such sites and whether their use could have the result 
of limiting opportunities of non -discriminatory access for supp liers from other Parties . In this 
connection, a comment has been made that any general provisions in the Agreement relating to the 
principles of equal treatment and non -discriminatory access to suppliers from other Parties would 
extend to such practices.  
(vi) Ease of access to databases and use of information tools  
47.  It has been suggested that the ease of access to information sources (including establishing 
links between databases and ensuring interoperability) and use of information tools (including search 
devices and common nomenclatures) were some of the issues that should be addressed in this area.  
48.  With respect to ease of access to databases, it has been stated that databases generally differed 
in terms of their contents as well as their structure . The ea se of use of information tools should be GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  improved by harmonizing the presentation of information . This would also contribute to ensuring 
interoperability between the various systems . The full benefit of information technology could only 
be achieved if agre ement on harmonized standards for coded information could be reached . This 
would facilitate the use of search devices to browse through the information contained in different 
databases . In this connection, it has also been stated that it would be necessary  to develop tools 
that would make it possible to access databases in different languages . It has also been suggested 
that a harmonized multilingual procurement vocabulary system should be used to describe 
purchases, as has been done at European Community l evel with the CPV (Common Procurement 
Vocabulary) . CPV attributed a nine -digit code to some 6,000 terms commonly used in the 
procurement process . The use of standard terms in the CPV made it easier for potential suppliers of 
goods and services to understan d contract notices and to identify the type of procurement contracts 
that were of particular interest to them . The CPV also helped to establish procurement statistical 
databases . Furthermore, the use of multilingual CPV in the eleven official languages in the European 
Union and of the standard forms provided in it had facilitated the translation of, at least, the most 
important elements of procurement notices.  
49.  With respect to ease of use of information tools, it has been said that access to essential 
procur ement information would become more difficult because of the increase in the number of 
databases . A solution should be found whereby interested suppliers could search for information in 
a multitude of databases through a single search engine, for example o ne that could be developed 
jointly by the GPA Parties on the WTO website . It has also been suggested that Parties should share 
information on their experience relating to the technical aspects of this matter.  
(vii) Deadlines  
50.  Some delegations have advocated  or indicated their readiness to explore reducing the minimum 
time-periods required in the various stages of the procurement process in order to improve the 
efficiency of the procurement process.  
51.  The point has been made that any reduction in time -periods s hould be linked to the time saved 
by using electronic means and should not lead to discrimination against distant suppliers.  
52.  It has also been stated that the rationale underlying the specific deadlines in the GPA  1994 
should be carefully considered before attempting any revision of the relevant provisions . Some 
objective criteria would need to be developed in this respect in order to ensure equal opportunity to 
bid to all suppliers, foreign or domestic . It was also mentioned that the curre nt deadlines had been 
set up to ensure that bidders were informed of the procuring opportunities well in advance of the 
time for submission of bids . The deadlines in the present Agreement had been extended to 40  days 
from the 30  days set out in the Tokyo R ound Agreement on Government Procurement of 1979 . Some 
countries voluntarily extended the deadlines to 50 days.  
53.  Suggestions have been made concerning the deadlines set out in the Agreement (Article  XI) to 
take account of electronic tender and electronic bi d receipt (Job No. 3887) . These are reproduced in 
Attachment  1 to this note . On the other hand, the following points have been made to caution against 
any premature reduction in deadlines:  
 - while information technology advances certainly helped to shorten the time for 
submission, publication and dissemination of tender notices and tender documents, the 
time needed to prepare tenders was likely to remain the same in most cases . As long 
as submission by normal mail and electronic tools coexisted, it m ay be premature to 
allow entities using electronic transmission the advantage of shorter deadlines ; 
however, the GPA Parties might consider accepting shorter deadlines for pilot projects 
or certain sectors which were especially suitable for electronic tend ering;  
 - it may be premature to conclude that information technology could shorten tendering 
deadlines because the time gain arising from electronic transmission of documents could 
be relatively small compared to the total time needed for the preparation of responsive 
bids. GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 10 - 
  (viii)  New issues related to electronic commerce  
54.  It has been stated that a wider use of electronic tools could call into question the traditional 
approach of government purchasing as it opened the way to full electronic tendering or ele ctronic 
commerce between purchasers and suppliers . In addition, new electronic tools provided 
opportunities for purchasing entities to cooperate via the exchange of information, ideas and 
experiences . This option would require further consideration of data  privacy and security aspects, 
interoperability of systems, and of legal questions such as the acceptance of digital signatures and 
electronic receipts . The traditional behaviour of contracting entities inviting suppliers to tender could 
be called into que stion by new technological opportunities which would facilitate, for example, 
electronic qualification procedures, tendering of framework contracts and the selection of 
off-the-shelf products from electronic catalogues.  
(e) Procurement methods  
55.  It has been suggested that provisions on tendering procedures should be reviewed to 
accommodate the increasing and frequent practices of two -stage tendering and framework 
agreements, including those involving use of electronic catalogues . On the other hand, the questi on 
has been asked whether those two types of procurement would not appropriately fit in one of the 
tendering procedures defined in the current text of Article VII.  
(i) two-stage tendering  
56.  The point has been made that the provisions on open and selective te ndering procedures did 
not cover two -stage tendering as provided in Chapter V, Article 46 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on 
Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services . The main elements of two -stage tendering were:  
 - in the first stage, initial tender pro posals were invited without a tender price . The 
proposal related to the technical and contractual aspects of the project, as well as the 
track records of the tenderers;  
 
 - in the second stage, those tenderers who had not been rejected as a result of technical 
evaluation were invited to submit final tenders with prices and according to a single set 
of specifications.  
 
57.  The UNCITRAL two -stage tender was constructed to deliberately separate technical evaluation 
from price evaluation, and there may not be any negotiations with any suppliers or any modifications 
of tender specifications throughout the entire tendering process . In the first stage, a purely technical 
evaluation was done . In the second stage, only those which satisfy the technical evaluation we re 
invited to quote their price offers . The price evaluation might be done by a totally different committee 
from the technical evaluation, e.g. the entity may decide that the technical evaluation be done by a 
group of engineering experts,  but the price eva luation be done by policy -makers . The two -stage 
tendering method was especially useful for complex projects where the procuring entity wished to 
separate technical evaluation from price evaluation, e.g. in complex engineering projects, for 
example the buil ding of a nuclear plant . Technical experts were called upon to evaluate and shortlist 
technically acceptable tenders, but the final decision would be made by policy makers, taking into 
account the affordability and cost -effectiveness of the proposed tender  as well as its technical 
feasibility . Many countries' legislation contained provisions on two -stage tendering based on the 
relevant provisions of the UNCITRAL Model Law.  
58.  The point has further been made that the two -stage appeared to have some similarities  to the 
procedures on negotiations described in Article  XIV of the GPA . Article XIV envisaged negotiations 
arising from the evaluation process when it was apparent that no single tender was obviously the 
most advantageous . On the other hand, the two -stage tendering method under the UNCITRAL Model 
Law was constructed to separate technical and price evaluations . The procedures under this method 
might not involve any negotiations with suppliers or any modifications of tender specifications 
throughout the entir e tendering process . The scope of the provisions on negotiations in the Tokyo 
Round Agreement had been expanded to include the concept of two -stage tendering in the 1994 
Agreement . However, Article  XIV envisaged negotiations arising from the process of eva luation of 
tenders, where it became apparent that no one tender was obviously the most advantageous . It has 
also been said that post -tender negotiations might benefit both suppliers and procuring entitities, GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 11 - 
  for instance in solving non -price issues such as  environmental or safety considerations related to a 
procurement . However, the terms of Article  XIV did not specify whether negotiations should be held 
before tendering, after tendering and before the award of contracts or after the award of contracts . 
The present text of Article  XIV:4(d), which seemed to imply that procuring entities could initiate new 
negotiations with the remaining participants would need to be clarified . The point has also been 
made that negotiations under Article  XIV with tenderers sho uld be governed by the basic principles 
of non -discrimination and equal treatment . It has also been said that two -stage tendering was in 
compliance with the GPA if at the first stage the technical evaluation was carried out in a fair and 
non-discriminatory  manner and suppliers who fulfilled the technical criteria were treated equitably 
in the second stage.  
59.  It has also been said that any new tendering procedures to be formulated under the Agreement 
should have the purpose of furthering compliance with the pr inciples of transparency and 
non-discrimination.  
60.  A non -paper on the subject of two -stage tendering has been circulated in Job No.  5295.  
(ii) framework agreements or similar types of contracts  
61.  It has been said that procuring entities in many Parties frequently made use of contractual 
arrangements referred to as multiple award contracts (in the United States), framework agreements 
(in the European Community), standing offers (in Canada), schedule contracts, catalogue contracts 
and other purchasing meth ods based on the state -of-the-art technology developed by private 
companies . The review should address how these types of contractual arrangements fitted the 
current provisions of the Agreement and whether any new provisions would be necessary to 
accommoda te their increasing use.  
62.  It has been said that the main purpose of using framework arrangements had been to accelerate 
the procurement process and to provide flexibility . The important benefits offered to both contracting 
entities and suppliers included : allowing supplies and services to be acquired when the exact times 
and/or exact quantities of future requirements were not known at the time of the contract award ; 
significantly streamlining the procurement process and speeding up delivery times ; allowing the 
reduction of deadlines in day -to-day procurement, in particular for purchases of off -the-shelf 
products and certain standardized services ; eliminating the need for the solicitation and submission 
of repetitive bids and separate tenders when numerous si milar transactions were required thus 
taking advantage of larger contract sizes ; taking advantage of advances in technology and changes 
in agency priorities in a cost -effective manner ; and facilitating the use of electronic commerce for 
improving the effic iency and effectiveness of the acquisition process.  
63.  It has been said that these types of arrangements practiced in various Parties appeared to have, 
among others, the following common characteristics:  
 - a framework agreement was concluded between a purcha sing entity and one or a 
multiple number of selected suppliers offering a comparable good or service;  
 - multiple transactions with several suppliers could be involved . There could also be 
subsequent recurring transactions with one single supplier;  
 - a framework agreement was concluded for a fixed period;  
 - a framework agreement established the terms that would govern the contracts to be 
awarded during a fixed period, for instance the price, the quantity and conditions of 
delivery of the actual supplies;  
 - initially, a principal framework contract was awarded to one or more suppliers using, as 
appropriate, the open, selective or limited tendering procedures under the Agreement . 
Subsequent placements of specific orders (or the conduct of multiple tasks) un der that 
framework contract were carried out by the contracting entity, as and when its 
purchasing needs arose;  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 12 - 
   - a specific value was not associated with any particular supplier . A particular supplier 
could provide goods and services within a particular range of values for each supplier 
included in the contract;  
 - if contracting entities had awarded a framework agreement, at an initial stage, on the 
basis of competitive tendering procedures, a call for competition was not compulsory 
when contracts were a warded on the basis of that agreement at a later stage;  
 - framework agreements could be concluded jointly by several purchasing agencies . For 
example, in the European Community countries, several municipalities might conclude 
a framework contract with one  or several suppliers . A new procuring entity could join 
subsequently in an existing framework agreement without the need to proceed with full 
tendering procedures . In the Unites States, in a number of instances multiple federal 
agencies had made arrangeme nts for the participation in an existing contract of 
additional agencies that needed the type of goods or services that were being procured . 
The maximum values established under that contract still applied whatever the number 
of participating agencies.  
64.  With regard to the question of the extent to which the existing provisions of the Agreement 
were applicable to framework agreements and whether the increasing use of these types of 
contractual arrangements would require the inclusion of an additional definiti on or a new type of 
procurement procedure in the GPA, the view has been expressed that the use of framework 
agreements was consistent with the rules and principles in the Agreement concerning 
non-discriminatory access and no new provisions would be necessa ry to accommodate their use . 
Another view has been that framework  agreements should not be used in a way that defeated the 
objective of opening procurement markets to competition from suppliers in all GPA member 
countries . The fundamental issue in this res pect was how to ensure non -discriminatory, fair and 
equitable treatment of all listed suppliers as well as the application of conditions of competition to 
individual procurement opportunities under such contracts . It has further been said that the 
Agreemen t should be flexible enough to accommodate innovative procedures that were consistent 
with its objectives and without making its provisions unnecessarily complicated . The award of 
framework agreements constituted an act of procurement within the meaning of  Article I:2 of the 
GPA. These types of contractual arrangements were concluded using the tendering procedures set 
forth in the Agreement and their use required no changes to Article VII:3 . It has also been said that 
subsequent orders or individual transac tions should not be considered separate contracts or acts of 
procurement within the meaning of Article I:2 of the GPA but as orders or purchasing decisions 
under the existing contract . However, entities should apply the principles of competition and due 
process in handling individual procurement contracts.  
65.  A view expressed has been that another way of fitting framework agreements within the existing 
provisions of the Agreement would be to consider framework agreements as a variation of selective 
tendering  procedures . In many respects, framework agreements would appear to be similar to 
qualification procedures . No financial transactions were associated with a framework agreement . Its 
terms did not commit the purchasing agency or the listed suppliers for the  actual procurements . 
Upon a request from new suppliers, a procurement agency would conclude a framework agreement 
with the suppliers that satisfied the evaluation criteria . However, if framework agreements were to 
be considered as a form of qualification procedure, the procuring agency would have to apply the 
procedures of the Agreement regarding qualification including those on transparency . Instead of 
creating a separate category of "framework contracts", it might be preferable to focus on the 
procedures  for the qualification of suppliers and the relationship between such procedures and open 
and competitive procedures . The features that distinguished a framework agreement from the 
procedures under the Agreement on qualification and open competitive tender ing or under a 
two-stage tendering process should be identified . On the other hand, it has been said that the 
treatment of the initial award of a framework agreement to suppliers as a qualification procedure 
and the subsequent transactions as procurements under the GPA would significantly diminish the 
value of these types of arrangements . However, it has been said that, in the United States, these 
type of arrangements could not be considered to be a qualification procedure since participation of 
each suppli er was associated with a minimum value.  
66.  With regard to specific purchases under framework agreements, it has been said that such 
purchases should be made in a non -discriminatory manner . It has also been said that, in United 
States practice, the actual cont ract contained terms requiring that purchasing agencies that used GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 13 - 
  that contract made purchases in a non -discriminatory way and that compliance with such 
requirements was subject to legal challenge . It has also been said that the application of the 
non-discrimination principle in Article III to individual purchases should be clarified in order to 
guarantee effective competition in the award of such contracts, for instance in order to avoid the 
placing of actual purchase orders predominantly with local suppli ers to the detriment of overseas 
suppliers . It has also been said that, given the general applicability of the non -discrimination 
requirements of Article III, it might be not be necessary to include specific provisions in the 
Agreement to ensure non -discrimination . In case it would be necessary or desirable to add 
non-discrimination provisions specifically relating to multiple award contracts , Article III might be 
amended to include a specific language requiring non -discrimination between suppliers parties to 
such contracts (c.f. the section on Article -by Article Review and the note by the Secretariat on 
"Suggested Drafting Changes to the 1994 Agreement).  
67.  With respect to the actual award of framework contracts, it has also been said that competition 
should t ake place upfront under open or selective tendering procedures or qualification procedures 
and that the terms and conditions of the contract should be established under competitive conditions . 
Moreover, participation in an existing framework agreement shou ld be open to additional suppliers 
at any time . It has been asked whether framework agreements should have explicit provisions 
guaranteeing non -discriminatory access to new suppliers.  
68.  It has also been said that, the Agreement might need to be revised in or der to provide for the 
valuation of framework contracts . Since there was no specific values associated with a framework 
agreement, it was difficult to determine whether a framework agreement was covered by the GPA 
in terms of the threshold values . Article II:4 established formulas for the valuation of related 
contracts, each of which might be considered as a separate act of procurement within the meaning 
of the GPA . These formulas did not appear to be applicable to the valuation of "multiple award 
contracts " since each individual transactions under those arrangements did not constitute a separate 
procurement . It has been suggested that, in order to clarify the valuation formulas that should be 
used in these different situations, Article II should be amended to include language relating to the 
valuation of framework agreements for the purposes of the applicability of the threshold values 
provided for in the Appendix I of Parties (c.f. the section on Article -by Article Review and the note 
by the Secretariat on "Suggested Drafting Changes to the 1994 Agreement).  
69.  A non -paper on the subject of the treatment of multiple award contracts under the GPA, 
including a description of the use of such contracts in the United States, has been circulated in 
Job No. 2795.  
(iii) use of electronic catalogues  
70.  It has been said that, based on practice in the private sector, there appeared to be two main 
modes of purchasing through electronic catalogues:  
 - a commercially run website service which grouped all suppliers of similar equi pment 
together and allowed a procuring entity to search for the best price . The site essentially 
operated like a supermarket whereby similar products and services were grouped 
together and presented to the customer . For example, if a procuring entity wished to 
buy computer modems, the desired capabilities were searched . Products that fitted the 
criteria could be presented in increasing order of price . Alternatively, the entity might 
browse through the entire electronic catalogue . The main critique of t his electronic 
catalogue approach was that suppliers who were not listed in the catalogue were 
excluded from the procuring entity's search;  
 - the procuring entity or a group of entities might call for period contracts and operate an 
evaluated shortlist of  suppliers . For example, the government central procurement 
office could call open tenders for airline tickets, photocopiers, computer equipment and 
the like . Several suppliers could be shortlisted . But because the product changed from 
time to time, e.g. a ir travel, the several shortlisted suppliers were invited to quote the 
price for air travel by the entities each time a procurement was made . The evaluation 
of the shortlisted suppliers was done through open tender, but the individual quotations 
within the  period of the contract were limited to the shortlisted suppliers . At the end of GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 14 - 
  the period in question, a fresh open tender was called, and the individual quotations 
within the new period were again limited to the successful shortlist of suppliers.  
71.  The qu estion has been asked whether procurement through electronic catalogues belonged to 
the category of open tender procedures, in which all interested suppliers may submit a tender ; or 
selective tendering procedures, in which shortlisted suppliers were invite d to do so . It might well 
turn out that the current formulation in the GPA did not sufficiently cover the ground . In this respect, 
it has also been said that the use of electronic tendering, by itself, might not necessarily require a 
re-evaluation of the t ypes of tendering procedures broadly described in Article  VII. Some of the 
questions with respect to the use of new technologies related also to traditional ways of procuring . 
With regard to the question of whether the use of electronic catalogues in procu rement might fall 
under open or selective tendering methods, it has been said that electronic catalogues served as a 
means whereby supply offers as contained in a framework agreement were communicated by the 
procuring entity to the various end users . If framework agreements covering several supplies were 
allowed under the Agreement, there should also be provisions allowing the use of electronic 
catalogues . In this respect, it has also been said that some form of electronic catalogues might be 
similar to fra mework agreements . However, the question of whether a particular type of 
procurement was compatible with the Agreement would depend how it was conducted . The GPA 
should accommodate the use of electronic catalogues, provided that the procedures for particip ation 
in an electronic catalogue system was consistent with the basic principles in the GPA on openness, 
competition and transparency.  
72.  A question has been asked whether electronic catalogues were used mainly for low -value 
procurement . If this were to be th e case, use made of electronic catalogues would fall largely outside 
the scope of the Agreement . In this connection, it has been said that, while the value of individual 
items purchased from electronic catalogues might be relatively low, total values would  be substantial 
if a series of items was purchased on a regular and frequent basis from the suppliers listed in 
commercial catalogues . The point has also been made that the issue of recurrent contracts would 
be relevant to the use of electronic catalogues in procurement . Another point has been that 
commercially run website services appeared to relate to direct purchasing under Article  XV rather 
than to open competition.  
73.  A non -paper on the subjects of the use of electronic catalogues has been circulated in 
Job No. 5295.  
(f) Statistical reporting  
(i) General  
74.  It has been said that statistical reporting was an area where simplification and streamlining of 
requirements should be considered . The statistical requirements under the Agreement were undu ly 
complex, time -consuming, burdensome on both Parties and individuals and costly, notably because 
of the expansion of the coverage of the new Agreement . They were seen to be disproportionate to 
information to be derived from the statistics and in terms of  the actual benefits to individual 
purchasers and suppliers . On the other hand, the point has been made that statistical reporting was 
an essential tool for enhancing transparency and monitoring compliance by Parties with the 
obligations of the Agreement . Moreover, statistical reporting provided a useful information basis to 
suppliers and purchasers on the functioning and development of public procurement market 
opportunities . In any amendment of the existing requirements, Parties should try to strike a ba lance 
between the advantages of having less onerous requirements and the disadvantages of de facto 
providing for less transparency.  
75.  Non-papers on this topic have been circulated in Job Nos.  5212 (in 1997), 3246, 3855, 3869 
and 5269 (in 1998) . A note by the  Chair, attempting to present a draft revision of the text of 
Article  XIX:5(a), together with the comments made on that draft at the informal consultations held 
in February  and May 1999 was circulated in June 1999. 
(ii) Creating greater flexibility in GPA statistical reporting  
76.  It has been suggested that, in order to help reduce the administrative burden on Parties in 
collecting statistical data and producing reports to the Committee on Government Procurement, the GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 15 - 
  Agreement should permit greater flexibility in terms of the manner in which statistical data were 
reported . Increased flexibility would allow Parties to submit reports that more closely conformed to 
each Party's domestic procurement reporting practices for collecting and reporting public 
procurement  statistics, thereby reducing the administrative burden of preparing reports . Areas in 
which increased reporting flexibility might be considered included:  
 - permitting Parties to submit GPA statistical reports on a fiscal rather than a calendar 
year basis ; or 
 - allowing Parties to report aggregate annual obligations per contract rather than the total 
value of contracts awarded, considering that the duration of many contracts was longer 
than one year.  
77.  It has also been suggested that Parties should explore further flexibility in the reporting of 
statistics for Annex  2 entities based on experience during the first years of implementation of the 
GPA. Given the decentralized nature of these procurement systems for many Parties, consideration 
could be given to n ot requiring a specific format for these statistics . 
78.  The point has been made that any measures permitting variation or flexibility in statistical 
reporting, however, should ensure a sufficient minimum level of statistical reporting by all Parties . 
Parties must continue to submit statistical data that are comparable in scope and breadth.  
79.  Finally, it has been suggested that Parties wishing to vary the manner in which they report 
statistical data to the Committee under the Agreement should be required to provi de written 
notification to the Committee, and, in the absence of any objection within 30  days, the variance 
would become effective.  
(iii) Statistics on the estimated value of contracts awarded (Article XIX:5, 
subparagraph  (a)) 
80.  The point has been made that the Committee had so far not devised any method for estimation 
in accordance with the provisions of Article  XIX:5, subparagraph  (a) which required entities listed in 
Annex  1, i.e. central government, to report on the estimated value of contracts awarded bo th above 
and below the threshold value . Until a proper method for such estimation was prescribed, both with 
respect to reliability and efficiency, reporting according to this provision would not be consistent 
between Parties . The relevant provisions of Art icle XIX:5(a) should be discarded or, alternatively, 
be amended to cover only procurement above the threshold value for Annex  1 entities . On the other 
hand, it has been said that these types of statistics were necessary for the assessment of Parties' 
compl iance with the Agreement . It has also been said that participants might also provide statistics 
on small value procurement, for example regarding procurements using electronic catalogues or 
purchase cards.  
81.  Another suggestion has been that the Agreement sho uld include an exception for procurements 
of very small value (a de minimis  exception) to the Article XIX:5(a) requirements that statistical 
data for Annex  1 entities must be provided for tenders below GPA thresholds . Such a de minimis  
exception would elim inate Annex  1 reporting requirements for procurements below an agreed -upon 
amount . This would be likely to ease the administrative burden on Parties, as many Parties may not 
ordinarily collect detailed statistical information on small -value procurements . Moreover, data on 
these smaller procurements tended to be less relevant to the underlying purposes of reporting 
statistical information under the Agreement, including the aim to achieve greater transparency and 
also to further GPA compliance monitoring effo rts. 
(iv) Uniform classification systems (Article XIX:5, subparagraph (b))  
82.  It has been suggested that the classification for statistical reporting should be done by standard 
customs classification, CPV classification or similar widely used standards . As most contracts covered 
several different products, a uniform and efficient method for dividing contract value according to 
different product categories would provide enhanced consistency of reported procurement.  
83.  On the other hand, it has also been said that Parties should be allowed to report statistics in 
other types of nomenclatures than that established under the GPA, for instance in the nomenclatures GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 16 - 
  of the reporting countries, if the reporting was done only a t the two -digit level (major category 
groups) accompanied by a description of those groups.  
84.  With regard to uniform classification systems, the point has also been made that, for the time 
being, it was very difficult to provide statistical reports based on the classification systems adopted 
for goods and services (the 26 product categories and the UNCPC) because no table of 
correspondence with the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) existed . But this situation should 
soon disappear with the publication of a new CPV in 1998 and the possible establishment of a table 
of correspondence between the CPV and the other two uniform classification systems.  
(v) Contracts awarded under limited tendering procedures (Article  XIX:5, 
subparagraph  (c)) 
85.  With regard to statisti cs relating to categories of entities in Annexes 1, 2 and 3 falling under 
each of the cases of limited tendering permitted under Article  XV, the point has been made that the 
obligation to report on procurement by each procedure seemed to be too burdensome . Under 
ordinary circumstances, the share of total procurement accounted for by limited tendering 
procedures would be rather low . In any event, the information provided under this provision was 
inadequate in that it did not provide elucidation of the legali ty of the application of the limited 
tendering procedure employed in each case . It has been suggested that this provision should be 
simplified limiting the requirement to the provision of statistics:  
 - on the number and the total value of contracts awarde d in all cases where limited 
tendering was used, rather than having a breakdown under each case in which limited 
tendering was permitted under Article XV . This would also enable the protection of the 
confidentiality of commercially sensitive information;  
 - to two categories in Article  XV relating, respectively, to contracts awarded for reasons 
of extreme urgency in terms of paragraph  (c) and to additional deliveries in terms o f 
paragraph  (d). A third category of statistics would report on contracts awarded  under 
all other conditions specified in Article  XV. 
86.  Another suggestion has been to replace this provision by a provision allowing Parties to request 
additional information with respect to specific contract awards under limited tendering procedures 
in any other Party . In connection with this suggestion, it has been said that Article  XIX:3 already 
allowed Parties to request such information.  
(vi) Statistical reporting of derogations (Article XIX:5, subparagraph (d))  
87.  It has been suggested th at there should be no requirement to report procurement under the 
derogations to the Agreement referred to in Article  XIX:5(d) . The following have been mentioned as 
reasons for the deletion of subparagraph (d) : the provision was difficult to understand for  those who 
were unaware of the context of derogations and was also difficult to comply with and monitor ; the 
requirements to provide statistics on derogations were not cost effective ; and the advantages of 
publication of such information were limited.  
88.  In this connection, it has also been said that, if such reporting requirements were to be 
continued, Parties should reach a common understanding on what was meant by the term 
"derogations" for the purposes of statistical reporting . It has also been stated that  the provision of 
these types of statistics was essential for transparency purposes.  
(vii) Provision of statistics on the country of origin of products and services  
89.  It has been said that information on the country of origin of supplies has been considered to be 
important, for instance in the context of national procurement policy considerations . Nevertheless, 
the requirements in Article XIX:5 should be eliminated because the accuracy of such information, 
mainly based on entities' declarations, was doubtful . Moreover, such information could be 
misleading, particularly in respect of technologically advanced industries, where components and 
equipment were usually produced and assembled in several different countries.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 17 - 
  (viii)  Reporting in national currency  
90.  The po int has been made that it had been the practice under the GATT Agreement on 
Government Procurement to report statistics based on Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) . Permitting 
GPA Parties to submit statistical reports in national currencies rather than SDRs wou ld help ease the 
administrative burden on Parties of converting data into SDRs . In fact, Parties might find statistical 
data prepared in national currencies to be more useful than information provided in SDRs . Parties 
should list a conversion rate into SDR s in their statistical reports . In this connection, the comment 
has been made that statistical reports should be comparable for each Party over time and between 
Parties . Computer programs were now available for the conversion of values expressed in nationa l 
currencies into SDRs.  
(ix) Additional areas where statistical reporting may be useful  
91.  The point has been made that Parties were not currently required to report to the Committee 
on the total amount of government procurement (both GPA and non -GPA) taking place under each 
of the Annexes . This was an area where statistical reporting would be useful, but would only slightly 
increase administrative demands on Parties.  
(x) Encouraging timely reporting of statistical data  
92.  The point has been made that the Agreement currently only required that each Party submit 
procurement statistics on an annual basis and did not set a deadline for the submission of statistical 
information . Under the GATT Agreement on Government Procurement, which also did not contain a 
deadline for the submission of statistical reports, it often took as long as two years following the end 
of a reporting period for Parties to submit statistical reports . It has been suggested that, with the 
objective of ensuring that statistical data were di sseminated in a fashion that preserved their 
usefulness, GPA Parties should be encouraged to submit reports on a timely basis . It has been said 
that 12  months following the end of a Party's reporting cycle would generally be a reasonable period 
of time for  submission of statistical data.  
(xi) The use of information and communication technology  
93.  The point has been made that more complete statistical data on public procurement could be 
obtained by utilizing the advantages offered by Information and Communicati on Technology (ICT) . 
It has been suggested that Parties should be able to obtain, under specified conditions, a general 
waiver from all the statistical reporting requirements, or a more specific waiver which only covered, 
for example, Annex  1 entities . This waiver should only be granted if certain conditions were met by 
the alternative system being used:  
 - Parties should be required to operate a system which enabled interested Parties to 
access data on awarded contracts through one single entry point . The archives of 
contract award notices published in each Party could be made available on a permanent 
basis on a website through the Internet . This would reduce the need for Parties to 
produce detailed statistics under Article XIX:5;  
 - the data provided shoul d include information on at least the following : price information 
(provided confidentiality of commercially sensitive information was ensured) ; type of 
contract authorities ; contractor's country (or subcontractor) ; number of offers received ; 
type of contr act or categories of products or services ; award procedure chosen (open 
or limited) ; date of award of contract ; and date of publication of tender notice;  
 - the waiver might be extended only to those levels of government entities that provided 
their statis tical data through ICT systems.  
94.  It has been said that providing statistical data through the existing ICT systems, without having 
to go through formal procedures, would greatly improve statistical reporting . It has also been said 
that information on contra ct award notices posted on individual websites, that could be extracted 
and collated through the use of ICT systems, could be made accessible through one single entry 
point. Under ICT systems statistical data would not need to be collected in a particular format . 
Rather, any interested party would be able to interrogate different databases at any point in time GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 18 - 
  and develop a statistical report by using the parameters that were of particular interest, for example 
relating to the number of award of contracts b y procuring entitities during a period, average value 
of contracts, prices, etc. I n this respect, it has been said that a distinction should be made between 
the data that was provided under the terms of the statistical reporting requirements and the data 
that was made available for research purposes.  
95.  The point has been made that the data obtained by using ICT systems should have a common 
basis with the data that must be reported under the requirements of the Agreement in order to 
enable comparisons o f the data supplied by different Parties . In this connection it has been said that 
the use of a standard notice by entities for storing information in databases would facilitate 
comparison of data across countries . It has also been said that it might not be possi ble to derive all 
the elements of data required for statistical reporting on the basis of information in contract award 
notices . It has further been said that the use of ICT systems should not lead to further reporting 
requirements.  
96.  The European Community has been invited to present a more specific proposal on the matter.  
(xii) Other issues relating to statistical reporting requirements  
97.  In order to ensure the effective implementation of the requirements in Article  XIX:5, the 
following suggestions have also been made:  
 - the information content of statistical reporting requirements should be uniform among 
Annexes 1 -3; 
 - a commonly accepted format for statistical reporting should be developed;  
 - statistics should be submitted in a WTO language;  
 - the possibility of using statistics on total public procurement from national accounts 
should be considered;  
 - the availability of statistics on government procurement on the Internet would be useful 
to civil society as well as to governments.  
(g) Article -by-Article review of the Agreement  
(i) General  
98.  The desirability of simplifying some of the substantive rules of the Agreement and providing 
greater flexibility where possible under those rules has been widely stressed . It was suggested that, 
in doing this, Pa rties should consider to what extent the provisions of the current Agreement actually 
contributed towards achieving its objectives.  
99.  It has been said that in the review of the Articles of the Agreement, consideration should be 
given to the adaptation of the  contents of specific provisions to take account of the experience gained 
during the application of the Agreement, as well as practical changes in government purchasing . 
One element of such adaptation is the simplification and improvement of the procedural  rules. This 
comprised the clarification of rules that had shown to be ambiguous . Furthermore where the ways 
and means of purchasing had changed Parties should examine the adaptation of the rules.  
(ii) Individual Articles  
 Preambular paragraphs  
 
100.  It has bee n suggested that the relationship between GATT Article  III:8(a), GATS Article  XIII 
and the plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement should be spelled out.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 19 - 
   Article I  
101.  It has been suggested that Article  I might contain a definition of the term "gover nment 
procurement" including what is meant by "government" for this purpose.  
 paragraph 1  
 
102.  It has been suggested that footnote  1, which contained wording relevant to the interpretation 
of the obligations under the Agreement, should be made part of the main text of paragraph  1. This 
would specify the coverage of the Agreement in a more direct way . In this connection, the point has 
been made that the term "as specified in Appendix  I" reflected the negotiated understanding 
concerning the reciprocity -based coverage of the Annexes to Appendix  I. 
 paragraph 2  
103.  It has been suggested that this paragraph should also include a reference to forms of 
procurement under new phenomena (partnerships between private and public sectors, multiplication 
of "Build Operate Tra nsfer" (BOT) operations and joint ventures), which were difficult to classify 
under the structure of the current Agreement . On the other hand, a view has been expressed 
cautioning against any extension of the scope of the Agreement involving these types of  phenomena.  
 paragraph 3  
104.  The point has been made that there was scope for improvement and clarification in the 
language of this paragraph.  
105.  Suggestions have also been made that the review of Article  I should be taken up with 
Appendix  I and that Appendix  I should be reviewed on the basis of a negative list approach.  
 paragraph 4 and footnote 1  
106.  It has been suggested the relationship between paragraph 4 and footnote 1 relating to 
thresholds should be examined . The question has been asked whether relevant thresh olds should 
continue to be specified in each Party's Appendix  I or whether the applicable thresholds values 
should be specified in paragraph 4.  
 Article II  
107.  It has been said that purchasers in the private sector had the practice of maintaining open 
running contracts with several suppliers instead of awarding a contract to a single supplier . A master 
contract signed initially with several suppliers did not specify a value . Purchasers subsequently 
proceeded with the procurement by ordering from electronic cata logues . With the application of 
information technology, government entities might use this method of purchasing more commonly . 
This might present some ambiguity in the valuation of contracts under the Agreement.  
 paragraph 1  
108.  It has been suggested that foot note 2 be amended to read:  
"This Agreement shall apply to any procurement contract for which the contract 
value is estimated to equal or exceed the threshold at the time of the publication of 
the notice in accordance with Article IX and at the time of firs t contact with the 
supplier in the case of limited tendering ." 
109.  It has also been suggested that the language of footnote  2 should be aligned with that of 
Article  I:4 on threshold values.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 20 - 
   paragraph 4  
110.  It has been suggested that the provisions of the Agreement on valuation of contracts might 
need to be amended to take account of framework contracts and the use of new technologies in 
procurement which allowed procuring entities to slice up contracts . Individual transactions or 
contracts with values belo w the relevant threshold values resulting from such practices should also 
be subjected to the Agreement so as not to limit its coverage.  
 new paragraph 5  
111.  It has been suggested that Article II should be amended to include language relating to the 
valuation of multiple award contracts for the purposes of the applicability of the threshold values 
provided for in the Appendix I of Parties . The suggested text of new paragraph 5 is reproduced in 
the Note by the Secretariat "Suggested Drafting Changes to the 1994 Agreement" circulated in 
Job No. 3414, dated 1 6 June 1999. 
 Article III  
 paragraph 2, subparagraph (a)  
112.  The point has been made that the term "foreign affiliation or ownership" seemed to apply both 
to Parties and non -Parties to the Agreement . It has been suggested that the consistency of the scope 
of this provision with that of Article  III, paragraph  1, should be reviewed . In this connection, the 
point has also been made that certain Parties treated an established supplier as a domestic supplier 
regar dless of its affiliation or ownership.  
 new paragraph 4  
113.  It has been suggested that a non -discrimination provision specifically relating to multiple award 
contracts might be added . The suggested draft text is reproduced in the Note by the Secretariat 
"Sugge sted Drafting Changes to the 1994 Agreement" circulated in Job  No. 3414, dated 
16 June 1999.  
 Article IV  
 paragraph 1  
114.  The point has been made that the need for any changes should be considered in the light of 
the results of the work programme for the harmo nization of rules of origin for goods and the 
negotiations regarding trade in services . It has been suggested that the issue of rules of origin of 
services should be taken up in the discussion concerning the extension of the Agreement to services.  
 Article V  
115.  It has been suggested that Article  V on Special and Differential Treatment for Developing 
Countries should be updated and simplified, for example by providing further flexibility in the 
evaluation of offers from developing countries with respect to non -discriminatory treatment and in 
the application of the procedural provisions . The issue of granting non -reciprocal access to 
developing countries to procurement markets of Parties might be among the areas that could be 
explored . The provisions shoul d also be improved to take into account the specific interests of 
developing countries and to give developing countries additional incentives to join the Agreement . 
It has been suggested that the provisions on technical cooperation should be extended to ta ke 
account of the needs of developing countries to adjust to new developments in application of 
information technology to government procurement.  
116.  Moreover, observers have been encouraged to contribute on this provision in particular.  
 Article VI  
117.  It has bee n said that the inclusion of basic principles of non -discrimination or promotion of 
competition in the main provisions of the Agreement would make this Article more clear.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 21 - 
  118.  A comment has been made suggesting a rearrangement of the location of Article  VI in the text 
of the Agreement in order to reflect the close association of the provisions on technical specifications 
with those on tender documentation.  
 paragraph 1  
119.  It has been said that the meaning of the term "unnecessary obstacles to interna tional trade" 
should be clarified.  
 paragraph 2, subparagraphs (a) and (b)  
120.  It has been suggested that there should be a hierarchy between paragraphs  (a) and  (b) since 
the provisions of subparagraph  (a) should be the rule and those of subparagraph  (b) the e xception.  
 paragraph 3  
121.  A view has been expressed that the prohibition in this paragraph against requiring or referring 
to a particular trademark or trade name did not take into account the realities of procurement 
practice . Another view expressed has been that the underlying principle was important and should 
be kept.  
 Article VII  
 paragraphs 1 and 2  
122.  It has been suggested that paragraphs  1 and  2 should be separated from paragraph  3 
describing the types of procurement procedures and be placed in an article a ddressing the general 
principles of procurement.  
 paragraph 2  
123.  It has been suggested that the term "precluding competition" should read "negatively affecting 
competition".  
 paragraph 3  
124.  It has been suggested that the Agreement needed to be clearer about whic h of its procedural 
provisions apply to which tendering method as defined in Article  VII:3.  
125.  It has also been suggested that the provisions on tendering procedures should be reviewed to 
accommodate the use of two -stage tendering and electronic catalogues . On the other hand, the 
point has been made that no modifications were required to this Article to accommodate the use of 
new procurement methods.  
 Article VIII  
126.  It has been said that the rules in Article  VIII on qualification of suppliers were either of gene ral 
application (for instance, paragraph (b)) or related to the establishment of permanent lists of 
qualified suppliers . The text should be revised in order to separate these two types of rules.  
 paragraph (b)  
127.  It has been said that ways should be found to reduce administrative burdens on suppliers, 
particularly SMEs, regarding the procedures for the proof of their technical, financial and commercial 
capacity.  
 Article IX  
128.  The point has been made that there was a need for clarification of certain ter ms in this Article, 
for instance "invitation to participate for all cases of intended procurement", "notice of proposed GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 22 - 
  procurement", "notice of planned procurement" and "notice regarding a qualification system" . The 
Committee has been advised that the del egation of the United States expects to prepare a non -paper 
on this point.  
 paragraph 2  
129.  It has been said that this paragraph should specify clearly that Annex  1 entities had an 
obligation to publish a notice containing the types of information as provided for in paragraph  6. The 
present use of the word "may" might be interpreted to suggest otherwise.  
 paragraphs 3 and 9  
130.  It has been said that the use of notices regarding qualification systems as invitations to 
participate should be clarified . Because the use  of permanent lists of qualified suppliers might lead, 
in some cases, to the formation of a closed circle of suppliers, those suppliers who had not been 
inscribed on those lists should have the possibility of participation in the intended procurement.  
131.  It has also been said that the provisions on publication of tender notices made a distinctio n 
between entities in Annex 1 and entities in Annexes 2 and 3 with respect to invitation to tenders . 
The use of a notice of planned procurement as an invitation to ten der wa s authorized only for 
Annexes  2 and  3 entities . It has been suggested that entities at all levels of government should be 
able to us e all methods of invitation to tender.  
132.  It has also been suggested that the provisions in this Article should be restru ctured . For 
instance, the provisions of Article IX:8 on publication of a summary notice in a WTO language should 
follow the provisions of Article IX:1 on publication of an invitation to participate.  
133.  It has been said that further flexibility should be provi ded in the procedures on the use of a 
notice of planned procurement . The use of such notices would allow entities to make use of the 
state-of-the-art purchasing methods . For instance, entities might maintain such notices accessible 
in the electronic databa ses for the entire period of validity of the lists.  
 Article XI  
 paragraph 2  
134.  It has been said that the Agreement, rather than prescribing fixed deadlines that applied to all 
types of procurement, should allow procuring entities to decide the time -periods f or the submission 
of tenders, having regard to the nature of the tender and other considerations, including the urgency 
of the procurement . The time required for the submission of tenders might vary considerably 
according to the complexity of the procureme nt and it was in the interest of the procuring entity to 
allow reasonable time -limits for the preparation of responsive bids . It has therefore been suggested 
that, instead of stipulating minimum time -periods that applied to all types of procurement, Articl e XI 
should have a provision stating the principle that reasonable time must be allowed for the 
preparation and submission of bids by all potential tenderers, including geographically distant 
tenderers . On the other hand, a statement has been made expressi ng reservations regarding the 
elimination of the requirements on fixed time -limits . The proposed substitution of the existing 
provisions on deadlines would not provide a legally predictable environment to procuring entities . 
Procuring entities might run th e risk of being challenged by suppliers based on how they applied the 
subjective notion of "reasonableness" in time -limits . It has been suggested that the requirements in 
paragraph  3 could be made less rigid by including additional circumstances in which a  reduction in 
the existing minimum time -limits may be warranted . For instance, the deadlines in the Agreement 
might be reduced when information technology had been used to provide tender information.  
 Article XII  
135.  It has been suggested that this Article sho uld contain references to the use of information 
technology in the communications between the procuring authority and the tenderers.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 23 - 
   Article XIII  
 paragraph 1(a)  
136.  It has been suggested that Article  XIII:1(a) should be amended in the light of the increasing  
use of electronic means of communication.  
137.  A view has been expressed that electronic means of communication should not have to be 
used in parallel with paper -based systems . While, initially, procuring entities might choose to use 
electronic tendering in parallel with paper -based systems, provisions should be made allowing all 
tenders for a particular type of product to be submitted electronically in the future . The need for a 
paper -based system would mostly be confined to the purchase of basic commodities and 
low-technology products . For example, suppliers of computer hardware and software or of 
sophisticated medical and telecommunications equipment were already fully capable of submitting 
tenders by electronic means.  
138.  A further view expres sed has been that any new provisions, while enabling entities to use 
electronic means of communication, should not permit them to reject a priori otherwise competitive 
tenders only because they were submitted by suppliers using a paper -based mode of delive ry. The 
use of electronic tendering should not lead to discrimination among suppliers with varying degrees 
of technological advance in the use of information technology.  
139.  It has been said that, while electronic modes of communication were tools for increasi ng 
efficiency and productivity in procurement processes, electronic tendering could not be made 
mandatory in the present state of technology . The experience of the private sector had shown that 
it was impractical to transmit large documents through electro nic means . In this connection it has 
been said that a single format document could be used to submit tenders rapidly and efficiently 
through electronic means whereas any substantive information could be transmitted in a 
paper -based format.  
140.  Another concern that has been raised related to the interface between electronically 
transmitted documents and national legal systems for the settlement of disputes . It has been asked 
whether electronically transmitted documents had the same legal value as paper -based doc uments 
under national judicial systems . Safeguards should be devised to ensure that electronically 
transmitted documents that would have evidentiary value in an eventual dispute would not be 
modified.  
141.  Section 1(c)(iv) of the present note is also relevant t o the review of Article XIII:1.  
 paragraph 4, subparagraph (b)  
142.  It has been said that the reference to "specific evaluation criteria" in this subparagraph should 
be clarified in the light of the relevant terms in Article  VIII(b) which emphasized that any co nditions 
for participation in tendering procedures should be limited to those which were essential to ensure 
the firm's capability to fulfil the contract in question.  
 Article XIV  
143.  It has been said Article  XIV should be modified in the light of the practice  of post -tender or 
even post -contract award negotiations between procuring entities and tenderers.  
144.  It has also been said that this Article could be combined with Articles  VII and X on tendering 
procedures.  
 Article XV  
 Paragraph 1(b)  
145.  It has been suggested to add the words "or group of suppliers" after "a particular supplier" in 
order to address the circumstances where the products or services were supplied by a limited number 
of suppliers, for instance by those holding exclusive rights such as patents and c opyrights.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 24 - 
   paragraphs  1(h) and 1(i)  
146.  It has been said that the question of the Agreement's coverage of procurements through 
commercially run websites should be examined in the light of the provisions of paragraphs  (h) and  (i) 
of Article  XV relating to dire ct purchasing under certain conditions.  
 paragraph 1(k)  
147.  It has been said that the present terms of Article XV did not adequately cover the various 
circumstances under which limited tendering might be justified . Public sector purchasers might 
sometimes have  to satisfy their end -users, on behalf of whom they procured, and who might have 
confidence only in a limited range of brands, in particular, for purchases related to life -preserving 
equipment, essential medical treatment or operation of emergency services . They might also find it 
easier to use a single brand of equipment, for example regarding specialized vehicles, in order to 
simplify their needs related to spare parts, maintenance and training . Also, it might not always be 
easy to determine the required quality through technical specifications . The problem was 
compounded as it was not always possible to determine the reliability of alternative brands by 
objective tests prior to the award of a contract . While end -users should not have an unlimited choice, 
their legitimate preferences based on their working experience, for example in the case of divers' 
equipment, might need to be respected . Under such circumstances, the use of limited tendering 
might be preferable since more competitive tendering pr ocedures might involve the application o f 
biased technical specifications or evaluation criteria . It has been suggested, therefore, that the 
following subparagraph should be added to the list of exceptions to open and selective tendering 
procedures:  
"(k) where end -users have specified strong technical or professional preferences for 
using particular suppliers, and are able to support their preferences on sound technical 
or professional reasons . These suppliers should demonstrate that they are able to meet 
the requisite quality standards and delivery schedule over the terms of the contract."  
The proposed additional subparagraph would provide the purchasing department with the greater 
flexibility needed to undertake limited tendering when circumstances arose w here not all of the 
conditions open tendering had not been met and which were not covered by the present terms of 
Article  XV. A non-paper explaining the concerns that the proposed amendment to ArticleXV:1(k) 
sought to address was circulated with Job No.  4. 
 
148.  In connection with the suggestion to add a subparagraph (k) to Article XV, it has been said 
that any such amendment might lead to misuse of limited tendering procedures . A view has been 
expressed cautioning against any additional exceptions to the use of open and selective tendering 
and also against the use of any subjective criteria, such as the reliability of suppliers, in this 
connection . The purchasers' selection of spe cific brands or trade names might involve discriminatory 
practices . The point has also been made that a new subparagraph, if motivated by the need to allow 
entities to refer to a brand name that were perceived by end -users as having a better quality, would  
be inconsistent with the provisions of Article VI:3 . The present provisions of the Agreement were 
sufficient to deal with the situations described in the proposal.  
 Article XVII  
149.  It has been said that this Article should be simplified.  
 Article XIX  
 subpar agraph 5  
150.  The discussion of statistical reporting is reflected in section A.1.(e) of the present checklist . A 
note by the Chair attempting to present a draft revision of the text of Article  XIX:5 on that basis  and 
the various comments made on that draft tex t at the meetings held in February and May 1999 was 
circulated in June 1999. GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 25 - 
   Article XX  
151.  As a basis for further discussion, a suggestion has been made to add new paragraphs  9 to 11 
to Article  XX concerning the establishment of independent authorities which  would read as follows:  
"9. With a view to ensuring effective implementation and operation of this 
Agreement at all levels, Parties undertake to establish an independent authority 
specialized in public procurement . This independent authority shall:  
- serve  as a contact point for the rapid, informal solution of problems 
encountered in gaining access to contracts;  
- provide useful advice to contracting entities;  
- have the power to intervene on its own initiative to check procurement 
practices in order to promote efficiency and to ensure that mandatory 
reporting requirements are complied with;  
- be competent to receive any complaints from natural or legal persons 
concerning the application of this Agreement and competent also to lodge 
formal complaints or otherwise take administrative or judicial action against 
contracting entities in case of breach of this Agreement in the context of a 
procurement procedure;  
- perform surveillance and monitoring tasks;  
- promote the use of preventive mechanis ms aiming to ensure that the 
market functions properly;  
- have sufficient resources to perform its tasks effectively.  
"10. Parties shall notify the Committee of the authorities existing or established in 
their respective jurisdictions . Parties shall make c lear the relationship between the 
independent authority and the review body.  
"11. Parties shall consider the establishment of special direct links between existing 
independent authorities providing for regular contacts and regular exchange of 
information w ith a view to giving rapid and adequate solutions to problems arising in 
the application of the Agreement and to generally improving the functioning of the 
Agreement."  
152.  With respect to the proposed new paragraphs 9 to 11, the following points have been made : 
 - the nature of the relationship between such independent authorities and authorities in 
charge of auditing public expenditure needed further clarification;  
 - the role of giving advice to the purchasing entities described in the first three indents 
of paragraph 9 and that of the enforcement and monitoring of applicable rules should 
be dissociated because of the possibility of a conflict of interest in assuming both these 
roles;  
 - individual countries could decide which authority should fulfil the task of enforcement 
and monitoring . This task could be entrusted to an existing body, for example to a court 
of auditors, and would not require the creation of new institutions.  
153.  The comments opposing the addition of new paragraphs 9 -11 to Article XX are in 
section A.1.(b), paragraphs 11 -17 of the present note.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 26 - 
   Article XXIII  
154.  It has been suggested that the provisions of Article XXIII should be aligned with those in the 
corresponding provisions of G ATT 1994. 
 Article XXIV  
 paragraph 6, subparagraph (b)  
155.  It has been said that Article XXIV:6(b) recognized a Party's right to withdraw an entity from 
Appendix  I if government control or influence over it had been effectively eliminated . The exercise 
of this right, however, might be frustrated by the lack of a c lear guidance on what would constitute 
effective elimination of government control or influence . Even if withdrawal of an entity was 
appropriate in the light of the nature of the entity, the current text might give rise to some 
disagreement between trading  partners regarding the extent to which the removal of government 
control or influence had actually occurred and the privatized entity was being managed on the basis 
of market economy principles . The objective of privatization was to apply market economy p rinciples 
in the daily conduct of business including in the application of procurement procedures . The removal 
of government control or influence made it impossible to enforce the disciplines of the Agreement 
on the entity in question . However, market forc es, rather than the disciplines of the Agreement, 
would be relied on to ensure market access . The Agreement might hinder the effectiveness of the 
privatization process if a privatized entity was compelled to conduct its procurement in accordance 
with the p rocedures of the Agreement . There was, therefore, a need for more transparent, 
operational, and privatization -friendly criteria for the withdrawal of privatized entities . The 
privatization of government -influenced activities facilitated the market -oriented  functioning of the 
entity and was in itself a positive development in furthering the purpose of the GPA . A further 
comment has been that s uch an amendment would benefit the current GPA Parties, and would also 
facilitate accession to the GPA . The requireme nt for a compensatory adjustment might deter 
developing countries or economies in transition from acceding to the Agreement if they expected to 
remove certain entities from government control or influence at some point as part of the process 
of rationaliza tion of government . Such countries might be cautious about offering certain entities if 
they would be expected to pay compensatory adjustment . The provisions should be clarified in order 
to address any concerns of future as well as present Parties in this respect . The clarification of the 
notion of "effective elimination of government control or influence" might also help avoid possible 
difficult dispute over which entities were considered to be already free from government control and 
influence.  
156.  It has als o been said that, if a privatized entity operated in conditions similar to those o f a 
private entity, there should be no obstacles to the withdrawal of the entity from Appendix  I. The 
privatization would work better than the GPA did in opening the procurem ent market . The last 
sentence of Article  XXIV:6(b) stipulated that "allowance shall be made for the market -opening 
effects of the removal of government control or influence" . If, however, the government control or 
influence was effectively removed and "the  market -opening effects" were anticipated, there should 
be no need for any compensation . In order to remove any legal ambiguity regarding this point, the 
existing Article  XXIV:6(b) would need to be modified by specifying the criteria that would need to 
be satisfied for withdrawal of entities (c.f. the note on "Suggested Drafting Changes to the 
1994 Agreement").  
157.  Another view in this connection has been that the present provisions were a carefully balanced 
outcome of the negotiations between Parties and refle cted the uncertainties in market access 
opportunities which might be associated with the withdrawal of an entity from Appendix  I, 
notwithstanding a claimed removal of government control or influence . The Agreement had been 
concluded to cover procurement by  government entities which had been excluded from the rules of 
both GATT and GATS . The public or private nature of an entity would need to be defined in order to 
determine its coverage under the Agreement . At the time of the negotiation of the Agreement, 
Parties had aimed to achieve a certain balance between their respective offers regarding government 
entity annexes . The purpose of Article XXIV:6(b) was to ensure that any future changes to an agreed 
annex would not affect that negotiated balance . If the di sciplines of the GPA no longer applied to an 
entity, this would no longer be a definitional matter but rather a matter of ensuring that procurement 
by that entity took place under conditions of full and effective competition.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 27 - 
  158.  It has also been said that the  concern that the provisions of Article XXIV:6(b) might create an 
opportunity for a Party to object to the full privatization of an entity in another Party, for negotiating 
purposes, was unfounded . Privatization was recognized as beneficial by all . The con cept of effective 
elimination of the government control or influence could not be considered a subjective matter . The 
exclusion of an entity from the coverage of the Agreement should not be based on whether it was a 
private or public company but rather on a determination that the company was subject to full and 
effective competition . Furthermore, the provisions of Article  XXIV:6(b) could not be seen as creating 
a disincentive for privatization, since an entity operating under market principles sho uld not have 
difficulty in following the process of open and competitive tendering procedures under the 
Agreement.  
159.  With respect to the criteria suggested for inclusion in Article XXIV:6(b) in order to establish 
whether government control or influence over the privatized entity had effectively been eliminated, 
it has been said that those criteria should be cumulative and all three had to be met for the 
withdrawal of the entity . It has also been said that the proposed criteria may not be the only ones 
for est ablishing that an entity was no longer under government control or influence . There might be 
other criteria that might be used as evidence of market opening effects . On the specific criteria, the 
following points have been made:  
 - regarding the requiremen t that the government not provide the entity with any special 
or exclusive rights, a wide variety of private companies were granted such rights by the 
government . For instance a corner store might be authorized to sell fishing licences or 
postage stamps;  
 - the requirement that the government did not appoint more than half of the members 
of the entity's management board might not be sufficient to ensure that the government 
control or influence was effectively removed . In response, it was asked what would be  
an appropriate percentage in this respect?  
 - the criteria that the operation of the entity was financed by its revenue, not by 
government subsidies or equity infusion would need further clarification;  
 - the requirement that the operation of the entity w as financed by its business revenue 
might not be appropriate in all cases . For instance, a number of entities in both Annex  1 
and Annex 3 of the United States, while operating on the basis of their own business 
revenues, continued to be considered as gover nment agencies conducting government 
procurement . If the entity was mainly financed by its business revenue, some 
non-voting equity infusions by the government would not affect the degree of 
government control or influence.  
160.  Moreover, a delegation has indic ated that its experience with privatization had not led to a 
need to provide compensatory adjustment.  
 paragraph 8  
161.  It has been said that the provisions of Article  XXIV:8 on information technology should be 
modified in the light of the ongoing work on possi ble amendments to the Agreement discussed in 
Section A.1(d) of the present note.  
 Possible additional article  
162.  It has been suggested that an article containing definitions of the various terms used in the 
Agreement should be considered.  
(h) Improving the structure of the Agreement  
163.  It has been suggested that the structure and the presentation of the Agreement should be 
improved à droit constant  in order to render it more logical and easy to follow by entities and 
suppliers . This could be achie ved by rearranging the order of provisions so that they more closely 
followed the normal sequence of the steps in the process of public purchasing ; grouping the 
provisions in accordance with their purpose in order to bring the structure of the GPA more int o line GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 28 - 
  with the practice followed in other WTO agreements ; removing provisions whose applicability had 
expired, for example those relating to the entry into force of the WTO and transitional periods in 
Article  XXIV:3(a), (b), (d) and (e) ; and shortening ce rtain Articles by subdividing them into several 
Articles.  (See Attachment to the Revised Note by the Secretariat On Suggested Drafting Changes to 
the 1994  Agreement circulated in Job No. 2244, dated 1 9 April 1999.)  
164.  In connection with Article  XXIV:3(a), it has been suggested that it should be retained as a 
historical record in order to avoid any possible misunderstandings in respect of Korea's transitional 
arrangements and the beginning of its implementation of the decision on notificat ion of threshold 
values in national currencies.  
165.  A new structure for the GPA that has been suggested in the document circulated in 
Job No. 6437 is reproduced in Attachment  2 to the present note . A comment has been made 
supporting the suggestion that the Art icles of the Agreement be organized under different group 
headings.  
(i) Appendices to the Agreement  
166.  It has been suggested that Appendix I to the Agreement might benefit from simplification, 
including the possibility of presenting the Annexes in the form of  negative lists, starting with 
Annex  1. The Committee could define the general principles that would guide the Parties in 
determining which entities should be excluded from the coverage of the Agreement, for example for 
national security reasons . This woul d also have the effect of reducing the residual exceptions and 
derogations under the General Notes to Appendix I of individual Parties.  
167.  It has been stated that it was desirable to maintain the presentation of the Annexes in the 
form of positive lists for t he overall consistency of the Annexes . While it might be feasible to present 
Annexes  1 and 2 in the form of negative lists, entities in Annex  3 could only be listed in the form of 
a positive list . In addition, Annex  4 could be presented as a negative list only after the uniform 
extension of the coverage of the Agreement in the area of services . In this connection, the point has 
also been made that Parties had the obligation to ensure that all the entities that had been specified 
in Appendix  I complied with the requirements under the Agreement . A negative list approach could 
raise certain difficulties for Parties in this respect.  
2. Elimination of discriminatory measures and practices which distort open 
procurement  
(a) General  
168.  The point has been made that this e lement has prime importance for the review and that 
priority should be given to this review item . Discriminatory measures and practices which distorted 
open procurement were incompatible with the objectives of the Agreement and represented a serious 
deroga tion from the fundamental WTO principles of non -discrimination which were also enshrined in 
Article III of the Agreement . The elimination of discriminatory measures would give true effect to 
the principle of non -discrimination in the Agreement and would al so be conducive to encouraging 
the accession to the Agreement of non -Parties . This matter related to provisions that discriminated 
between Parties, it being understood that there was a close link between this issue and that of 
coverage under which issues r elating to extension of the scope of application of the national 
treatment principle would be taken up.  
169.  It has been suggested that, under this element of the review, consideration could be given to:  
 - elimination of current reciprocity -based exceptions an d derogations in the coverage of 
the Agreement;  
 - establishment of a mutually agreed coverage of services.  
170.  With regard to the types of discriminatory provisions in the Appendices which were identified 
in the Note by the Secretariat circulated on 31  Octobe r 1997 (document with footer 'gpa38'), the 
following comment has been made:  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 29 - 
   - the purpose of the non -application provisions referred to in the last sentence of the first 
indent of paragraph 13(a) of the Note was to provide clarifications regarding the 
coverage of contracts . These provisions concerned all the obligations under the 
Agreement, including the obligation on national treatment and could not be classified 
as discriminatory measures.  
171.  With regard to the types of discriminatory provisions in the Appe ndices with respect to the 
"MFN" standard, the following comments have been made:  
 - these provisions could be eliminated to the extent that other Parties, who had previously 
been unable to cover certain areas, were prepared to open access to their procure ment 
markets . Since the conclusion of the Agreement, negotiations had been held in the 
context of the Agreement for the removal of a number of derogations . It was essential 
to aim at the greatest level of coverage rather than to have a uniformity of covera ge 
with the least common denominator;  
 - while the Agreement did not provide for the maintenance of exceptions to Article  III, it 
was an in -built principle of the Agreement that opening up trade was subject to 
negotiations between Parties and was not granted automatically;  
 - negotiations on the elimination of discriminatory measures should be held both 
bilaterally and in the context of the Committee;  
 - reciprocity had been an effective tool in the negotiation of the schedules of 
commitments and, sinc e then, in the elimination of the discriminatory provisions 
between a number of Parties . The ability to maintain discriminatory provisions had 
ensured a much larger coverage than would have been the case if those discriminatory 
measures had not been allowe d. Any efforts to move away from the reciprocity approach 
should not undermine the balance that had been achieved in the negotiations of the 
current coverage of the Agreement;  
 - Parties might have to retain the possibility of introducing discriminatory pr ovisions with 
respect to the MFN standard in negotiations with an acceding country as an incentive to 
enhance the coverage of its offer;  
 - drawing up Appendix  I in the form of negative lists would also contribute towards 
elimination of discriminatory meas ures. 
172.  With regard to the note by the Secretariat listing the types of discriminatory provisions in 
Appendix  I of Parties relating to the "MFN" treatment standard (circulated in Job No.  810, dated 
12 February  1999), the following comments have been made:  
 - most Parties' Schedules contained notes specifying the conditions for removal of 
non-application provisions . All other Parties maintaining discriminatory measures should 
set out the circumstances under which they would be prepared to remove them;  
 - non-application provisions in Parties' Schedules were mainly in the form of 
reciprocity -based derogations from the general commitment of non -discriminatory 
treatment under Article  III.1(b);  
 - the note by the Secretariat demonstrated that the matter of elimination of 
discriminatory provisions was inextricably linked with that of coverage in that the need 
for a balance of overall coverage had led Parties to introduce such discriminatory 
provisions in thei r Appendices . The insufficient coverage of entities  and areas of 
procurement in the Schedules of some Parties was at the basis of the reciprocity 
provisions in the Agreement . Those Parties that had made comprehensive offers in the 
coverage negotiations had included country -specific non -application provisio ns in their 
Schedules in order to maintain a balance of commitments with other Parties in certain 
specific areas . The two issues would need to be considered together;  
 - the note set out the rationale of some of the discriminatory provisions;  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 30 - 
   - since the conclusion of the Agreement in 1994, bilateral agreements between several 
Parties had led to the elimination of certain discriminatory measures . The note listing 
the remaining discriminatory provisions did not provide a clear picture of the extend to 
which  the procurement markets had been opened through such negotiations.  
173.  With regard to the timetable and work programme for the elimination of discriminatory 
provisions, the following points have been raised:  
 - while the review work on discriminatory provisio ns and that on the expansion of the 
coverage of the Agreement were closely linked, the work on the latter element might 
go beyond the target date for the completion of the negotiations set out in the suggested 
timetable;  
 - the work on the elimination of d iscriminatory provisions should be carried out in parallel 
with the work on the simplification and improvement of the Agreement;  
 - the drawing up of a matrix of discriminatory provisions in the Schedules of individual 
Parties would show clearly any perceived imbalances between the commitments of 
Parties and identify where a new balance might lie as a result of the removal of 
discriminatory measures;  
 - Parties maintaining discriminatory provisions should explain the reasons for maintaining 
such restr ictions and the circumstances under which they are prepared to remove them;  
 - Parties should conduct bilateral and/or plurilateral negotiations with a view to removing 
discriminatory provisions.  
(b) Mutually agreed coverage of services  
174.  The point has been made that, while establishment of a mutually agreed coverage of services 
would have the effect of eliminating reciprocity conditions in various Parties, it was essential that 
Parties conducted negotiations in this area on the basis of the most -favoured -nation principle.  
175.  It has been stated that the current coverage of services in the Agreement was characterized 
by its diversity with respect to both the specific sectors covered by each Party as well as the overall 
level of services covered by each Party . It was the outcome of a perceived need for reciprocity in 
this area because of the divergences in the levels of coverage offered by Parties in the negotiations . 
Future negotiations should aim at a uniform level of coverage among all Parties, at least in terms of 
the quality of the coverage of services.  
176.  The view has been expressed that reciprocity -based services coverage should be eliminated 
but only on the basis of all Parties covering an approximately uniform level of services on a mutually 
agreed basis . It has been said that it would be possible to move towards an MFN approach in the 
coverage of some of the specific services sectors, such as business, distribution, education, medical, 
banking and financial services, provided that all Parties were willing to ma ke sufficient offers relating 
to those services in an overall package . On this point, another view has been that the discriminatory 
provisions were the result of the pre -existing reciprocal arrangements which had not been 
plurilateralized, or of perceived imbalances in the commitments by Parties . Rather than seeking such 
a linkage, which might not produce the expected outcome, Parties should keep an open mind in 
carrying forward the mandate of improving the coverage of services under the Agreement.  
177.  With reg ard to the modalities for negotiations in this area, the following points have been 
made:  
 - the element of the review concerning the elimination of discriminatory measures and 
practices was independent of that on the expansion of coverage . On the other ha nd, 
the view has been expressed that the two elements would overlap and that the review 
should address not only the elimination of discriminatory measures and practices but 
also the expansion of coverage;  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 31 - 
   - the review should be initiated by simplification  and elimination of derogations in Annex  4 
in Appendix I of individual Parties;  
 - differing views have been expressed concerning the extent to which the work on this 
element should take its cue from that in the Working Party on GATS Rules.  
178.  In reviewing th e services covered under Annexes 4 and 5 of Parties based on an informal note 
by the Secretariat, dated 8  December  1998 (Job  No. 6771), comments have been made 
seeking/providing clarification concerning the following aspects of the services schedules:  
 - whether rental/leasing services (sector 1.E) were already covered by Article I:2 on 
lease, rental or hire purchase;  
 - whether leasing would be considered the purchase of a good rather than a service;  
 - some services covered under the Agreement might not b e suitable for cross -border 
delivery . For example competition for legal services (sub -sector A.1.a) was limited in 
most countries;  
 - some services in Annex 4 of Parties might not be related to government procurement 
procedures under the Agreement . For example, it was questionable whether 
governments used tendering procedures for procuring legal services;  
 - the fact that there was no procurement business in a given service sector should not 
deter Parties from covering that category in their Annex 4;  
 - the negative list approach adopted by the United States in its Annex 4, which covered 
all services except those which had been specifically excluded, had made it difficult to 
verify the information contained therein . The problem had been aggravated by the  fact 
that some of the exclusions were related to the end -use of the services, for example 
services purchased in support of military forces located overseas;  
 - whether the coverage of postal services (sector 2.A) in the United States Schedule 
meant that t he government entities purchased such services from one supplier under 
the limited tendering method in Article XV.  
3. Expansion of the coverage of the Agreement  
179.  It has been suggested that the coverage of the Agreement could be expanded with a view to 
achievin g a balance of market access commitments among Parties . For this purpose, the following 
specific areas that might be addressed have been suggested:  
 - The review should address the establishment of national self -monitoring mechanisms 
whereby individual Par ties would commit themselves to review domestically and 
periodically whether national programmes in the form of set -aside programmes and 
other preferential policies contributed towards meeting their vowed objectives and, if 
so, how effective they were in d oing so, with a view to examining the scope for their 
elimination in the long term . It has also been said that the General Notes of Parties 
contained provisions excluding certain procurement from the coverage of the 
Agreement for domestic legal grounds . On the other hand, the view has been expressed 
that nothing should be done to legitimize set asides and other discriminatory 
programmes which were presently reflected in the Schedules of Parties as exceptions 
or reservations and to which some Parties had res ponded in their Schedules . Providing 
a national review mechanism in the Agreement itself might imply that the underlying 
policy objectives were deemed to be justified and that the programmes could be 
continued as long as they met their specific objectives . The aim of the review of 
derogations should be to explore ways of phasing them out as prescribed under 
Article  XXIV:7(c) . The ultimate aim should be to remove all discriminatory measures 
and to subject all procurement under the Agreement to the MFN and na tional treatment 
principles.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 32 - 
   - Identification of potential sectors for extended coverage . Reference was made to the 
inclusion of the telecommunications, transportation and steel sectors . In response to 
this suggestion, the appropriateness of focusing work  on the expansion of coverage in 
the telecommunications and transportation sectors has been questioned since many 
countries had made significant progress towards privatization in these sectors . It has 
been suggested that the review relating to this element  should focus on the elimination 
of the derogations from coverage in some other sectors existing in Appendix  I of Parties . 
On the other hand, the point has been made that the process of privatization had not 
been significant in all countries and that a lar ge number of public entities operating in 
the telecommunications sector remained outside the coverage of the Agreement.  
 - In connection with privatization, the point has been made that, rather than adopting a 
sector -based approach, work might focus on the  relationship between entities and 
government control . The terms of Article XXIV:6(b) relating to the withdrawal of an 
entity from Appendix  I on the grounds of removal of government control or influence 
did not give adequate guidance in this respect . In order to determine the scope for 
expanding the number of covered entities, Parties should examine the policies by which 
governments exerted control or influence over entities . Another view has been that the 
present provisions reflected the existence of a mul titude of configurations with respect 
to the relationships between different government entities and the amount of control 
that could be exerted over them . By drawing up a more precise definition of how to 
treat privatization -type situations, Parties might  fail to take into account all types of 
government ownership or control and any relevant developments in the future.  
 - Further expansion of the coverage of services in the Agreement . The suggestion has 
been made that the review work in this area should be  initiated by identifying the sectors 
of common interest to Parties based on domestic supplier surveys . On the other hand, 
the point has been made that, while certain sectors were not included in the scope of 
the Agreement, the provisions of the Agreement did not exclude the expansion of its 
scope to any additional sectors . Rather than defining the sectors that could be included 
horizontally within the scope of the Agreement, the extension of coverage should be 
handled, for the time being, through bilateral  agreements . Another view was that, while 
negotiations on specific sectors might have to be carried out bilaterally, Parties should 
identify the specific sectors to be negotiated in a plurilateral context . Parties should seek 
a high level of commitment in terms of coverage and not the lowest common 
denominator.  
 - Lowering of the threshold values applicable to certain Parties . In response to this 
suggestion, the point has been made that, with the present threshold levels, Parties 
with larger procurement mar kets subjected a greater proportion of their overall 
procurement to the Agreement . The impact of thresholds on the scope of the 
commitments of individual Parties would need to be taken into account in considering 
the overall balance that had been struck un der the Agreement between various Parties . 
On the other hand, the view has been expressed that such an approach would neither 
be procedurally feasible nor equitable . The suggestion was made that the Agreement 
should include provisions setting out uniform l evels of thresholds applicable 
automatically to all Parties and independent of the size of their procurement markets 
and that Parties should no longer have the possibility of applying different threshold 
levels.  
180.  It has been stated that expansion of the cov erage of the Agreement would require significant 
preparatory work . It was also stated that any further expansion of the existing coverage of the 
Agreement at the sub -central levels of government would be dependent on progress in the 
simplification and improvement of the provisions of the current Agreement.  
181.  A view has been expressed stating that there was a trade -off between the objective of 
increasing the membership of the Agreement and the burden that wider commitments might incur 
for the acceding countries . Another view has been that an improved coverage might be an incentive 
to those countries that sought increased market access to join the Agreement.  
182.  In addition, the need to obtain adequate experience with the domestic implementati on of the 
Agreement before expansion of its coverage has been referred to.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  B. INSTITUTIONAL/PROCEDURAL POINTS  
1. Work on government procurement in other WTO fora  
183.  It has been suggested that, in the process of the review of the Agreement, Parties should take 
account of the work on government procurement in the Working Group on Transparency in 
Government Procurement and in the Working Party on GATS Rules .3 The point has also been made 
that, while the level of obligations sought under each forum may not necessari ly be the same, the 
overall outcome of work in these fora should be coherent and consistent . However, the review of 
the Agreement should not be delayed by the pace of other discussions.  
184.  It has been said that the delegations might need to consider the relat ionship between 
plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement and a future multilateral agreement on 
transparency in government procurement . The plurilateral agreement migh t exist under the umbrella 
of a multilateral agreement . By way of example, it has  been said that, whereas the obligations in 
GATS Part II applied to all Members, the obligations in GATS Part III applied only to those Members 
that had undertaken specific commitments . The special rules under the plurilateral agreement, 
including those re lating to market -access commitments, might continue to be binding only on those 
Parties that would hav e subscribed to them.  
2. Institutional arrangements for the review  
185.  The discussion of the review in 1997 has been carried out mainly in informal consultations . 
One delegation has suggested that an informal group should be established to conduct the work on 
the review of the Agreement and that expert groups might be set up to handle specific topics such 
as information technology, simplification of statistical re porting, etc.  
3. Participation of WTO Members in the review  
186.  It was noted that an objective of the review was the expansion of the membership of the 
Agreement . The review should serve the purpose of making the Agreement more attractive to other 
WTO Members as well as making accession of other WTO Members, including developing countries, 
easier . For this purpose, interested WTO Members should be given the opportunity to participate 
actively in the Committee's discussions on the review of the Agreement  by becoming observers to 
the Committee in accordance with the Committee's Decision on Procedures for Participation of 
Observers ( GPA/1 ). 
187.  As agreed by the Committee at its February  1997 meeting, the Chairman sent a 
communication to the WTO Members, through the Chairma n of the General Council, drawing the 
attention of WTO Members, as well as governments which are in the process of acceding to the WTO, 
to the review and inviting them to participate as observers in the meetings of the Committee in 
accordance with the Comm ittee's Decision on the Participation of Observers ( WT/L/206 ). 
4. Next steps  
188.  During the informal consultations held on 1 0 May 1999, it was agreed that the Committee 
would hold a further informal meeting on 3 0 June 1999. At that meeting the work would be carried 
forward in the following way:  
 - Delegations would revert to the issue of information technology . The delegation of 
Canada had indicated that it planned to present to the meeting an update of its earlier 
proposal . Delegations had also heard that th ere was interest in further studying the 
issue of commercially run  websites and related questions.  
 - Delegations would revert once more to the issue of procurement methods . Some 
delegations had promised papers . All Parties were invited to describe, in wri ting, prior 
to the next meeting, framework or multiple -award -type contracts that were used in 
 
3 The most recent reports of the Working Group on Transparency in Government Procurement and the 
Working Party on GATS Rules were circulated respectively in documents WT/WGTGP/M/6  and S/WPGR/M/19 . GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
- 34 - 
  their countries . The Secretariat could prepare an illustrative list of points to be 
addressed in such descriptions.  
 - Delegations would revert to the issue of st atistical reporting, on the basis of the note 
by the Chair which would be updated in the light of the comments made . It was 
understood that at least one delegation planned to submit proposals on this issue.  
 - Delegations would continue the Article -by-Article review of the Agreement on the basis 
of an updated version of the two -column table.  
 - Delegations would revert to the issue of improving the structure of the Agreement on 
the basis of the proposal by the European Community.  
 - With respect to the elim ination of discriminatory measures, delegations would continue 
to monitor progress in bilateral and plurilateral consultations.  
 GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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  ATTACHM ENT 1 
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE  
COMMITTEE HELD ON 10 MAY  1999 REGARDING TH E TIME -FRAME AND THE  
WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS UNDER ARTICLE XXIV:7  
"I would like to draw your attention to the time -frame for the negotiations under Article  XXIV:7 
and the overall work programme that the Committee agreed to last June, the key e lements of which 
are as follows:  
 
 - the tabling of suggestions and proposals no later than the end of April 1999, this being 
without prejudice to the right of participants to put forward at a later date modified or 
additional proposals where necessary;  
 - the preparation of a document reflecting all outstanding proposals and suggestions, as 
a basis for the final negotiating phase, no later than the summer of 1999;  
 - a target of the third WTO Ministerial for the completion of the negotiations,  at least on 
the simplification and improvement of the Agreement.  
"This timetable was based on the consideration that if delegations were to meet their target 
of completing the negotiations by December, the whole of the Fall would need to be reserved for a n 
intensive negotiating process . This in turn would require that by summer there would be in existence 
a document, reflecting the outstanding proposals, that could constitute the basis for these 
negotiations . The preparation of such a document would require that all the proposals and 
suggestions for improvement of the text of the Agreement would have been thoroughly discussed 
and digested by that time . I would therefore urge delegations to try and keep to this basic timetable 
and to submit all their p roposals by the next informal meeting which will take place at the end of 
June so that a negotiating document could be prepared over the summer.  
"It was also agreed that the work on the other elements of the negotiations, namely on the 
elimination of discr iminatory measures and practices which distort open procurement and the 
expansion of the coverage of the Agreement would be continued in parallel.  
"The latest revision of the Checklist of Issues gives a good idea of the amount of work that 
has gone into th e review exercise over the past two years . On the other hand, the note prepared by 
the Secretariat listing the suggested drafting changes to the Articles of the Agreement shows that, 
as yet, we have before us only a few concrete suggestions regarding the a mendments of the 
Agreement."  
"The scheduling of the informal consultations since last June followed the timetable that was 
initially proposed (October, December  1998 and February, May 1999). According to that timetable, 
we need to consider one more meeting  in the first part of 1999 . I would suggest that we hold the 
next informal consultations on the GPA negotiations on 30  June 1999. I suggest that the work at 
that meeting be carried forward in the following way:  
 - We will revert to the issue of information  technology . The delegation of Canada has 
indicated that it planned to present to the meeting an update of its earlier proposal . We 
have also heard that there is interest in further studying the issue of commercially 
run websites and related questions.  
 - We will revert once more to the issue of procurement methods . Some delegations have 
promised papers . I would like to invite all Parties to describe, in writing prior to the next 
meeting, framework or multiple -award -type contracts that are used in their cou ntries . 
The Secretariat could prepare an illustrative list of points to be addressed in such 
descriptions.  
 - We will revert to the issue of statistical reporting, on the basis of the note by the Chair 
which will be updated in the light of the comments mad e. I understand that at least one 
delegation plans to submit proposals on this issue.  GPA/TN1994/1/Rev.9  
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   - Delegations will continue the Article -by-Article review of the Agreement on the basis of 
an updated version of the two -column table.  
 - Delegations will revert to the issue of improving the structure of the Agreement on the 
basis of the proposal by the European Community.  
 - With respect to the elimination of discriminatory measures, delegations will continue to 
monitor progress in bilateral and plurilateral consultatio ns." 
__________