RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/67  
 
10 February 2017  
(17-0822) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Gover nment  Procurement    
 
MINUTES OF THE FORMA L MEETING OF 28 NOVE MBER 2016  
CHAIRM AN: MR JOHN NEWHAM  (IRELAND)  
The Chairman  said that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an Airgram1 
setting out the proposed agenda, and an Annotated Agenda.2 As well, an initial  draft of the 
Committee's Annual Report (2016) to the General Council had been circulated on 
17 November  2016.3 Subsequently, a revised version of the draft Report, incorporating, in track 
changes, minor updates and corrections , had been circulated by  the Secretariat on 
25 November  2016.4  
 
The proposed agenda for the meeting was  as follows : 
 
1. The entry into force of the revised Agreement on Government Procurement ;  
2. Accessions to the Agreement on Government Procurement ; 
3. The Committee's agreed new Work Progra mmes ;  
4. Implementation of the Agreement – Notification of Thresholds, the Review of National 
Implementing Legislation, Statistical Reporting, and Modifications to the Agreement's 
Appendices ;  
5. Review and approval, with any amendments, of the Committee's draf t Annual Report 
to the General Council ; and 
6. Other business, if any.  
The Chairman mentioned that, under the heading of Other Business, he would recall the dates that 
had been agreed for the Committee's meetings in 2017. No item of other business were propo sed.  
The Committee  adopted  the agenda, as proposed by the Chairman.  
 
1  THE ENTRY INTO FORCE  OF THE REVISED AGREE MENT ON GOVERN MENT 
PROCUREMENT  
1.1.  The Chairman  said that this agenda item concerned three  matters:  (i) the state-of-play 
regarding acceptance of the  revised Agreement by Parties;  (ii) the adoption of the Committee's 
decision on Arbitration Procedures; and (iii) the "e -GPA project", which aim ed to provide enhanced 
access to information concerning the Agreement.  Relevant developments were summarized in the 
Committee's draft 2016 Annual Report.5  
1.2.  With regard to the first item , in the course of the period under review, Korea had submitted 
its instrument of acceptance on 15  December 2015 and the revised Agreement had entered in 
                                                
1 WTO/AIR/GPA/ 9, dated  17 November  2016. 
2 RD/GPA/45, dated 21 November 2016.  
3 GPA/W/339, dated 17 November 2016.  
4 GPA/W/339/Rev.1, dated 25 November 2016.  
5 Subsequently issued as GPA/141, dated 29 Novemb er 2016, Part 2.  GPA/M/67  
 
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  force for Korea on 14 January  2016.6 The Agreement had also entered into force for two newly 
acceded Parties 30 days after the submission of their respective instruments of accession to the 
Agreement, namely,  for Ukraine on 18  May 20167 and for the  Republic of Moldova on 
14 July 2016.8 As a result of these additional acceptances and accessions, the revised Agreement 
was now in force for all Parties except Switzerland. The latter had provided regular updates to the 
Committee on related developments . It had  assured the Committee that it would  provide its 
acceptance as soon as possible.9 
1.3.  The representative of Switzerland  said that, further to the update that his delegation had 
provided at the Committee's meeting in October 2016, the internal legislative procedure in 
Switzerland for the app roval of the revised GPA had formally been launched. It was anticipated 
that the Federal Council would soon take a final decision on the revised Agreement and the revised 
Law on Government Procurement. Subsequently, these would be forwarded to Parliament f or 
approval in 2017. The precise timing of the respective approvals was not yet known. As regards 
the Cantonal level, the respective internal procedures were following the normal course. 
Switzerland would ratify the revised GPA once both sets of procedures  had been concluded.  
1.4.  With respect to the second matter, the Chairman  said that on 22  June 2016, Parties had 
adopted the Committee's Decision on Arbitration Procedures pursuant to Article XIX:8(a) of the 
revised GPA.10 The decision had subsequently entered i nto effect . This was a very significant 
development . The Decision had fulfilled a specific requirement of the revised Agreement and had 
brought to a conclusion negotiations that had taken place over an extended period. The new 
Procedures provide d a tool fo r the resolution of disputes arising in the context of modifications or 
rectifications to coverage pursuant to Article XIX of the revised GPA. This was an important step in 
the implementation of the revised Agreement and was potentially also of systemic in terest to the 
Organization . With regard to the Committee's related draft decision on indicative criteria, further 
work in a plurilateral format had been deferred for the time being.  Work on the Committee's 
mandate to develop for adoption a separate draft d ecision on criteria for compensatory adjustment 
might  be taken up at a later stage . 
1.5.  Regarding the third matter, namely the e -GPA project, o n 22 July 2016, a new, enhanced 
version of the e -GPA system ( e-GPA 2.0  https:/ /e-gpa.wto.org/ ) had been  released by the 
Secretariat and made publicly accessible via the WTO's website.11 This had completed Phase II of 
the project. Version 2.0 added  additional  features to the portal12 such as : an expanded browse 
function, reflecting th e seamless integration of the coverage of four new Parties13; advanced 
search functions; further enhancements to the thresholds module; integration of a module to 
facilitate access via the portal to information published in Parties' jurisdictions, such as n ational 
legislation, and procurement and award notices; and further development of the module which 
maintain ed the e -GPA portal up to date with the legal schedules. e-GPA 2.0  had also significantly 
improv ed the visibility of the market access opportunities  available under the revised Agreement, 
and enhance d the accessibility of related information .  
1.6.  The Committee: (i) c onfirm ed its hope that the Party that had not yet submitted its 
instrument of acceptance (Switzerland)  would do so  as soon as possible, taki ng account of relevant 
internal requirements and legislative procedures ; (ii) e xpress ed its satisfaction at the adoption of 
the decision on Arbitration Procedures ; (iii) c onfirm ed that further work on the Committee's draft 
decision on Indicative Criteria a nd the development of a draft decision on Compensatory 
Adjustments would  be taken up as and when Parties consider ed it timely ; and (iv) r e-confirm ed 
                                                
6 WT/Let/1110, dated 16 December 2015.  
7 WT/Let/1150, dated 27 April 2016.  
8 WT/Let/1169, dated 29 June 2016.  
9 As the delegation of Switzerland had made clear, the delay in submission of its instrument of 
acceptance was not at all due to any substantive reservations regarding the content of the revised Agreement; 
rather, it reflected a need for completion of on -going internal legislative procedures to harmonize Swiss  
procurement legislation at the federal and cantonal levels.  
10 GPA/139, da ted 23 June 2016.  
11 See " WTO improves visibility of government procurement information ", 
https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news16_e/gpro_22jul16_e.htm . The e -GPA portal is acc essible via the 
WTO website at the following link : https://e -gpa.wto.org .  
12 As foreshadowed in the 2015 Annual Report, GPA/134, dated 16 November 2015, paragraph 2.4.  
13 The four new Parties are, respectively, the Repu blic of Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand and 
Ukraine.  GPA/M/67  
 
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  the importance that it attached  to the e -GPA project, and to continuing work on the project, 
including, not ably, the development of further functions as foreseen in "Phase 3" . 
2  ACCESSIONS TO THE AG REEMENT ON GOVERNMEN T PROCUREMENT  
2.1.  The Chairman  said that very significant progress had been recorded with respect to 
accessions to the Agreement in the course of the r eporting period. During the period: (i)  Ukraine 
and the Republic of Moldova  had formally completed their respective accessions to the Agreement 
and become full  Parties ; (ii) work had resumed, with regard to the accession of the Kyrgyz 
Republic; (iii) subst antive discussions had been held regarding the accessions of Australia and the 
Republic of Tajikistan; (iv) the Russian Federation had lodged its accession application, and had 
signalled its intent to circulate its initial offer before the end of the year;  and (iv)  constructive 
technical discussions had occurred regarding possibilities for further progress on the accession of 
China.  In addition, Kazakhstan had applied for and been granted observer status in the 
Committee.  
2.2.  During the year, the Committee had also returned several times to the matter of other 
pending accessions and GPA accession commitments that had been undertaken by a number of  
WTO Members. In the course of the informal meeting held on 22 June 2016, the Chairman had 
reported on the status of  each of the pending accessions or accession commitments. Several 
delegations had referred to the importance that they attach ed to the fulfilment of the relevant 
commitments. At that meeting, t he former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had indicated that it 
would initiate its GPA accession negotiation early in 2017 . 
2.3.  With regard to technical assistance, the Secretariat had, i n the course of the year, provided 
brief periodic reports on its activities related to GPA accessions , and to implementation of the 
Agree ment by newly acceded Parties. It had also, from time to time , updated the Committee on 
ongoing efforts to achieve greater coherence/synergies in the work of international organizations 
active in the area of government procurement . 
2.4.  Further details on GPA a ccessions and the Secretariat's technical assistance related to 
accessions were provided in the Committee's 2016 Annual Report.14 
2.5.  The Committee: (i) expressed its satisfaction  with the progress that had been made with 
regard to accessions to the Agreement; (ii) confirm ed its hope that work on the GPA accessions of 
Australia, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan would  be concluded in 2017, subject 
to the satisfactory resolution of outstanding issues ; (iii) confirm ed its interest in continued 
constructive dialogue and further progress, when possible, regarding the GPA accession of China ; 
(iv) confirm ed its interest in receiving the initial market access offer of the Russian Federation and, 
if possible, also its replies to the Checklist of Issues b y the end of 2016 ; and (v) confirm ed its keen 
interest that delegations having outstanding accession commitments or whose accessions had 
been inactive for an extended period would take steps to initiate/re -invigorate relevant work . 
2.6.  Further, the Committee: (i) recorded its continuing support for the Secretariat's technical 
assistance activities to publicize the Agreement, facilitate accession to it, and facilitate its 
implementation by acceding Members ; (ii) recorded its appreciation to the European Bank for  
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for its related work in cooperation with the Secretariat; 
and (iii)  recorded its support for ongoing efforts to promote greater coherence and synergies in the 
work of international organizations active in the area of government procurement, including 
through enhanced and deeper cooperation in the provision of technical assistance, where possible 
and appropriate . 
3  THE COMMITTEE'S AGRE ED WORK PROGRAMMES  
3.1.  The Chairman  said that s ignificant work had been  done by the Committe e during the review 
period in relation to its agreed Work Programmes.15 The Work Programmes were intended , 
broadly,  to: (i) promote transparency with respect to Parties' implementation of the Agreement; 
                                                
14 GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016, Part 3.  
15 See Annexes C, D, E, F and G of Appendix 2 of the Committee's Decision of 30  March 2012 on the 
Outcomes of the Negotiations  (GPA/113, dated 2 April 2012 ). GPA/M/67  
 
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  (ii) facilitate, where relevant, improvements in the a dministration of the Agreement; a nd 
(iii) contribute, where appropriate, to preparations for the future negotiations that were called for 
in Article XXII:7 of the revised GPA. Activity had focused, during the year, on the Work 
Programmes dealing with: (i) access to government procurement activities by small and medium -
sized enterprises (SMEs); (ii) the collection and reporting of statistical data; (iii) the promotion of 
sustainability in Parties' procurement processes; and (iv) exclusions and restrictions i n Parties' 
Annexes . Relevant details of the progress that had been achieved were reflected in the 
Committee's Annual Report for the reporting period.16  
3.2.  The Committee was of the view  that the work that had been done  had been useful in 
enhancing transparency , and as a contribution to preparations for the further review of the 
Agreement that was  called for in Article XXII:7 of the revised Agreement. It look ed forward to 
further engagement, where appropriate, on the Work Programmes in 2017. Other Work 
Programme s foreseen at the conclusion of the GPA renegotiation in 2012, namely,  on Safety 
Standards17, and on Public -Private Partnerships, Common Nomenclature for Goods and Services, 
and Standardized Notices18, would  be taken up as and when the Committee consider ed them to be 
useful and timely . 
3.3.  The representative of Canada  expressed his delegation's appreciation to Parties who had 
submitted their inputs regarding their domestic frameworks on sustainable procurement pursuant 
to that Work Programme. His delegation encou raged Parties with outstanding submissions to 
provide them at their earliest convenience. With reference to the planned Symposium on 
Sustainable Procurement, he expressed his appreciation to those Parties who had provided their 
lists of experts. He looked forward to the participation of all delegations in the Symposium.  
3.4.  The Committee : (i) took note  of the progress achieved in relation to the various Work 
Programmes as set out in the Annual Report and related documents ; (ii) took note  of the 
relevance of thi s work to improved transparency among Parties and to preparations for the further 
negotiations that are referenced in Article XXII:7 ; (iii) took note  of the timelines and requirements 
set out in the Committee's decisions establishing the Work Programmes ; (iv) reaffirm ed the 
interest  that it attached  to the Symposium on Sustainable Procurement to be held in the 
framework of the Committee's meeting week scheduled fo r the week beginning Monday, 
20 February 2017; and  (v) invited Parties that had not yet provide d relevant inputs to the Work 
Programmes to do so . 
3.5.  Concerning the review that was called for in paragraph 6 of the Decision establishing the 
Work Programme on Exclusions and Restrictions in Parties' Annexes, the Committee confirmed  
that the exchange of inf ormation that had already been conducted pursuant to the Work 
Programme had been useful. It cordially requested Parties that had not yet provide d their relevant 
inputs to the Work Programme, including recently acceded Parties, to do so. It invited any Parties 
desiring additional information concerning any other Parties' exclusions and restrictions to so 
request under the terms of paragraph 4 of the same Decision, or pursuant to their general rights 
as Parties to the Agreement . 
4  IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E AGREEMEN T – NOTIFICATION OF THRE SHOLDS, 
STATISTICAL REPORTIN G, THE REVIEW OF NAT IONAL IMPLEMENTING L EGISLATION 
AND MODIFICATIONS TO  THE APPENDICES TO TH E AGREEMENT  
4.1.  The Chairman  said that a number of relevant developments regarding implementation of the 
Agreement were set out in the Committee's Annual Report  (2016) to the General Council .19 These 
included:  
 threshold f igures in National Currencies20;  
 notification and review of national implementing legislation21; 
                                                
16 GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016, Part 4.  
17 See GPA/113, Annex G.  
18 See GPA/113, Annex B.  
19 Subsequently circulated as GPA/141, dated 29  November 2016, Part  5. 
20 GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016 , Part 5.1. GPA/M/67  
 
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   statistical reporting22; and  
 notifications relating to th e Appendices to the Agreement , including a number of 
outstanding proposed modifications.23  
4.2.  The Committee took note  of the notifications that had been made in the course of the 
reporting period and encouraged delegations that had not yet provided r elevant n otifications to do 
so. 
5  REVIEW AND APPROVAL,  WITH ANY AMENDMENTS,  OF THE COMMITTEE'S D RAFT 
ANNUAL REPORT TO THE  GENERAL COUNCIL  
5.1.  The Chairman  noted that Article XXI:3 of the revised GPA required the Committee to review 
annually the implementation and operati on of the Agreement , and to inform the General Council of 
developments during the periods covered by such reviews.24 In light of these requirements, a draft 
of the report had been circulated to delegations in advance of the meeting.25 Subsequently, a 
revised  and updated version, incorporating suggestions received from a number of delegations and 
minor  corrections by the Secretariat , had also been  circulated .26  
5.2.  The Committee adopted  the Annual Report with the appropriate updates and corrections .27 
6  OTHER BUSINES S 
6.1.  The Chairman  recalled that the following dates had previously been agreed upon for the 
Committee's meetings in 2017 : (i) the week beginning 20 February  2017, including the 
Committee's informal plurilateral sessions, and the planned Symposium on Sustainab le 
Procurement , to be scheduled in the course of that week; (ii) the week beginning 19 June  2017, 
including plurilateral sessions to take place on Wednesday, 21 June  2017; and (iii) the week 
beginning 16 October  2017, including plurilateral sessi ons to be held on Wednesday, 
18 October  2017.  
 
__________  
                                                                                                                                                  
21 GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016 , Part 5.2.  
22 GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016 , Part 5.3. 
23 GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016 , Part 5.5. 
24 See also the 1994 Agreement, Article XXIV:7(b).  
25 GPA/W/ 339, dated 17 November 2016. 
26 GPA/W/33 9/Rev.1 , dated 25 November 2016.  
27 Subsequently circulated as GPA/ 141, date d 29 November 2016.