RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/ACC/GBR/13  
 
10 September 2018  
(18-5594) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Government Procurement  Original: English  
 
ACCESSION OF THE UNI TED KINGDOM TO THE A GREEMENT ON GOVERNME NT 
PROCUREMENT IN ITS O WN RIGHT  
COMMUNICATION  FROM THE UNITED STATES OF  AMERICA  
The following communication, dated 6 September  2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States of America.  
 
_______________  
COMMENTS FROM THE UN ITED STATES ON THE R EPLIES OF THE UNITED  KINGDOM TO 
COMMENTS AND QUESTIO NS FROM THE UNITED S TATES (GPA/ACC/GBR/1 0) 
The United States thanks the European Union and the United Kingdom for circula ting the replies of 
the United Kingdom to comments and questions from the United States (GPA/ACC/GBR/10). The 
United States presents these additional comments on the United Kingdom's market access offer 
and its replies and reserves the right to modify its comments or submit additional comments in the 
future.  
 
Annex 1 – Central Government Entities  
 
1. In its response to the request to provide an updated list of central government contracting 
authorities (Question 1), the United Kingdom states that it is replica ting its current commitments 
as set out in the EU schedule of commitments in order to provide continuity in its trading 
relationships as the United Kingdom leaves the EU. Please explain how updating the list of 
contracting authorities might impact continui ty. Is there an expectation that an updated list of 
contracting authorities may affect the level of mutually agreed coverage?  
2. In its response to the request to explain how Note 1.b. is applied (Question 3), the United 
Kingdom notes that Note 1.b. excludes procurement by procuring entities covered under Annex 1 
of good or service components of procurement which are not themselves covered by the GPA in 
regard of suppliers and services providers from the United States and Canada until such time as 
the United K ingdom has accepted that the Parties concerned provide satisfactory reciprocal access 
for the United Kingdom goods, suppliers, services and service providers to their own procurement 
markets. As the United States is interested in continuity of current mark et access in the United 
Kingdom, please respond to the following comments:  
a. Please identify how Note 1.b. is applied in procurement by the United Kingdom currently.  
b. This clause is based on the United Kingdom receiving reciprocal access in the United 
States.  Can the UK identify what measures the United States has in place that have led 
to the United Kingdom's decision to retain this note?  
c. Please provide examples of procurements that will not be covered with respect to the 
United States as a result of this not e. 
3. Can the United Kingdom confirm that Note 3 of Annex 1 applies equally to paragraph 1 and 
paragraph 2 under the section titled "The Central Government Contracting Authorities of the 
United Kingdom "? If this is true, can the United Kingdom commit to inclu ding in paragraph 2 the 
language "contracting authorities of the United Kingdom ", which is the term referenced in Note 3?  GPA/ACC/GBR/13  
 
- 2 - 
 
  4. In its response to the request to clarify the list of subordinate entities and whether they 
have a "separate legal personality " (Quest ion 5), the United Kingdom notes that its Annex 1 list 
does include some entities that have a separate legal personality from a body that is also listed in 
the Annex 1 list, such as the NHS Trusts.  
a. Please explain how the United Kingdom determined which su bordinate entities with a 
separate legal personality would be listed under Annex 1. Please identify the subordinate 
entities with separate legal personality that were not included on the list.  
b. Please explain how the United Kingdom determined to list some of the subordinate 
entities that do not have a separate legal personality. Please provide a list of these 
entities that are subject to Note 3.  
Annex 3 – Other Entities  
 
5. In its response to the request to clarify the impact of European Community exemption 
decisions, 2006/211/EC of 8 March 2006 and 2007/141/EC of 26 February 2007, with regard to 
entities subject to the requirements of EC utility directives, on its Annex 3 market access offer 
(Question 12), the United Kingdom notes it has not identified any ent ities covered by Annex 3 
which are electricity generation entities or entities in the supply of electricity and gas as these 
decisions have exempted these sectors under the utilities directive (2004/17/EC). As the United 
States is interested in continuity of current market access in the United Kingdom, please respond 
to the following comments:  
a. Please confirm that there are no entities in the supply of electricity and gas that engage 
in procurements covered by the GPA.  
b. Please explain the significance, in the UK's indicative list for Annex 3, of "A person 
licensed under section 6 of the Electricity Act 1989. " Are there any persons or entities 
that are so licensed that would still be covered by the GPA?  
6. We take note that t he United Kingdom is currently considering its approach to the 
mechanism for determining whether entities are exposed to competitive forces once the UK leaves 
the EU. However, it is difficult to accept Note 1 to Annex 3 without a better understanding of ho w 
this note will be applied. What commitments will the United Kingdom provide that future U.K. 
determinations of competitive force will be fully subject to Article XIX (Modifications and 
Rectifications to Coverage)?  
Annex 5 – Services  
 
7. In its response to the request to provide information on buy local requirements or buy local 
legal restrictions on services not covered by the GPA (Question 14), the United Kingdom noted 
that it does not maintain these policies. Please confirm that the relevant UK laws and r egulations 
on government procurement require national treatment regardless of whether procurements are 
subject to EC directives.  
Annex 6 – Construction Services  
 
8. In its response to the request to clarify the difference between CPC 51 and work concessions 
contracts (Question 15), the United Kingdom noted that services set out in CPC 51 would be 
covered for all GPA Parties (subject to the note to Annex 6) and that work concessions contracts 
would only be covered for the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein , Norway, the Netherlands on 
behalf of Aruba, Switzerland, Montenegro and Korea (over the relevant threshold). As the United 
States is interested in continuity of current market access in the United Kingdom, please respond 
to the following comments:  
a. Please  explain how the United Kingdom uses work concessions contracts and how the 
limited coverage for these contracts is applied.  
b. Please explain why the United Kingdom applies this distinction between procurements for 
services set out in CPC 51 and work concess ions. 
__________