WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
GPA/M/46 
13 August 2012 
 (12-4426) 
Committee on Government Procurement  
  
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE  
ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT, AT HEADS OF DELEGATIONS' LEVEL, 
OF 30 MARCH 2012 
 
Chairman:  Mr Nicholas Niggli (Switzerland) 
 1. The Chairman welcomed delegations to the mee ting.  He said that, in preparation for the 
meeting, delegations had received an Airgram1 setting out the proposed agenda for the meeting. 
2. The Committee adopted the following ag enda, as outlined in the Airgram: 
A. Adoption of the results of the negotia tions under Article XXIV:7 of the 1994 
Agreement on Government Procurement, fo llowing their verification and review, 
pursuant to the Decision taken by Pa rties' Ministers on 15 December 2011 
(GPA/112); 
 B. Other Business. 
 
A. A
DOPTION OF THE RESULTS OF THE NEGOTIATIONS UNDER ARTICLE XXIV:7  OF THE 1994  
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT  
3. Before calling for the adoption of the results of the negotiations under Article XXIV:7 of the 
1994 Agreement on Government Procurement, the Chairman noted the following points: 
4. Following deposit of the required instruments of  acceptance, the schedules of the Parties, 
circulated in document GPA/W/316 of 27 March 2012, woul d need to be reformatted.  At that stage, 
the titles that appeared over each Party's Appendix I offer or Appendix I future commitments in that 
document would be deleted in favour of a simple reference to the name of the relevant Party.  
Furthermore, the content of Appendices II-IV, which each Party was required to submit, at the latest, 
at the time of deposit of its instrument of acceptan ce, would be filled in.  These changes would, in due 
course, need to be certified by the Director-General .  Parties would be kept  informed throughout the 
process. 
5. With regard to the offer of Armenia, the text relating to Armenia's offer that could be found 
on page 38 of document GPA/W/316 of 27 March 2012 under the heading "Final Appendix I Offer of 
the Republic of Armenia" would be replaced by the updated offer that had just been circulated, in 
document GPA/O/RFO/ARM/1 of 30 March 2012. 
6. The Chairman invited the Committee to adopt the Decision on the Outcomes of the 
Negotiations under Article XXIV:7 of the Agreement on Government Procurement2, with the 
understandings that he had noted. 
                                                      
1 WTO/AIR/3916, dated 20 March 2012. 
2 GPA/W/316, dated 27 March 2012. GPA/M/46 
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  7. The Committee adopted the Decision on the Outcomes of the Negotiations under 
Article XXIV:7 of the Agreem ent on Government Procurement.3 
8. The Chairman congratulated Parties on the adoption of the Decision.  Parties had followed up 
very effectively on the mandate given to them  by Ministers in December, and thereby achieved 
another important milestone for the GPA and the WTO.  They had again shown that, with the right 
collaborative spirit, great things could be achieved for the citizens of Parties, for their commercial 
interests, and for the international trading system. 
9. The Director-General of the WTO, Mr Pas cal Lamy, said that government procurement 
represented a very important dimension of economi c activity, with major significance for both trade 
and development.  It was an important factor in the provision of infrastructure, in both its hard and 
soft forms.  It bore directly on the provision of socially important public services, including education 
and health, and impacted on public finances.  Last but not least, it represented an important element of international trade, which was very likely to grow in significance, over time. 
10. The GPA was the world's principal tool for facilitating trade in relation to government 
procurement markets.  It was a paradigm example of  a trade-opening instrument that also recognized 
the need for governance mechan isms built around the fundamental WTO principles of non-
discrimination, transparency and procedural fairness.  It was destined to play an important role both in 
deepening the linkages that existed between the traditional developed world and major emerging, 
developing and transition economies;  and, in pa rallel, in promoting good procurement practices 
around the world. 
11. In this context, he expressed his strong sense of satisfaction with the Committee's timely 
completion of the verification exercise and adoption of  the results of the negotiation.  This not only 
fulfilled the mandate given to Parties by their Mi nisters in the Decision taken on 15 December 2011, 
when the GPA renegotiation had been politically concluded.
4  It also, for a second time, demonstrated 
the GPA Parties' commitment and purposefulness. 
12. The timely adoption of the results, in turn, bo ded well for the renewed and intensified work 
on accessions to the Agreement which was planned for the rest of the year.  That work was critical to 
the building of a sound post-crisis internationa l economy.  In addition to facilitating trade and 
providing important lega l guarantees of market access rights, GPA accession had the potential to be 
an important catalyst for policy reforms that en trenched good procurement practices and thereby 
facilitated the realization of maximum value for m oney for governments in the core functions that 
they carried out for their citizens.  Accession to  the GPA had been made easier by the greater 
flexibility and improved transitional measures embodi ed in the revised text of the Agreement. 
13. Overall, the GPA was clearly in the process of  becoming a more widely accepted and central 
element of the WTO Agreements.  This was demonstr ated by the decision adop ted by Parties in the 
meeting, the progress that was being made in the GPA accession of China as well as the other important accessions that were in progress, including t hose of Jordan and Ukraine, and the fact that 
other WTO Members were assessing their potential inter ests in the Agreement.  The time was ripe for 
all WTO Members not yet Party to this Agreement to  look closely at the benefits that membership 
could provide to their economies. 
14. In concluding his statement, he commended the Chairman, Mr Nicholas Niggli, for the good 
work he had done first in achieving the political co nclusion of the GPA renegotiation, and then in 
                                                      
3 See GPA/113, dated 2 April 2012. 
4 GPA/112, dated 16 December 2011.  GPA/M/46 
 Page 3 
 
 
  ensuring timely completion of the verification proc ess and adoption of the results.  The Secretariat 
would continue to support him, as well as the Par ties and potential accession candidates, in their work. 
15. The Chairman thanked the Director-General fo r his personal support and the superb level of 
co-operation that he had provided, which had been crucial to the conclusion of the negotiations and 
had been highly appreciated by all Parties.  He al so expressed his personal thanks to the staff of the 
Secretariat GPA team, whose professionalism and de dication to the work of the Committee had also 
been essential to the Committee's success. 
16. The action that Parties had taken represented a further very significant step, building on the 
political conclusion of the negotiation that took place in December, and a tremendously positive 
portent for the future.  By concluding the renegotia tion, and by adopting the rectified results, Parties 
had struck a powerful blow for open markets, good governance and the efficient and effective 
management of public resources.  The usefulness of this in the context of the lingering economic and 
fiscal crisis could not be overstated. 
17. In adopting the Decision, Parties had set the st age for a potentially dramatic expansion of the 
membership of the Agreement in light of both th e greater flexibility and user-friendliness that the 
revised Agreement provided for all Parties, a nd the improved and more concrete special and 
differential treatment provisions that it incorporated.  These were crucial attributes that would enhance the attractiveness of the Agreement to non-Pa rties.  The remaining challenge for GPA Parties 
was to bring the compelling case for GPA accession to the rest of the world. 
18. The representative of the United States welc omed the adoption of the Decision on the 
Outcomes of the Negotiations under Article XXIV:7 of the Agreement.  This formalized the approval, 
by Parties' Ministers, of the political results of the GPA negotiations that had been reached at the 
December Ministerial.  After more than ten year s of negotiations, the action taken represented a major 
achievement for the WTO and the GPA Committee.  It demonstrated the ability of a group of 
Members to reach, through persistence and hard wo rk, an agreement that would modernize the GPA 
text and expand the scope of procurement covered under it. 
19. The GPA exemplified the importance of using the full range of tools to create new trade 
opportunities, including, in this case, a non-MFN, plurilateral Agreement.  The GPA Committee and 
its Chair were also to be commended for fi nding creative means to address issues on which a 
consensus had not been possible in the negotiatio ns.  Undertaking the Future Work Programmes 
would provide an opportunity for the Parties to ex amine new areas and to deepen their understanding 
of other procurement systems.  The revision of th e Agreement could also be expected to encourage 
accessions to the GPA by streamlining and clarifying  the procurement rules and providing transitional 
measures to facilitate the opening of proc urement markets in developing countries. 
20. He commended the Chair for his dedication to th e completion of the revision of the GPA and 
for successfully shepherding the negotiations to  completion.  The United States would move 
expeditiously to undertake its domestic review process so as to be able to deposit its instrument of 
acceptance as soon as possible and urged other Parties to do the same.  The common target should be 
for the revised GPA to come into fo rce within a year of the meeting. 
21. The representative of the European Union we lcomed the formal conclusion of the re-
negotiation of the Government Procurement Agreement.   Parties had been able to reach an agreement 
after several years of negotiations, which had been challenging at times.  They had jointly done well 
and had contributed to an objective they all sh ared, namely the quest for jobs and growth.  
Furthermore, the Committee had given a good signal to the entire WTO membership by showing that 
the organization could produce tangible results, more over in an area that was considered sensitive by 
many. GPA/M/46 
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  22. The revised GPA represented a significant step forward as compared to the 1994 Agreement.  
Parties had agreed on a set of tendering rules that  greatly improved transparency in government 
procurement and had the potential to become an in ternational "gold standard" for procurement.  
Parties had been able to extend market access  and open up significant parts of the world's 
procurement to international competition.  Additio nally, they had set out the future work of the 
Committee through the various Work Programmes that would prepare the ground for future 
negotiations.  The European Union had played a majo r role in the negotiations  and had remained an 
advocate for additional, mutually beneficial opening  of procurement markets, based on principles of 
transparency, throughout the years. 
23. The conclusion and adoption of the results of th e GPA renegotiation had also opened the door 
for an expansion of the membership of the Agreemen t.  The Committee would now be able to give all 
its attention to new accessions to the Agreement.  In this respect, some negotiations, especially those 
with China and Jordan, were alre ady very advanced.  The European  Union's objective clearly was to 
render the Agreement multilateral and the revised GPA was a right step in this direction. 
24. In concluding, he thanked the Director-Gener al, Mr Pascal Lamy, for his involvement, which 
had certainly helped Parties to achieve their goals.  He also expressed his gratitude to Mr Nicholas 
Niggli, the Chairman of the Committee, whose engagement had been tireless and impressive.  Last, but not least, he thanked the WTO Secretariat for its  performance.  Everyone involved could be very 
proud of the success achieved. 
25. The representative of Switzerland thanked the Ch airman for all his efforts.  This was a 
historical event and a symbolic, important moment.  Politically, Parties were opening the way for the 
extension of the Agreement to a whole range of potential future members riding on the crest of the 
wave of the Members that were part of this Agre ement.  This would also reinforce the positive image 
of the WTO in the world. 
26. From a political standpoint, the re-negotiati on of the Agreement showed clearly that 
plurilateral Agreements could work.  In counteri ng the hesitation of some WTO Members to go down 
that path, Parties were now able to show the sh ining example of the GPA as a possible solution for 
many other sectors.  From a systemic standpoint, the adoption of the negotiated package came at a 
perfect moment because in various capitals, the intere st for things related to the WTO was waning to 
some extent. 
27. Additional market access worth an estimated hundred billion dollars was, at last, within reach.  
From a legal standpoint, the revised Agreement pr ovided a very solid basis for transparent and 
modern rules on government procurement.  The su ccessful re-negotiation had re-invigorated many 
fields of actions related to government proc urement, such as sustainable development and 
transparency, or the fight against corruption. 
28. He thanked all those who had taken part in  the negotiations and the Parties for having 
weighed the pros and cons of each and every propo sal.  He congratulated the Director-General, and 
the Chairman.  His relentless energy had been felt thoroughly in the Swiss Mission, which had 
followed his work closely.  He also warmly th anked the WTO Secretariat for its professionalism and 
efficiency.  Its unflagging support had been critical esp ecially in this last phase of the negotiations in 
Geneva. 
29. The representative of Japan welcomed the adoption of the revised Government Procurement 
Agreement after nearly fifteen years of tough negotia tions.  It had not been easy to reach a mutually 
satisfactory agreement, and the decision-making process  had involved high-ranking officials, such as 
relevant ministers, and even Japan's prime mini ster.  He thanked the Director-General for his 
initiative.  Japan pledged to expedite its domes tic ratification procedures in the months ahead.  GPA/M/46 
 Page 5 
 
 
  30. At the same time, the successful conclusion of  the re-negotiation clearly showed that the 
WTO's legislative function was very much alive, a nd that negotiations could be completed if there 
was political will to do so.  In that context, he e xpressed his delegation's particular gratitude to the 
Chairman, Mr Nicholas Niggli, and to the WTO Secret ariat, for extending their help to delegations in 
their last days of hard negotiations, by setting up a forum for constructive dialogue and giving 
valuable advice.  The achievements of the Comm ittee would not have been possible without them. 
31. Looking ahead, Parties had to expand their achievement beyond the horizon of the current 
membership of the Agreement.  There were a numb er of countries, including China and Jordan, that 
had expressed their interest in joining the Agreem ent.  This indicated a very welcome trend in 
expanding government procurem ent markets on the basis of openness, transparency, and non-
discrimination.  Japan was ready to negotiate in  good faith with any WTO Members interested in 
acceding to the GPA, and to support them as needed. 
32. The representative of Canada said that Canada  was very pleased to adopt the Protocol 
Amending the Agreement on Governme nt Procurement together with the other GPA Parties.  The 
modernized text, the significant new market access commitments, and the substantial set of Future 
Work Programmes truly strengthened the internationa l trading system.  Indeed, the modernized text 
already served as a basis for procurement obligations in regional trade agreements around the world.  This demonstrated the potential for the WTO to promote coherence and c onsistency in government 
procurement agreements across the board. 
33. Continuing, he underlined Cana da's enthusiasm for the new work programmes of the GPA 
Committee.  The topics identified would further enhance the relevance and importance of the 
Agreement to the Parties and to other WTO Members.   Canada had already begun its preparations in 
this regard and intended to ma ke a comprehensive contribution to the Committee's work moving 
forward.  Canada also looked forward to a re newed focus on expanding the membership of the 
Agreement.  It was in the interests of all Parti es to seek an early conclusion of the accessions of 
China, Jordan and Ukraine and to engage other WTO Members with outstanding accession 
commitments.  Canada hoped that all the Parties would work towards prompt implementation of the 
revised Agreement, so that all could benef it as soon as possible from the new market access. 
34. In closing, he underlined the importance of the WTO Secretariat's first-rate contributions in 
helping Parties reach their goals, and of its conti nuing efforts to inform other WTO Members of the 
benefits of the GPA.  He thanked the Director-General, Mr Pascal Lamy, for his commitment to this process, and the Chairman, Mr Niggli, for his re lentless drive and resourcefulness in bringing the 
GPA Parties to an agreement. 
35. The representative of Korea said that Korea w as pleased to witness the long-awaited adoption 
of the results of the successful GPA re-negotiation.  Korea appreciated the Chairman's hard work as 
well as his strong, balanced efforts in mediati ng and facilitating the negotiations.  The Director-
General and the Secretariat also deserved praise for their important contributions throughout the entire 
negotiation process. 
36. The revised GPA would have a strong impact due  to its significant commercial benefits and 
the enhanced market access opportu nities afforded to all GPA Parties.  Having finalized the 
negotiation package, Parties were now called upon to  accelerate their domestic ratification processes 
in order to facilitate the revised GPA's entry into force.  These efforts were  essential for Parties to 
enjoy the huge collective benefit of the revised GPA as  soon as possible.  In this context, Korea would 
do its best to achieve these ends and urged all Par ties to promptly take any necessary domestic steps. 
37. The GPA pie would only continue to grow, as the revised Agreement had set the stage for 
future accessions to the GPA.  N eedless to say, the market acce ss gains from the accessions would GPA/M/46 
Page 6  
 
  bring even more benefits to the GPA Parties and the world economy as a whole.  His delegation 
would continue to work together  with those aspiring to accession in a cooperative, constructive and 
forward-looking manner that would help facilitate  additional WTO Members' accession to the 
Agreement. 
38. In closing, he said that Parties could truly be proud of the adoption of the results of the re-
negotiation.  They now were well positioned to begin a new chapter in the GPA's history.  Korea was 
ready to work closely with other GPA Partie s and the broader WTO membership in both the 
ratification and the accession processes. 
39. The representative of Hong Kong, China we lcomed the completion of the technical 
verification process and the formal adoption of th e negotiation results.  He thanked the Director-
General, Mr Pascal Lamy, for his remarks and his pe rsonal involvement.  The efforts of the Chairman, 
Mr Nicholas Niggli, as well as of the WTO Secretariat's GPA team in facilitating and at times marshalling the process had been key factors in bringing about this successful result. 
40. The conclusion of this round of negotiations ha d not, however, brought Parties' work to an 
end.  During the negotiation process, there had been opportunities for Parties to rectify some elements 
of their schedules, so as to bring their commitments in line with the GPA principles.  Not all such 
matters had been appropriately r ectified, however.  His delegation looked forward to continuous and 
constructive dialogue with fellow GPA Parties through periodic reviews to address outstanding 
concerns. 
41. He urged Parties to take the adopted results through their ratification processes promptly.  As 
far as Hong Kong, China was concerned, it would cer tainly spare no effort to complete the process 
speedily.  The Committee would continue to be ve ry busy with pending accessions, including those of 
China, Jordan and the Ukraine, which were under way, and also those of other WTO Members who 
had undertaken to join the GPA.  Certainly, the revised Agreement would help expedite these 
accession processes.   
42. The representative of Chinese Taipei joined pr evious speakers in welcoming the adoption of 
the text set out in document GPA/W/316.  He was pleased that Parties had reached agreement on the 
package, including the revised text, work prog rammes and coverage, and could finally deliver a 
successful outcome. 
43. This result could not have been achieved without  the intense and the sustained efforts of all 
GPA Parties, in addition to a certain degree of crea tivity and flexibility on all sides.  He congratulated 
all Parties on this impressive break-through.  He thanked the Director-General for honouring the 
Parties with his presence in the meeting and for his address to the GPA Parties.  He also thanked the 
Chairman and the Secretariat for all their hard work  and their professionalism in helping Parties get to 
this successful stage. 
44. Government procurement played an increasingl y important role in stimulating the economy 
and supporting social development.  Now, in the af termath of the world econom ic crisis, and given the 
recent impressive growth of emerging economies, it was becoming more recognized as a determinant 
of economic activity, growth and welfare. 
45. At this historic moment, Chinese Taipei ur gently wished to encourage and facilitate 
accessions to the Agreement by additional WTO Member s in the future.  His delegation was happy to 
see that China had submitted its revised offer, and that Jordan and Ukraine were almost in a position 
to submit their offers as well, so that Parties could look forward to welcoming more new Parties to the 
Agreement in the not too distant future.  GPA/M/46 
 Page 7 
 
 
  46. The representative of Norway reiterated how very  pleased Norway was with the conclusion of 
the GPA negotiations.  The results were important, as  they brought about substantial improvements in 
market access coverage, created additional scope for development, and enhanced transparency and 
predictability for economic operators. 
47. Norway looked forward to the en try into force of the Protocol Amending the Agreement, as 
soon as possible and for all Parties.  Norway would make every effort to submit its instrument of 
acceptance quickly and was eager to start working on the Committe e's Future Work Programmes, 
which could only be formally initiated afte r the entry into force of the Protocol. 
48. Until then, continued work on accessions by additional WTO Members to the Agreement 
would be the main focus of the Committee.  Noting that more and more free trade agreements also 
included government procuremen t, her delegation hoped that w ith the modernization of the 
Agreement, as many other WTO Members as possibl e would accede to the GPA and make it a truly 
multilateral instrument.  She extended her very special  thanks to the Director-General, the Chairman, 
the Secretariat and her delegation's experts for their hard work. 
49. The representative of Singapore commended the Chai rman and the Secretariat for their efforts 
and continuing guidance in the tough, technical wo rk during the legal verification process.  He 
thanked the Director-General, Mr. Pascal Lamy, for his unwavering support.  Finally, he thanked all 
delegations for their cooperativeness and the spirit in which Parties had worked in in the past months. 
50. The package that Parties had adopted had not been realized without a lot of hard work, 
co-operation and flexibility shown all around.  Ind eed, it was heartening that, within one season, 
Parties had been able to formally adopt the packag e before them.  This proved that when progressive 
Members of the Organization put their efforts into it,  meaningful results could indeed be achieved in 
the WTO, with regard to both disciplines and market access. 
51. There was much work ahead of Parties still,  as they would be conducting their internal 
procedures to ensure the coming into effect of the results of the negotiations, hopefully sooner rather 
than later.  He urged all Parties to continue to hold true to the standards of transparency and non-
discrimination that Parties had set.  This would he lp and encourage other WTO Members to join the 
Agreement and to continue to push for improvements in global trade. 
52. The representative of Israel congratulated the GPA Parties for the successful conclusion of 
more than a decade of negotiations.  This was a hist orical achievement, especially in view of the 
continuing global economic and fina ncial instability and the challenges that the Doha Development 
Round was facing.  Especially in a time of linge ring crisis, it was essential that governments spend 
public funds in an effective and efficient manne r, by allowing for open and free competition and 
thereby optimizing value for the taxpayers' money.  The revised GPA aimed at achieving these goals.  
The results reflected very hard work by all Par ties during the negotiations, which had been conducted 
in good faith and included substa ntial contributions by Israel. 
53. The significance of the revised GPA Agreement w as threefold.  First, the achievements in 
expanding market access, amounting to market oppor tunities worth tens of billions USD annually, 
were not to be taken for granted.  Second, the te xt of the Agreement had been improved significantly, 
reflecting clear, user-friendly, and modern procurement practices.  Third, the revised GPA also had a 
systemic value, especially in the current enviro nment.  He hoped that the spirit of cooperation 
witnessed in the Committee would inspire other quart ers of the WTO to achieve a steady progress in 
concluding negotiations. 
54. He congratulated all those WTO Members that  were now in the process of accession to the 
GPA and encouraged them to take all necessary st eps to advance promptly in the accession process.  GPA/M/46 
Page 8  
 
  He invited other countries to join the Committee as Observers in order to learn more about the 
Agreement, and to seriously consider the potentia l benefits as well as the costs of accession to it. 
55. Concluding, he expressed Israel's highest  appreciation to the Director-General, 
Mr Pascal Lamy, to the Chairman, Mr Nicholas Niggli,  and to the Secretariat for assisting Parties in 
this endeavour, and congratulated all Par ties for the important and successful event. 
56. The representative of the Kingdom of the Neth erlands with respect to Aruba expressed 
Aruba's satisfaction with the adopti on of this new revised Agreement on Government Procurement.  It 
would certainly benefit all Parties.  He thanked the Chairman and the WTO Secretariat for their significant efforts in guiding Aruba through these ne gotiations.  He equally thanked the other GPA 
Parties for making this great result possible. 
B. O
THER BUSINESS  
57. The Chairman said that even with the action taken, the process of bringing the revised 
Agreement into force was not completed.  Rath er, and as foreseen in the Decision adopting the 
Protocol, Parties now had to expeditiously fulfil  the requirements of their respective internal 
ratification and consultation procedures, and then deposit their respective instruments of acceptance. 
58. Beyond this, the political conclusion of the GP A renegotiation in December and the formal 
adoption of the results of the negotiations during the meeting had created the opportunity for a very 
significant change of focus in the work of the Committee.  The Committee was now in a position to 
shift its focus outward, and to give renewed a nd heightened attention to on-going and future 
accessions to the Agreement.  In the past five year s, there had been a very significant change in the 
level of interest in the GPA on the part of emergi ng and developing economies.  There had also been a 
qualitative enhancement of the value of participating in the Agreemen t, due to the importance that 
procurement and infrastructure investment had take n on in the world economy and to related changes 
in the international policy environment.  These cha nges had created a potentially fertile field for work 
aimed at expanding the membership of the Agreemen t and, eventually, transforming it into a more 
genuinely multilateral instrument.  However, this e xpansion would not happen by itself.  The Parties 
needed to remain in contact with actual and poten tial acceding Parties, and advocate for the revised 
GPA and for the benefits of accession to it. 
59. This outward focus would need to be comple mented by continuing work within and among 
the current membership.  The Future Work Progra mmes of the Committee provided a rich opportunity 
to deepen mutual understanding and contribute to the future evolution of the Agreement.  Ultimately, 
their value would be determined by the quality of th e work that would go into them.  The support that 
had been expressed by Parties was a first good sign in that regard. 
60. Given that the main challenge of moving the negotiations through to a conclusion had been 
completed, the time had come for someone else to take up the role of Chairman.  He, therefore, 
requested Parties to start consultations to make possible the appointment of a new Chairman at the 
next formal meeting of the Committee, to be held before the summer break. 
 
 
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