RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/M/58  
 
2 February 2015  
(15-0712)  Page: 1/5  
Committee on Government Procurement   
 
 MINUTES OF THE FORMAL MEETING OF 25 NOVEMBER 2014 
CHAIRMAN: MR KRZYSZTOF TREPCZY ŃSKI (POLAND) 
The Chairman said that, in preparation for the meeting, delegations had received an Airgram1 and 
an Annotated Agenda.2 A draft of the Committee's Annual Report to the General Council for the 
period since the submission of the 2013 Report had been circulated by the Secretariat on 12 November 2014.
3 Subsequently, a revised version of the draft Annual Report, reflecting 
necessary updates and corrections, had been circulated by the Secretariat on 21 November 2014.4 
Three additional proposed corrections based on inputs that the Secretariat had received from delegations had been circulated in two emails on 24 and 25 November 2014. Appropriate references would be made to the report in the course of the present meeting. 
 
As set out in the Airgram, and following the usual procedures, it was proposed that the meeting address the following items: 
 
1. The entry into force of the revised Agreement on Government Procurement; 
2. Accessions to the Agreement on Government Procurement; 
3. Implementation of the Agreement – notification  of thresholds, statistical reporting, the 
review of national implementing legislation and modifications to the Appendices to the 
Agreement; 
4. The Committee's agreed new Work Programmes; 
5. Review and approval, with any amendments, of the Committee's draft Annual Report 
to the General Council; 
6. Other business, if any. 
No items had been proposed by delegations under  the heading of "Other business"; however the 
Chairman indicated that, under this item, he would address the subject of the Committee's Chairmanship for 2015. 
 
The Committee adopted the agenda, with th e addition proposed by the Chairman. 
 
1  THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE REVISED AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT 
PROCUREMENT 
1.1.  The Chairman said that, as set out in the Committee's draft Annual Report, the revised 
Agreement on Government Procurement had entere d into force on 6 April 2014, 30 days after the 
submission of formal acceptances of the "Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government 
Procurement" by two thirds of the Parties to th e Agreement. Subsequently, two additional Parties 
had submitted their respective instruments of acceptance.  
                                               
1 WTO/AIR/4397, dated 14 November 2014. 
2 RD/GPA/17, dated 18 November 2014. 
3 RD/GPA/16, dated 12 November 2014. 
4 RD/GPA/16/Rev.1, dated 21 November 2014. GPA/M/58 
 
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  1.2.  Concerning those Parties that had still to provide their acceptances of the revised Agreement, 
the Republic of Korea and Switzerland had pr ovided regular updates to the Committee on 
developments in their capitals. Furthermore, in the course of the Committee's informal proceedings on 29 October 2014, the Chairman had undertaken to get in touch with the delegation 
of Armenia to share the Committee's hope that it could also provide its acceptance of the revised 
Agreement as soon as possible. The Armenian delegation had informed him that Armenia was in the final stages of ratification of the revised Agreement and hoped to be in a position to submit its 
instrument of acceptance in the near future. 
1.3.  Subsequent to the entry into force of th e revised Agreement, updated loose-leaf schedules 
had been prepared for each of the Parties that  had accepted it. The new loose leaf schedules, 
which had been/were being certified pursuant to Article VI:3 and Article XIX of the revised 
Agreement respectively, had involved significant work by both the Parties and the Secretariat.
5 
1.4.  In the course of the meetings held on 12 March 2014, 25 June 2014, and 29 October 2014, 
Parties had sought to advance their work on the Committee's draft Decisions on arbitration 
procedures and on indicative criteria relating to the elimination of government control over listed 
entities which were called for in the revised Agreem ent. Significant progress had been achieved on 
the draft Decision on arbitration procedures. With re gard to indicative criteria, work in plurilateral 
format on this issue had been deferred for the time being, while bilateral consultations continued. 
1.5.  In line with priorities set by the Commi ttee in 2012, work on the Committee's mandate to 
develop for adoption a draft Decision on criteria for compensatory adjustment would be taken up at a later stage. 
1.6.  In the course of the Committee's formal m eeting on 25 June 2014, the Chairman, on behalf 
of the Committee, had also noted for the record that the Committee's agreed Work Programmes relating to the administration and possible further evolution of the Agreement, set out in Annexes 
C, D, E, F and G of Appendix 2 of th e Decision, had been formally initiated.
6  
1.7.  The Committee confirmed its hope that th ose Parties that had not yet submitted their 
instruments of acceptance would do so as soon as possible, taking account of relevant internal 
requirements and procedures. It also undertook to  complete, if possible, its work on the draft 
Decision on arbitration procedures in the first ha lf of 2015; and to carry forward work on the other 
two draft Decisions when feasible. 
2  ACCESSIONS TO THE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
2.1.  The Chairman said that during the review period, very significant progress had occurred with 
respect to accessions to the Agreement. Decisions regarding the conclusion of negotiations on the 
accessions of two WTO Members, namely Monteneg ro and New Zealand, had been adopted in the 
Committee's formal meeting held on 29 October 2014.7 The two WTO Members would become 
Parties to the Agreement 30 days after submission by  each of them of an instrument of accession 
incorporating the relevant terms.8  
2.2.  Substantive discussions had also taken plac e with respect to the accessions of three other 
WTO Members, namely China, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.9  
2.3.  Five other WTO Members had previously  commenced the process of acceding to the 
Agreement, though their accessions had not been th e subject of active negotiations for some time: 
Albania, Georgia, Jordan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Oman. A further five Members had provisions 
regarding accession to the Agreement in their respective Protocols of Accession to the WTO: Mongolia, the Russian Federation, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 
                                               
5 See, for relevant details, the Committee's Annual Report (GPA/126, date d 26 November 2014), 
Part 4.5.1. 
6 See, for additional details, the di scussions under agenda item 4 below. 
7 See GPA/124, dated 3 November 2014 and GPA/125, dated 3 November 2014, respectively. 
8 See, for relevant details, the Committee's A nnual Report (GPA/126, dated 26 November 2014), Part 3. 
9 See, for related details regarding the deliberation s on each of these accessions, the Committee's  
Annual Report (GPA/126, dated 26 November 2014), Parts 3.2, 3. 3, and 3.4, respectively. GPA/M/58 
 
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  2.4.  In June 2014, the Chairman had written to a number of the Members referenced in 
paragraph 2.4, to inform them that the revised GPA had entered into force on 6 April 2014 and to 
encourage them to take up/make renewed efforts to carry forward their respective accessions.10 
2.5.  In responding to the Chairman's letters, Oman had indicated its interest in obtaining technical 
assistance from the WTO Secretariat regarding the revised GPA and its accession process.11 The 
kingdom of Saudi Arabia had reported, at the Committee's meeting on 29 October 2014, that it was in the process of translating relevant documents into Arabic and completing other preparatory 
steps, which would enable it to carry forward discussions with relevant Ministries. 
2.6.  Pursuant to a standing request by the Committee
12, the Secretariat, in the course of the 
meetings held in March, June and October 2014, had provided brief reports on its relevant technical assistance activities during the review period.
13  
2.7.  The Committee recalled its satisfaction that  work on the accessions of Montenegro and New 
Zealand had been concluded on the basis of the terms agreed. It confirmed its hope that those 
WTO Members whose accession processes had been inactive for some time and those that had still 
to activate outstanding GPA accession commitments would renew/carry forward their respective 
accession processes in 2015. It also expressed its continuing support for the Secretariat's technical assistance activities to publicize the Agreement and facilitate accession to it. 
3  IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMEN T – NOTIFICATION OF THRESHOLDS, 
STATISTICAL REPORTING, THE REVIEW OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION AND MODIFICATIONS TO THE A PPENDICES TO THE AGREEMENT 
3.1.  The Chairman said that a large number of relevant developments were set out in the 
Committee's Annual Report,14 including with respect to modifications adopted to create new loose-
leaf schedules for Parties that had accepted the revised Agreement and other modifications. 
3.2.  Further to the above, he drew the Committee's attention to the proposed modifications to 
Appendix I that remained outstanding, and to rela ted developments that were equally noted in the 
Committee's Annual Report.15 
3.3.  One delegation, the Netherlands with respect to  Aruba, had still to provide a notification of its 
Appendices II-IV under the revised Agreement. 
3.4.  In response, the representative of the Ne therlands with respect to Aruba recalled for the 
information of Parties that Aruba,  an island in the Caribbean with circa 110,000 inhabitants, was a 
separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands with respect to Aruba 
certainly had not forgotten about the notification of its Appendices II-IV under the revised 
Agreement and these Appendices would be submitted soon.  
3.5.  Most of the information covered by these Appendices was information that would normally be 
published on the government website of Aruba. However, the Aruban government had developed a 
new general website over the past few months. The current and outdated governmental website was no longer being kept up-to-date.  
3.6.  The new website was expected to go live before Christmas. It would contain up-to-date 
information regarding procedures, notices and awarded contracts. Government procurement 
                                               
10 Specifically, letters were sent by the Chairman to the following delegations: Georgia, Jordan, the 
Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Oman, the Kingdom of Sa udi Arabia and the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia. 
11 The Secretariat is pursuing fo llow-up discussions with Oman. 
12 In 2010, the Committee asked the Secretariat to report to it periodically, on a continuing basis, on its 
technical co-operation activities in light of thei r relevance to future accessions (GPA/106, dated 
9 December 2010, paragraph 30). 
13 See, for relevant details, the Committee's Annual Report (GPA/126, da ted 26 November 2014), 
Part 3.6. 
14 See, for relevant details, the Committee's Annual Report (GPA/126, da ted 26 November 2014), 
Part 4. 
15 See, for relevant details, the Committee's Annual Report (GPA/126, da ted 26 November 2014), 
Part 4.5.2. GPA/M/58 
 
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  statistics would, in addition, be published on the website of the Aruban Central Bureau of 
Statistics. 
3.7.  As soon as the new website of the Aruban government would be operational, Netherlands 
with respect to Aruba would submit its Appendices to the Secretariat for further distribution. If, in 
the meantime, Members needed specific inform ation regarding procedures, notices, awarded 
contracts, or other issues, they were invited to contact the Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Geneva.  
3.8.  Continuing, the Chairman said that, as also reported in the Committee's draft Annual Report, 
during the reporting period, significant progress had occurred with respect to the so-called e-GPA 
project to create a more integrated and interactive GPA website of the Parties' coverage commitments than presently existed.
16 Most recently, Phase 1 of the project had been completed 
and, on 17 November 2014, a publically-accessible e-GPA portal had been released. Phases 2 and 
3 would further enhance the functionality of the website. 
3.9.  The Committee took note of these developm ents; expressed its interest in receiving the 
notification of Appendices II-IV of the Netherland s with respect to Aruba as soon as conveniently 
possible; expressed its satisfaction with the work done to date on the e-GPA project; and confirmed its interest in the completion, in 2015-16, of the additional work foreseen in regard to 
Phases 2 and 3 of the project. 
4  THE COMMITTEE'S AGREED NEW WORK PROGRAMMES 4.1.  The Chairman recalled that, in the course  of the Committee's formal meeting on 25 June 
2014, on behalf of the Committee, he had noted for the record that the Decisions set out in 
Appendix 2 of the Committee's Decision of 30 March 2012 on the Outcome of the Negotiations 
regarding notification requirements under Articles XIX and XXII of the revised Agreement and the Committee's new Work Programmes were in effect as of 6 April 2014. In addition, the Committee's 
agreed Work Programmes relating to the administration and possible further evolution of the 
Agreement, set out in Annexes C, D, E, F and G of Appendix 2 of the Decision, had been formally initiated. 
4.2.  In the course of the informal meetings held on 25 June 2014, a first, organizational 
discussion had taken place on the new Work Programmes, and a number of relevant points had been noted based on an informal joint set of recommendations by interested Parties. On 29 October 2014, a first substantive discussion ha d taken place and useful exchanges had been 
held on a number of aspects of this work. Subsequently, the Chairman noted, in his closing 
statement, that the following points, inter alia, had emerged from the discussion: 
a. in regard to the Work Programme on SMEs, interested delegations would submit 
comments on the latest draft of the Questionnaire to the Secretariat by the end of 
November. The Secretariat would then circulate those comments in order to facilitate Parties' inter-sessional consultations on the matter; 
b. concerning exclusions and restrictions in Parties' Annexes, as required by the relevant 
Decision, Parties that had not yet done so would submit to the Committee, via the Secretariat, not later than the end of the year 2014, a list of country-specific exclusions and any other exclusions or restrictions in their Annexes; 
c. as regards the Work Programme on sustaina bility in international procurement, the 
delegation of Canada would circulate a written proposal for further consideration by delegations; 
d. regarding the collection and reporting of statistical data, Parties had agreed to submit to 
the Committee all relevant information by June 2015. The information to be provided by Parties was set out in detail in paragraph 2 of the relevant Decision. 
                                               
16 See, for relevant details, the Committee's Annual Report (GPA/126, da ted 26 November 2014), 
Part 4.6. GPA/M/58 
 
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  4.3.  To date, no specific action had been requested/proposed regarding the Committee's Work 
Programme on safety standards in international pr ocurement. Additionally, no Party had suggested 
to take up for discussion the additional Work Programmes referenced in the Decision in Annex B of Appendix 2, notably those relating to public-pri vate partnerships, common nomenclature for goods 
and services, and standardized notices. Work on these topics had accordingly been deferred for 
now and would be taken up when Parties deemed it appropriate to do so. 
4.4.  The Committee took note of these timelines. 
5  REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE COMMI TTEE'S DRAFT 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 operation of the Agreement and to inform the General Council of 
developments during the periods covered by such reviews.17 In light of these requirements, a draft 
of the report had been circulated to delegations in advance of the meeting.18 A revised draft 
incorporating minor updates/corrections and any su ggestions that had been received from Parties 
had been circulated by the Secretariat on 21 November 2014.19 Three additional proposed 
corrections based on inputs that the Secretariat had received from delegations had been circulated in two emails on 24 and 25 November 2014. 
5.2.  The Committee adopted the Annual Report with the proposed modifications.
20 
6  OTHER BUSINESS 
6.1.  The Chairman recalled that pursuant to applicable procedures, the Chairmanship of the 
Committee would have to be re-confirmed at the next meeting of the Committee, in 2015. A short 
formal meeting would be convened, along with the planned informal sessions of the Committee, on 
11 February 2015 for that purpose. He was available to continue serving as Chairman, if Parties so desired.  
 
__________  
                                               
17 See also the 1994 Agreement, Article XXIV:7(b). 
18 RD/GPA/16, dated 12 November 2014. 
19 RD/GPA/16/Rev.1, dated 21 November 2014. 
20 Subsequently circulated as GPA/126, dated 26 November 2014.