RESTRICTED  
  
GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
9 November 2017  
(17-6092) Page: 1/16 
Committee on Government Procurement    
 
 
DRAFT REPORT (2017)  OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREME NT 
Revision  
Attached for the attention of delegations is an updated  draft of the Committee's Annual 
Report to the General Council for 201 7 (circulated initially on 2  November  2017) . The 
revised draft is for consideration and adoption  at the Committee's formal meeting  scheduled for 
Wednesday,  15 November , beginning at 3 p.m. 
 
For the assistance of delegations, all additions/corrections/other updates are shown in track 
changes and may b e found in paragraphs  2.5, 2.9, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4; in Table 3 and in footnotes 4, 8 
and 17 . The changes are all of a factual or stylistic nature, or are simple updates. More 
specifically :  
 
a. The entire draft  Report has been updated to reflect documents circulated su bsequent to 
the initial version  (see footnotes 4, 8 and 17) ;  
b. Paragraphs  4.1, 4.2  and 4.4 of the draft Report have been amended to reflect the exact 
titles of  the Commi ttee's Work Progr ammes  as set out in the  Decisions found in 
Annexes  C, D, E , F and G of Appendix 2 of the Committee's Decision of 30 March 2012 
(GPA/113, dated 2  April 2012) ;  
c. Additional references  have been  added in Table 3;  
d. The concluding sentence in paragraph 2.5 has been amended at the request of the 
Chairman; and  
e. The nomenc lature used to reference the United States' Executive Order mentioned in 
paragraph 2.9 has been amended to eliminate redundancy.  
Following adoption of the Report, all square brackets and track -changes will be removed and the 
Report will be issued as an unr estricted GPA/… document.  
 
  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  This report covers the period  since the Committee's previous A nnual Report1, namely  end-
November 201 6 through  mid-November 2017.  It is issued  pursuant to Article  XXI:3 of the 
Agreement as amended by the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement, 
done at Geneva on 30  March  2012 (the "revised Agreement" or "revised GPA") and 
Article  XXIV:7(a) of the 1994 Agreement on Government Pr ocurement ("the 199 4 Agreement" or 
"the GPA 1994").2 This reflects  the entry into force of the revised  Agreement on 6  April 2014 and 
the fact that one Party continues to be bound only by the 1994 Agreement.3 
1.2.  The Committee has had an active and productive y ear. Since the date of circulation of its last 
Annual Report ( 29 November 2016 ), it has held [three ] formal meetings in Geneva:  on 
23 February  2017; on 18 October 2017; and on [15 November  2017].4 The meeting s were  chaired 
by Mr John Newham (Ireland).5 The Committee has also held a series of informal meetings, also 
chaired by Mr Newham, focusing on the implementation  of the revised Agreement;  accessions to 
the Agreement; the Committee's agreed Work Programmes; and other matters, in the weeks 
beginning 20 February  2017; 19  June 201 7; and 16 October 2017 , respectively.  
1.3.  Among other highlights, the Committee note s the progress achieved with respect to work on 
accession to the Agreement by several WTO Members  not currently Parties to it .6 In addition, 
requests for observer status from Afghanistan and Brazil have been received and approved by the 
Committee . Significant work was done with respect to the Committee's agreed Work Programmes, 
notably those dealing with: (i) the promotion of sustainability in P arties' procurement processes; 
(ii) the collection and reporting of statistical data; and (iii) access to government procurement  
activities by small and medium -sized enterprises.7 
1.4.  The following 47 WTO Members are now covered by the Agreement: Armenia; Cana da; the 
European Union, with its 28 member States  (normally counted as a single Party) ; 
Hong Kong,  China; Iceland; Israel; Japan; the Republic of Korea ("Korea") ; Liechtenstein; the 
Republic of Moldova; Montenegro; the Kingdom of the Netherlands with respe ct to Aruba; New 
Zealand; Norway; Singapore; Switzerland (the GPA 1994 only) ; the Separate Customs Territory of 
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu ("Chinese Taipei"); Ukraine and the United  States.  
1.5.  Thirty -one WTO Members have observer status in the Committe e on Government 
Procurement: Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, China, 
Colombia, Costa Rica, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz  Republi c, 
Malaysia, Mongolia , Oman, Pakistan, Panama, the Russ ian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, 
Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, and Viet Nam. 
The observerships of Afghanistan and Brazil were approved, at their request s, during the reporting 
period, and were warmly welcomed by the Committee .8 Four intergovernmental organizations, 
namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Trade Centre (ITC), the 
Organization for Economic Co -operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations 
Conference  on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), also have observer status.  
1.6.  The Committee consider s the GPA – particularly the revised Agreement which came into force 
in 2014 – to be an important tool of trade and development in the twenty -first century, 
contributing n ot only to market access for Parties ' goods, services and suppliers, based on 
principles of reciprocity and to the extent determined by Parties, but also to the transparency of 
Parties' procurement systems and to good governance. It is pleased with the pro gress made on 
accessions to the Agreement  and the Committee's Work Programmes  since the entry into force of 
the revised Agreement . It encourages interest in the Agreement on the part of WTO Members not 
                                                
1 GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016. 
2 The 1994 Agreement and the revised Agreement are hereafter referred to together as the "Agreement 
on Government Procurement" or "GPA" or "Agreement".  
3 See, for relevant details, Part 2 below.  
4 GPA/M/68, dated 11 May 2017; GPA/M/69,  dated 7 November 201 7; and GPA/M/70, to be issued.  
5 At its formal meeting of 23 February 2017, the Committee re -elected Mr Newham  as Chairman for 
2017 (GPA/M/ 68, dated 11 May 2017 , paragraph  1.1.). 
6 See, for relevant details, Part 3 below.  
7 See, for relevant details , Part 4 below.  
8 GPA/M/69 , dated 7 November 2017, paragraph 1.2 . Observership to the Agreement is open to all 
WTO Members.  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  currently Parties or observers to it, and invites them  to consider the potential advantages of 
association, whether as Parties or as observers.  
1.7.  The remaining sections of this Report deal with the work done by the Committee during the 
year, with particular reference to: (i) implementation of the Agreement , including its entry into 
force; (ii) accessions to the Ag reement; (iii) the Committee's a greed Work Programmes; and 
(iv) notifications made pursuant to the Agreement.  
2  IMPLEMENTATION OF TH E AGREEMENT   
2.1  Entry into force of the revised Agreement  
2.1.  As recounted in the Committee's three previous Annual Reports9, the revised Agreement 
entered 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 Agreement's  
Parties. As a result of additional acceptances  received  and accessions  that have taken place , the 
revised Agreement is now in force for all Parties except Switzerland.10 The latter has provided 
regular updates to the Committee on related developments and h as assured the Committee that it 
will provide its  acceptance as soon as possible , taking account of relevant internal requirements 
and legislative procedures .11  
2.2  Implementation of the Agreement by Newly Acceded Parties  
2.2.1   Ukraine  
2.2.  In the course of the Committee 's formal meeting held in February 2017,  Ukraine outlined the 
advances made in its country through the creation  of its national e -procurement  system 
(ProZorro). The system also implements an open -source approach, based on the Open Contracting 
Data Standards (OCDS ). The business intelligence  (BI) incorporated into Prozorro provide s real-
time detailed information on government procurement opportunities  in Ukraine .12  
2.3.  During the  Committee's informal sessions held in  February and Ju ne 2017, Ukraine 
introduced its ideas/initiatives for expanded use of electronic tools for exchanging information on 
government procurement in the GPA context, building on its recent experience and the ongoing 
technological developments. The main objective  of its initiative is to create a unified e -portal to 
aggregate relevant information on GPA covered procurement opportunities (e.g. procurement 
notices) and statistical data. Such a unified e -portal could potentially help all interested parties to 
better identify and monitor procurement  opportunities, and facilitate tendering abroad. Initial 
responses by several Parties suggested that they were supportive of the goal and look ed forward 
to learning more about the concept. As an initial step, Ukraine invited Parties to provide answers 
to a questionnaire  on its initiative circulated in March 2017 .13 
2.2.2   Republic  of Moldova  
2.4.  In the course of the Committee's formal meeting held on 23 February 2017, the Republic of 
Moldova made a statement outlining its ongoing efforts to fully modernize its procurement system, 
including through the implementation of the GPA and GPA -compliant national legislation via a 
modern and comprehensive e -procurement system. It also stressed its need for continued support 
from the Parties and the Secretariat.14 In October 2017, the Republic of Moldova updated the 
Committee on developments regarding its implementation of the Agreement, including the 
                                                
9 See GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016, section 2.1, GPA/134, dated 16 November 2015, section 2.1, 
and GPA/126, dated 26 November 2014, section 2.  
10 A list of the instrument of acceptances and accessions i s provided in GPA/141, dated 
29 November  2016, paragraphs  2.1 and 2.2 ; and GPA/126, dated 26 November 2014, paragraph 2.3.  
11 As the delegation of Switzerland has made clear, the delay in submission of its instrument of 
acceptance is not due to any substantive reservations regarding the content of the revised Agr eement; rather, 
it reflects a need for completion of on -going internal legislative procedures to harmonize Swiss  procurement 
legislation at the federal and cantonal levels.  
12 GPA/M/68, dated 11 May 2017, paragraphs 2.2 -2.7. 
13 GPA/W/340, dated 23 March 2017 .  
14 GPA/M/68, dated 11 May 2017, paragraphs 2.8 -2.13. GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  harmonization of its legal framework  with the GPA , the creation of a new, fully independent review 
body under the supervision of its national parliament, and the introduction of ex -post control of 
procurement procedures. In addition, with the help of several partners, the Republic of Moldova is 
carrying out an on -going project to achieve full digitalization of procurement procedures in order to 
increase integrity and accountability . This includes the development of a new national e -
procurement system, to be based on standards developed by the Open Contrac ting Partnership 
(i.e. the OCDS).  
2.2.3   Related proposal  
2.5.  Carrying forward the discussion, i n the course of the Committe e's informal meeting in 
October  2017, Ukraine suggested t hat the Committee explore the impact of ongoing technological 
developments in the worl d of government procurement as part of its work. According to the 
delegation, r elevant develo pments/initiatives include: (i)  widespread use of e -procurement 
systems, including in developing and transition economies; (ii)  "open contracting" initiatives to 
strengthen transparency and deter corruption; and (iii)  possibilities to improve business 
intelligence  (BI) and facilitate the accumulation and publication of statistical data.  These 
developments and tools are of particular importance to transition economie s acceding to the 
Agreement, to facilitate their effective implementation of it.  As one possible way forward, the 
Chairman  invited delegations to consider the possibility of holding a symposium on this 
topic , in 2018 . Responding to the discussion, the Chai rman invited delegations to 
consider the wider question of how recent developments in the spheres of technology 
and statistics might impact on government procurement and to share any related 
suggestions, in advance of the Committee's planned substantive meetings in March 
2018.  
2.3  Continuing development of the "e -GPA" system  
2.6.  As noted in previous  Annual Reports, the aim of the  e-GPA system is to provide a single point 
of access to market access and related information under the revised Agreement, to serve as a n 
information resource for governments, businesses and other interested parties.15 The system 
offers improved transparency and user -friendly accessibility to the relevant information, and aims 
to better publicize the market access opportunities available un der the Agreement.  It also 
synergizes importantly with particular elements of the revised GPA text that are aimed at 
promoting the use of electronic tools in Parties' procurement systems.   
2.7.  In November 2014, an initial version of the tool ("Phase I") was co mpleted and made publicly 
accessible. In July  2016, the fully functional  edition of e-GPA 2.0  was made publicly accessible via 
the WTO's website  (https://e -gpa.wto.org/ ) ("Phase II"). At the Committee's informal session  in 
Febru ary 2017, the Secretariat provided a brief update to the Committee on Phase III of the 
project. This phase aims to complete and fully operationaliz e the module on modifications which 
will serve to keep  the e -GPA coverage data up to date with the legal schedules . It also  
incorporat es relevant aspects of the Committee's Decision on Arbitration Procedures .16 This is 
expected to improve visibility of and accessibility to information on pending and completed 
modifications, including calendar, search, and reporting functions. It is also expected to improve 
efficiency for Parties and the Secretariat in the administration of modification processes.  
2.8.  The Committee considers the e -GPA system to be important to faci litate not only the efficient 
and transparent administration of the Agreement, but also the evaluation of the market access 
opportunities that the Agreement offers by other WTO Members not parties to it, and thus also  to 
promote  accession to the Agreement.  It looks forward to further improvements to the system in 
the coming year, including the development of tools to facilitate the circulation of Parties' 
statistical reports and other notifications under the Agreement, i n cooperation with delegations.  
2.4  Buy N ational Initiatives  in the United States of America  
2.9.  In the course of the  Committee's October 2017 formal m eeting , it held a discussion on 
current developments concerning buy -national initiatives in the United States. During  the 
                                                
15 See, GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016, section 2.3 , GPA/134, dated 16 November 2015, 
paragraphs 2.2 -2.5, and GPA/126, dated 26 November 2014, section 4.6. 
16 GPA/139, dated 23 June 2016.  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  discussion, a number of dele gations expressed concerns regarding an Executive Order issued by 
the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump , in April 2017, entitled "Buy American 
and Hire American", and related developments and initiatives. The concerns related, inter alia, to:  
(i) potential issues of compatibility with U nited States obligations under the GPA; (ii) possible 
retaliatory measures by other GPA Parties; and/or (iii) the possibility of increased costs, 
bureaucracy and/or additional delays, with no offsetting benefits .  
2.10.   The United States responded by providing  detailed information concerning the Executive 
Order  and the review process that it mandated. It  recalled that the Executive Order had not 
changed the applicable legislative framework;  indeed, the Order specified that nothing in it could 
be construed to impair or affect existing rights or obligations under international agreements.  The 
representative  assured Parties that their views would be taken into account in the preparation of a 
report to the President to be issued in November 2017.17 
2.5  Future work on draft decisions mandated by  Article XIX:8 of the revised GPA  
2.11.   With regard to the Committee's draft decision on indicative criteria, further work on this 
issue has been deferred for the time being. Work of the Committ ee's mandate to develop for 
adoption a separate draft decision on criteria for compensatory adjustment may be taken up at a 
later stage.18 
2.6  Notifications  
2.12.   Information concerning notifications pursuant to the Agreement is set out in Part 5 of this 
Report.  
3  ACCE SSIONS  TO THE AGREEMENT  
3.1.  Significant progress was made on this aspect of the Committee's work during the review 
period. Relevant milestones included: (i)  further constructive discussions and progress on the 
accessions of Australia, the Kyrgyz Republic and t he Republic of Tajikistan; (ii) the circulation of 
and discussion s on the initial market access offer of the Russian Federation; (iii)  continuing 
constructive dialogue on China's accession; and (iv)  the formal initiation of work on the accession 
of the for mer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on application  by that delegation. The following 
provides additional details regarding these particular accessions  and other developments . 
3.1  Further  constructive  discussions and progress on the accessions of Australia, the  
Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan  
3.1.1   Australia  
3.2.  Australia applied for accession to the GPA on 2 June 201519, and expressed the hope of a 
swift conclusion to work on its accession, for the benefit of the multilateral trading system and in 
order to contribute to its G20 growth targets. Its initial  market access offer and r eplies to the 
Checklist of Issues were circulated in September 2015.20 Australia tabled a revised market access 
offer in September 2016 .21 Written exchanges were conducted between Australia and relevant 
Parties.22 The revised offer was also discussed at the Committee's meetings held in October 2016 
and February 2017 .  
                                                
17 GPA/M/69 , dated 7 November 2017 . 
18 It is recalled that on 22 June 2016, the Parties adopted the Committee's Decision on Arbitration 
Procedures pursuant to Article XIX:8(a) of the revised GPA (GPA/139, dated 23 June 2016).  
19 GPA/129, dated 2 June 2015.  
20 GPA/ACC/AUS/1, 8 September 2015; and GPA/ACC/AUS/2, 24 September 2015.  
21 GPA/ACC/AUS/17, dated 30 September 2016 ; and GPA/ACC/AUS/17 /Corr.1, dated 14  October  2016. 
22 The European Union - GPA/ACC/AUS/19, dated 22 December 2016; Ukraine - GPA/ACC/AUS/20, 
dated 12 January 2017; New Zealand - GPA/ACC/AUS/21, dated 7 February 2017; Canada - GPA/ACC/AUS/23, 
dated 8 February 2017; the United States - GPA/ACC/AUS/26, dated 3 M arch 2017; the EFTA - 
GPA/ACC/AUS/27, dated 21 March 2017; and Korea - GPA/ACC/AUS/28, dated 23 March 2017. Replies from 
Australia to the European Union - GPA/ACC/AUS/22, dated 8 February 2017; to Ukraine - GPA/ACC/AUS/24, 
dated 16 February 2017; to New Ze aland - GPA/ACC/AUS/25, dated 16 February 2017; to Canada - GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  3.3.  In June 2017, Australia circulated its second revised market access offer.23 In the course of 
the C ommittee's June 2017 meeting, Australia  affirmed that its second revised  offer went beyond 
the coverage reflected in any of its bilateral or regional trade agreements  and was  close to the 
maximum leve l of coverage that it could offer. Parties confirmed tha t they consider Austr alia's 
second revised offer to be a strong one . Several Parties, nonetheless, noted outstanding concerns 
that they hoped  to see addressed. Written comments on Australia's second revised offer were 
circulated by a number of Parties.24 During the Committee's discussion in October 2017, Australia 
confirmed that GPA accession remained a priority and that it intended to submit a final offer, 
building on its second revised offer, in the coming months. Parties expressed their support for a 
speedy conclusion of work on Australia's accession, in most cases also reiterating  the hope that 
previously submitted comments and requests would be reflected in the final offer as far as 
possible.  
3.4.  The Committee appreciates Australia's continuing engagement a nd hopes to conclude work 
on its accession, if possible and on a mutually satisfactory basis, in the first half of 2018.  
3.1.2   Kyrgyz Republic  
3.5.  The Kyrgyz Republic applied for accession to the GPA in May  199925, honouring its 
commitment to initiate GPA accession n egotiations, made in the course of its accession to the WTO 
in 1998 .26 Following a period of minimal activity, work on this accession was resumed in January 
2016 with the circulation of the Kyrgyz Republic's Law on Public Procurement and a revised and 
updat ed coverage offer.27 The Kyrgyz Republic's second revised offer was circulated in May 2016.28 
In the course of the Committee's June 2016 meeting, Parties, while appreciating the important 
improvements incorporated in the second revised offer, asked for some further improvements in 
order to make the offer agreeable. Written comments were circulated  by several Parties and 
replies to these comments were circulated by the Kyrgyz Republic subsequently.29 
3.6.  On 4 October 2016, the Kyrgyz Republic circulated its final offer.30 In regard to its relevant 
legislation, the draft Amendments to the Law on Public Pro curement were circulated by the Kyrgyz 
Republic in October 201631 and the Kyrgyz Republic's revised r eplies to the Checklist of Issues 
were circulated in June 2017.32  
3.7.  Written exchanges on the Kyrgyz Republic's final offer and/or its draft L aw were conducted  
between relevant Parties and the Kyrgyz Republic.33 The offer was discussed at the Committee's 
meetings held in  October  2016, and February, June  and October  2017. In the course of those 
                                                                                                                                                  
GPA/ACC/AUS/30, dated 16 June 2017; to the United States - GPA/ACC/AUS/31, dated 16 June 2017; to the 
EFTA - GPA/ACC/AUS/32, dated 19 June 2017; and to Korea - GPA/ACC/AUS/33, dated 19 June 2017.  
23 GPA/ACC/AUS/ 29, dated 2 June 2017  
24 Ukraine - GPA/ACC/AUS/34, dated 5  July 2017; and t he European Union - GPA/ACC/AUS/35, dated 
17 July 2017.  
25 GPA/SPEC/4, dated 19 May 1999.  
26 WT/ACC/KGZ/26, dated 31 July 1998, paragraph 120 : "The representative of the Kyrgyz Republic 
stated that the Kyrgyz Republic would initiate negotiations for membership in the Government Procurement 
Agreement upon accession by tabling an entity offer at that time. He also confirmed that, if the results of the 
negotiations were satis factory to the Kyrgyz Republic and the signatories of the Agreement, the Kyrgyz 
Republic would complete negotiations for membership in the Agreement by 31  December  1999. The Working 
Party took note of this commitment."  
27 GPA/ACC/KGZ/2, dated 7 January 2016 ; and GPA/ACC/KGZ/3, dated 19 January 2016.  
28 GPA/ACC/KGZ/6, dated 26 May 2016.  
29 Written comments on the second revised offer by the United States  - GPA/ACC/KGZ/7, dated 
16 June 2016; Chinese Taipei - GPA/ACC/KGZ/8, dated 20  June 2016 ; the European Union - GPA/ACC/KGZ/10, 
dated 28 July  2016; and Ukraine - GPA/ACC/KGZ/11, dated 3  August  2016. Replies from the Kyrgyz Republic 
to the United States - GPA/ACC/KGZ/14, dated 6 October 2016; to Chinese T aipei - GPA/ACC/KGZ/15, dated 
6 October 2016; to the European  Union - GPA/ACC/KGZ/16, dated 6 October 2016; to Ukraine - 
GPA/ACC/KGZ/17, dated 6 October 2016; to Canada - GPA/ACC/KGZ/18, da ted 6 October 2016; and to 
Hong Kong, China - GPA/A CC/KGZ/19, dated 6 October 2016 . 
30 GPA/ACC/KGZ/12, dated 4 October 2016.  
31 GPA/ACC/KGZ/13, dated 6 October 2016.  
32 GPA/ACC/KGZ/26, dated 14 June 2017.  
33 Comments from the European Union - GPA/ACC/KGZ/20 , dated 21 December 2016; from Ukraine – 
GPA/ACC/KGZ/21 and GPA/ACC/KGZ/22, dated 12 January 2017;  and from the United States - 
GPA/ACC/KGZ/23, dated 9  February  2017. Replies to the United States  - GPA/ACC/KGZ/24, dated 
2 June 2017; and to Ukraine - GPA/ACC/KGZ/25, dated 8 June 2017.   GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  discussions, several Parties suggested that, overall, the content of t he offer was close to being 
satisfactory, taking into account clarifications that the Kyrgyz Republic had provided in writing and 
in bilateral meetings. Some indicated that a limited number of further clarifications or 
modifications might still be needed . A price preference currently foreseen in its legislation remains 
a concern. The Kyrgyz Republic reiterated its commitment to GPA accession and reported that 
relevant work is on -going in the capital.  
3.8.  The Committee encourages the Kyrgyz Republic to circulat e a final offer as well as its replies 
to outstanding comments and questions as soon as possible. It hopes that this accession can be 
concluded in 2018, subject to mutually satisfactory outcom es. 
3.1.3   Republic of Tajikistan  
3.9.  Tajikistan applied for accession to t he GPA in February  201534, to honour its commitment to 
initiate GPA accession negotiations, made in the course of its accession to the WTO 
in March  2013.35 Tajikistan circulated i ts initial market access  offer in February 2015, its revised 
offer in February 2016, its second revised offer in June 2016, and its third revised offer in October 
2016.36 The offers were discussed on multiple occasions in the course of the Committee's meetings 
held in 2015 and 2016, and written exchanges took place between GPA Parties  and Tajikistan.  
3.10.   Tajikistan's fourth revised offer was circulated on 20 February 2017  and was discussed at 
the Committee's meeting s held in February, June and October 2017 .37 In the course of th e 
discussion s, some Parties expresse d continuing concerns mainly regarding  a proposed price 
preference programme in Annex 7  of Tajikistan's fourth revised offer . In response, Tajikistan 
indicated that it would reconsider the issue in a positive manner and hoped to submit a revised 
final offer, if possible , by the  end of 2017. Written comments on Tajikistan's fourth revised offer 
were circulated by  a number of delegations .38  
3.11.   With regard to its relevant legislation, Tajikistan's draft Law on Public Procurement and its 
replies to the Checklist of Issues were circulat ed in 2015.39 Subsequently, written exchanges on 
these documents  were conducted between Parties and Tajikistan.40 At the discussion held in 
October 2017, Tajikistan informed the Committee that the revised national legislation was in the 
final stage of adopti on.  
3.12.   The Committee appreciates Tajikistan's continuous engagement in its accession process , 
and encourages Tajikistan to submit its revised final offer as soon as possible . It hopes the 
accession process can be concluded, in principle  and on a mutually sat isfactory basis , in the first 
part of 2018. 
3.2  The circulation of and discussions on the Russian Federation's initial market access 
offer  
3.13.   The Russian  Federation applied for accession to the GPA in August 201641, honouring its 
commitment to initiate GPA accession negotiations, made in the course of its accession to the WTO 
                                                
34 GPA/127, dated 12  February 2015.  
35 WT/ACC/TJK/30, dated 6 November 2012, paragraph 244: "The re presentative of Tajikistan 
confirmed Tajikistan's willingness to accede to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. Tajikistan 
would become an observer to the Agreement upon accession, and submit an application for membership with a 
coverage offer with in one year after accession to the WTO. The Working Party took note of these 
commitments."  
36 GPA/ACC/TJK/1, dated 16 February 2015; GPA/ACC/TJK/9, dated 10 February 2016; 
GPA/ACC/TJK/23, dated 20 June 2016; and GPA/ACC/TJK/ 30, dated 18  October  2016.  
37 GPA/ACC/TJK/41, dated 20  February 2017.  
38 Comments from the United States - GPA/ACC/TJK/4 6, dated 13  March  2017; and from the European 
Union - GPA/ACC/TJK/ 47, dated 8 June 2017 . 
39 GPA/ACC/TJK/7, dated 15 September 2015, and  GPA/ACC/TJK/8, dated 12 November 201 5. 
40 Comments from the European Union - GPA/ACC/TJK/25, dated 25  July 2016 and GPA/ACC/TJK/38, 
dated 22 December 2016; from Ukraine – GPA/ACC/TJK/39, dated 12 January 2017; and from the 
United  States - GPA/ACC/TJK/28 , dated 5 August  2016. Replies to the European Union - GPA/ACC/TJK/32, 
dated 18 October 2016  and GPA/ACC/TJK/42, dated 21 February 2017 ; to Ukraine - GPA/ACC/TJK/ 35, dated 
20 October  2016; and to the United States - GPA/ACC/TJK/ 37, dated 21 October  2016.  
41 GPA/140, dated 22 August 2016.  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  in 2012.42 Its initial market access offer was circulated on 7 June 2017 and was discussed at the 
Committee 's meeting  held in  June and October 2017.43 In the course of these discussions,  Parties 
congratulated the Russian Federation and indicated that the initial offer constituted an important 
milestone  in the accession process . As the same time, they also indicated that significant gaps 
existed  between the initial offer and the Parties'  expectations . Written comments on the initial 
offer were circulated by several delegations.44 
3.14.   Parties  encouraged the Russi an Federation to circulate its r eplies to the Checklist of Issues  
as soon as possible . The replies  to the Checklist are important  to hel p Parties  in assessing the 
initial offer and to facilitate understanding of the Russian Federation's procurement system . At the 
Committee's meetings in October 2017, the Russian  Federation indicated that the replies to the 
Checklist of Issues were expected  to be circulated before the end of the year. It stressed that the 
Russian Federation was looking forward to a constructive dialogue with the Parties in the course of 
the accession negotiations to find a mutual balance of interests.  
3.15.   The Committee was of t he view that the Russian Federation's accession, when it occurs, will 
be a very significant addition to the GPA and will benefit the Russian Federation, the GPA 
Committee and the multilateral trading system.  It hopes that the replies to the Checklist of Issues 
will be circulated as soon as possible and that good progress on the Russian Federation 's accession 
to the GPA will be made in 2018.  
3.3  Continuing constructive discussions on China's accession  
3.16.   China applied for accession  to the GPA on 28  December 200745, honouring its commitment 
to initiate GPA accession negotiations, made in the course of its accession to the WTO in 2001 .46 
Its initial market access offer was circulated to the Committee in  January 200847 and, since then,  
five further offers have been circulated by China. Discussions dedicated to China's accession have 
taken place on multiple occasions  over the last 10 years .48  
3.17.   During  the reporting period,  discussions on next steps regarding this accession  took place 
during t he Committee's meetings held in February, June and October 2017. Parties, while 
acknowledging the significant improvements contained in the fifth revised offer as compared to its 
previous offers, also made clear  that significant gaps remained between the o ffer and their 
expectations . They encouraged China to submit a further revised offer as soon as possible. At the 
Committee's meeting s held in February 2017, China announced that it would circulate a further 
revised offer, at a time to be determined, with a  focus on improving the coverage of sub -central 
government entities and SOEs.49 It also  reported on its continuing efforts to coordinate with 
domestic stakeholders and to consult bilaterally with relevant GPA Parties, with a view to  
                                                
42 WT/A CC/RUS/70, dated 17  November 2011, paragraph 1143: " The representative of the Russian 
Federation confirmed the intention of the Russian Federation to join the WTO Agreement on Government 
Procurement and to notify the Committee on Government Procurement to this effect at the time of accession of 
the Russian Federation to the WTO and to ensure that from the date of accession, its government agencies 
would award contracts in a transparent manner according to published laws, regulations and guidelines. He 
also confirmed that the Russian Federation would request observership in the WTO Agreement on Government 
Procurement at the time of its accession to the WTO and would initiate negotiations for membership in the 
WTO Agreement on Government Procurement by tabling  an Appendix 1 offer within four years of accession. He 
confirmed that, if the results of the negotiations were satisfactory to the interests of the Russian Federation 
and the other Members of the Agreement, the Russian Federation would accede to that Agre ement. The 
Working Party took note of these commitments. " 
43 GPA/ACC/RUS/ 1, dated 7 June 2017 
44 Chinese Taipei - GPA/ACC/RUS/2, dated 8  August 2017 ; Hong Kong, China - GPA/ACC/RUS/3, dated 
6 September  2017; the European Union - GPA/ACC/RUS/4, dated 27  Septe mber 2017;  New Zealand - 
GPA/ACC/RUS/5, dated 10  October 2017; and the EFTA countries – GPA/ACC/RUS/6, dated 12 October 2017.  
45 GPA/93, dated 14  January 2008.  
46 WT/ACC/CHN/49, dated 1 October 2001 and WT/MIN(01)/3, dated 10 No vember 2001, paras. 340 
and 3 41: "The representative of China [responded] that China would become an observer to the GPA upon 
accession to the WTO Agreement and initiate negotiations for membership in the GPA by tabling an Appendix 1 
offer as soon as possible. The Working Party t ook n ote of these commitments."  
47 GPA/ACC/CHN/1, dated 7  January  2008.  
48 A list of references to the Committee's previous Annual Reports the Committee on China's accession 
is provided in GPA/141, dated 29 November 2017, section  3.4, footnote 49 . 
49 See details contained in the Summary of the Informal Plurilateral Discussion on Accessions to the 
Agreement on Government Procurement, 23 February 2017, as contained in RD/GPA/49 , dated 2 June 2017.  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  eventually tabl ing an im proved offer. In this regard , China requested Parties to indicate their 
priority interests.  In response, several Parties indicated that their written comments that had been 
circulated previously remained valid50, and one Party  circulated additional comments .51 
3.18.   As noted also in its 201 6 Annual Report, the Committee remains of the view that China's 
GPA accession, on mutually agreeable and  appropriate terms, is a matter of significance for the 
Agreement, for the WTO, and for the world economy; and an important s ignal for other emerging 
economies. It hopes that a further revised offer will be circulated by China as soon as possible in 
2018 and that further progress on this accession will follow.  
3.4  The initiation of work on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's  Accession to 
the Agreement  
3.19.   Pursuant to a commitment it undertook in the course of its WTO accession in 200252, the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia applied for GPA accession  in March 2017.53 Its draft 
procurement law and r eplies to the Checklist of Issues were circulated in March 2017.54 During the 
Committee's meeting s in June 2017, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia introduced the 
main characteristics of its public procurement system. Parties warmly welcomed the important 
steps taken by the fo rmer Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and encouraged it to submit its initial 
market access offer as soon as possible. Com ments on the draft Law and the r eplies to the 
Checklist of Issues were circulated in June 2017 by one Party. Replies to these comments were 
circulated in July 2017.55 At the Committee's meeting s held in October 2017, the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia reported on its ongoing domestic legislative reform and indicated that it 
planned to circulate its initial market access offer in adv ance of the Committee's March 2018 
meetings.  
3.20.   The Committee welcomes the initiation of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's GPA 
accession process , encourages the circulation of the initial market access offer as soon as possible,  
and hopes that this  accession ca n move forward swiftly in 2018.  
3.5  The Chairman's outreach to Latin American countries regarding their interest in the 
Agreement  
3.21.   At the end of 2016, Chairman  Newham , with the support of the Committee, wrote to the 
Ambassadors of all Latin American WTO Members to alert them to the WTO Advanced Regional 
Workshop on Government Procurement for Latin American Countries to be held in Buenos Aires, 
Argentina on 3 -5 May 2017  (details of the activity are reported  in section  3.7 below ). He also 
affirmed his availability and interest to meet with them, if and when useful, to explore any 
questions that they might have concerning the pros and cons of joining the GPA as Parties or 
observers. In the course of the  Committee's  meetings in February 2017, Mr Newham  updated the 
Commi ttee on his outreach initiative, noting  that he and the Secretariat had  had follow -up 
conversations with several  Latin American WTO Members. Parties expressed  their support for this 
initiative.  
3.22.   In June 2017, the Chairman provided a further update to the Committee on his outreach to 
Latin American deleg ations, including contacts with multiple delegations and his positive 
impressions from his participation in the WTO Advanced Regional Workshop  on the GPA organized 
by the Secretariat  in Buenos Aires on 3 -5 May 2017. He noted , in particular,  a high level of 
                                                
50 Canada - GPA/ACC/CHN/46 , dated 19 June 2015; Japan - GPA/A CC/CHN/47, dated 
7 December  2015; and the European Union - GPA/ACC/CHN/4 8, dated 26 May  2016; and  
GPA/ACC/CHN/48 /Corr.1, dated 14 June 2016.  
51 Korea - GPA/ACC/CHN/49 , dated 31 May 2017.  
52 WT/ACC/807/27, dated 26  September 2002, paragraph 177: "The represen tative of FYROM confirmed 
that, upon accession to the WTO, the Government of FYROM would initiate negotiations for membership in the 
Agreement on Government Procurement by tabling an entity offer. He also confirmed that, if the results of the 
negotiations were satisfactory to the interests of FYROM and the other members of the Agreement, FYROM 
would complete negotiations for membership in the Agreement within two years of accession. The Working 
Party took note of these commitments."  
53 GPA/143, dated 17 Marc h 2017.  
54 GPA/ACC/MKD/1, dated 31 March 2017.  
55 The United States' questions - GPA/ACC/MKD/2, dated 6 June 2017; the FYROM's replies - 
GPA/ACC/MKD/3, dated 27 July 2017.  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  engagement and interest from Latin America  participants  in the Workshop , and a strong level  of 
preparedness, knowledge and expertise (e.g. with regard to e -procurement and other technical 
issues). He observed clear parallels between the participants'  interests and various challenges and 
issues under discussion in the Committee, e.g. concerning: (i)  the treatment of SMEs; (ii) the 
promotion of sustainability; and (iii) the improvement of available statistics on relevant issues . He 
also observed a de facto  growing convergence between domestic government procurement 
regimes in the region and the GPA, due, in part, to the participation by Latin American countries in 
regional trade agreements (R TAs) with dedicated chapters on government procurement  modelled 
on the GPA . He encouraged Parties to the Agreement to explore further, in their bilateral contacts 
with relevant delegations, these delegations' potential interests in the Agreement. Subsequently, a 
separate debrief for Geneva -based representatives of all Latin American WTO Members was held at 
the WTO in June 2017 . The Chairman's remarks delivered at th e Workshop were circulated to the 
Committee in July 2017.56  
3.23.   The Committee appreciates  the Chairman 's efforts and expresses the hope that interest in 
the Agreement will grow over time , in Latin America, and in other relevant regions of the world .  
3.6  Other Pending Accessions  
3.24.   During the reporting period, the Committee also kept under review the status of other 
pending GPA accessions and accession commitments. Apart from the above -mentioned six 
accessions, four other WTO Members have formally initiated work on  their respective accessions to 
the Agreement: Albania, Georgia, Jordan and Oman. A further five WTO Members have provisions 
regarding accession to the Agreement in their respective Protocols of Accession to the WTO: 
Afghanistan57, Kazakhstan58, Mongolia59, Saudi Arabia60 and Seychelles.61 
3.25.   At the Committee's meeting s held in June 2017, Georgia updated the Committee on its 
ongoing procurement reforms and introduced its government procurement regime. It indicated 
that Georgia's new draft procurement law was expect ed to be compliant with the GPA, and the 
relevant EU Directives/A cquis. Work was ongoing on the implementation of both Georgia's 
Association Agreement with the European Union and the regional trade agreement with European 
Free Trade Association (EFTA)  countries, which contains a  dedicated chapter on government 
procurement based on the revised GPA. In addition, Georgia was conducting a feasibility and 
impact study on GPA accession.  
                                                
56 GPA/W/342 , dated 7 July 2017.  
57 WT/ACC/AFG/36, dated 13 November 2015, paragraph 19 9: "The representative of Afghanistan 
confirmed Afghanistan's willingness to accede to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. 
Afghanistan would become an observer to the Agreement upon accession, and submit an application for 
membership with a covera ge offer after accession to the WTO. He indicated that Afghanistan would consider 
initiation of negotiations on joining the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement within one year from the 
date of accession to the WTO. The Working Party took note of these commitments."  
58 WT/ACC/KAZ/93, dated 23 June 2015, paragraph 949: "The representative of Kazakhstan confirmed 
the intention of Kazakhstan to join the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement and to notify the WTO 
Committee on Government Procurement to this effect at the time of accession of Kazakhstan to the WTO and 
to ensure that from the date of accession, its Government agencies would award contracts in a transparent 
manner according to published laws, regulations and guidelines. She also confirmed that K azakhstan would 
request the status of an "observer" in the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement at the time of its 
accession to the WTO and would initiate negotiations for membership in the WTO Agreement on Government 
Procurement by tabling an Appendix 1 offer within four years after accession. She confirmed that, if the results 
of the negotiations were satisfactory to the interests of Kazakhstan and the other Members of the Agreement, 
Kazakhstan would accede to that Agreement. The Working Party took not e of these commitments."  
59 WT/ACC/MNG/9, dated 27  June 1996, paragraph 59: "The representative of Mongolia confirmed that 
his Government would seek observer status in the Committee for the Agreement on Government Procurement 
at the time of its accession wi th a view to initiating negotiations for membership thereafter. The Working Party 
took note of this commitment."  
60 WT/ACC/SAU/61, dated 1  November 2005, paragraph 231: "The representative of Saudi Arabia 
confirmed that, upon accession to the WTO, Saudi Ara bia would initiate negotiations for membership in the 
Agreement on Government Procurement by tabling an entity offer. He also confirmed that, if the results of the 
negotiations were satisfactory to the interests of Saudi Arabia and the other parties to the  Agreement, Saudi 
Arabia would complete negotiations for membership in the Agreement within a year of accession. The Working 
Party took note of these commitments."  
61 WT/ACC/SYC/64, dated 5 November 2014, paragraph 322: "The representative of Seychelles 
confirmed that, within one year from the date of accession, Seychelles would initiate negotiations to accede to 
the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. The Working  Party took note of this commitment."  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  3.26.   The Committee notes that some (not all) of the commitments mentioned have been 
outstanding for a considerable period, and hopes to see an acceleration of work toward their 
fulfilment in 2018. Technical assistance to support such work is available, where appropriate, from 
the WTO Secretariat, individual GPA Parties, regional dono rs and other sources. Relevant Members 
are invited and enco uraged to seek such assistance.  
3.7  Secretariat technical assistance and other activities relevant to GPA accessions  
3.27.   Pursuant to a standing request by the Committee62, the Secretariat, in the course of the 
Committee's meetings held in  February,  June and  October 2017, provided brief reports on its 
ongoing technical assistance activities relevant to GPA accessions. These consisted of two regional 
workshops, two national seminars, and a number of Geneva -based and other activities.  
3.28.   The GPA regional workshops were organised, respectively, for the benefit of: (i)  Latin 
American Countries, held in Argentina in May 2017; and (ii) Central and Eastern Europe, Central 
Asia and the Caucasus (CEECAC) countries, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, in September 2017, in 
cooperation with  the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development  (EBRD ). The GPA 
national seminars were organised, respectively, for and at the request of: (i) Sri Lanka, held in 
Colombo in September 2017; and (ii) China, in cooperation with the Administrative Committee of 
China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone Qianhai & Shekou Area of Sh enzhen, held in Shenzhen, 
China , in October 2017.  
3.29.   In addition, the Secretariat participated as a cooperating partner in thr ee separate Capacity -
Building Workshops organised in Geneva by EBRD under the latter's GPA Technical Cooperation 
Facility63, for the benefit of GPA acceding Members and observers from the EBRD's area of 
operations. These activities were organised during the  Committee's meeting weeks in February, 
June and October 2017, in order to assist officials participating, on behalf of their governments, in 
GPA accession negotiations and/or to provide practical exposure to the Committee meetings. The 
October event also benefitted from significant support by the Commercial Law Development 
Programme of the US Department of Commerce (CLDP). Beyond the foregoing activities, 
Secretariat experts also participated, by invitation, in a number of relevant activities organised by 
national authoritie s or other international organiz ations.64 
3.30.   The Committee notes the importance of the Secretariat's technical assistance activities in 
promoting a better understanding of the GPA among WTO Members that are not yet Parties to the 
Agreement, and in facilitating accessions to and post -accession implementation of the Agreement. 
It appreciates the role that EBRD has played in supporting work on GPA accession by countries 
within its area of operations. It welcomes , also,  the growing cooperation be tween  the Secretariat 
and CLDP. It encourages the Secretariat to intensify its work in this area pursuant to the mandate 
endorsed by GPA Ministers in 2011 and 201365, while deepening its existing partnerships and 
exploring avenues for further cooperation with other agencies where possible and appropriate.  
                                                
62 GPA/106, dated 9  December 2010, paragraph 30.  
63 A facility set up by EBRD to provided support for capacity building for countries in its area of 
operations contemplating, preparing for or acceding to the Agreement – see GPA/126 and GPA/126/Corr.1, 
dated 26 November 2014, para. 3.31.  
64 These included: (i)  the Africa High Level Procurement Forum and e -Government Procurement Forum, 
jointly organised by the African Development Bank and World Bank, Johannesburg, South Afri ca, 3 -7 April 
2017; (ii) the International Workshop e -Procurement and Cross -border Participation in Procurement, organised 
by Korea Public Procurement Service, Seoul, Korea, 19 -20 April 2017 ; (iii) the EBRD Expert Level Session on a 
Methodology for GPA Eco nomic Impact Analysis, organised by EBRD, London, 19 -20 April 2017 ; (iv) the Panel 
Discussion on SME Procurement at the EBRD Annual Meeting in Cyprus, and Workshop on e -Procurement, 
organised by EBRD, Cyprus, 8 -9 May 2017; and (v) the Capacity Building Wor kshop on Government 
Procurement for Armenia, Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine, organised jointly by WTO, the Commercial Law 
Development Programme of the US Department of Commerce (CLDP) an d EBRD, Geneva, Switzerland, 
19 October 2017.  
65 GPA/112, dated 16  December 2011, paragraph 8; GPA/122, dated 3  December 2013, paragraph 5.  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  4  THE COMMITTEE'S AGREED WORK PROGRAMMES  
4.1.  Significant work was done by the Committee during the review period in rela tion to its agreed 
Work Programmes.66 The Work Programmes are intended, broadly, to: (i) promote transparency 
with respect to Parties' implementation of the Agreement; (ii) facilitate, where relevant, 
improvements in the administration of the Agreement; and  (iii) contribute, where appropriate, to 
preparations for the future negotiations that are called for in Article XXII:7 of the revised GPA. 
Activity focused, during the year, on the Work Programmes on dealing with : (i) Sustainable 
Procurement  the promotion  of sustainability in Parties' procurement processes ; (ii) the 
Collection and Reporting of Statistical Data; and (iii) access to government procurement 
activities by small and medium -sized enterprises ( SMEs ). In each case, progress was 
facilitated by discu ssions held in informal small groups, the results of which were subsequently  
reported to the Committee as a whole.  
4.2.  Further to the above:  
 As regards the Work Programme on  Sustainable Procurement  Sustainability in 
international procurement , Paragraph 2 of the relevant Decision67 mandates the 
Committee to examine topics that include: (i) the objectives of sustainable procurement; 
(ii) the ways in which the concept of sustainable procurement is i ntegrated into national 
and sub -national procurement policies; an d (iii) how sustainable procurement can be 
practised in a manner consistent with the principle of "best value for money", and with 
the Parties' international trade obligations. Inputs describing relevant policies, objectives 
and legislation have been provi ded by seven Parties. A compilation of all submissions 
received was circulated by the Secretariat in October 2016. Related proposals to 
advance the discussions have been circulated at various points by Canada and a 
supportive note provided by New Zealand.  
 Carrying forward the work on this Work Programme, at the Committee's request, a 
Symposium on Sustainable Procurement was held  on 22 February 2017 . Following the 
Symposium , the Secretariat was asked to prepare a report outlining key take -aways 
from the eve nt. The requested report was circulated in May 2017 .68 In the course of a 
follow -up discussion in June  2017, the Secretariat was asked to prepare and circulate  a 
list of measures and policies relevant to sustainable public procurement that are 
mentioned in Parties' submissions and/or in the Secretariat's Report on the Symposium 
on Sustainable Procurement. The requested List was circulated by the Secretariat in 
September 2017 .69 In the course of the Committee's discussion in October  2017,  two 
delegations indic ated their intention to jointly prepare , for the Parties' consideration in 
March 2018, a draft outline identifying key elements to be addressed in the final report 
for the Work Programme on Sustainable Procurement.70 
 Regarding the Work Programme on Collecti on and Reporting of Statistical Data , 
Paragraph 1 of the relevant Decision71 calls for  the Committee to : (i) review the 
collection and reporting of statistical data by the Parties; (ii) consider the potential of 
harmonizing them; and (iii) prepare a report of the results.  Relevant submissions  of 
information on statistical data on covered procurement  have been initially received from 
13 Parties. A compilation of the inputs was circulated by the Secretariat in 
February  2016 and an updated version was circulate d in July 2017. In the course of the 
Committee's meeting s in February 2017, Parties agreed to further exchanges of 
information on selected technical issues . In April  2017, a Working List of I ssues related 
to the Work Programme, together with a document set ting out proposed questions to be 
addressed in the course Committee's meetings in June 2017 , were circulated  by the 
United States . In September 2017, additional questions to be discussed in the course 
                                                
66 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 ). 
67 See GPA/113, Annex E of App endix 2, page 444.   
68 GPA/W/341, dated 30 May 2017.  
69 GPA/WPS/SP/11 , dated 13 September 2017.  
70 Pursuant to Paragraph 3 of the relevant Decision, the report shall list the best practices of the 
measures and policies that the Committee considers to be sust ainable procurement practiced in a manner 
consistent with the principle of "best value for money" and with Parties' international trade obligations.  
71 See GPA/113, Annex D  of Appendix 2, 442 -443. GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  Committee's meetings in October 2017 and March 2018 wer e circulated by the United 
States. Altogether, replies to the further  set of  questions have been provided by seven 
Parties.  
 In regard to the Work Programme on SMEs , Paragraph 3.2 of the relevant Decision72 
provides that the Committee shall survey the Parti es, through the use of a Questionnaire 
seeking information regarding the measures and policies used to assist, promote, 
encourage, or facilitate participation by SMEs in government procurement. The terms of 
the Questionnaire were agreed in 2015. Altogether , replies to the SME Questionnaire 
have been received from 16  Parties. A compilation of replies was circulated by the 
Secretariat in February 2016 and an updated version was circulated in October  2016.  In 
the course of the Committee's meetings in February 2016, Parties agreed to carry out an 
initial exchange of f ollow-up questions and answers.  
 Subsequently, written questions were circulated by three Parties and written answers 
provided by 11 Parties. A compilation of the questions and answers received was 
circulated by the Secretariat in October 2016 and an updated version was circulated in 
July 2017. At the request of the Committee, a short paper identifying possible SME -
related issues for discussion by Parties in an informal, small group format, was circul ated 
by the Secretariat in October 2016. At the Committee's meetings in October 2016, 
Parties were invited to provide contributions on commonalities in their approaches for 
promoting and facilitating the participation of SMEs of the Parties in government 
procurement.  Subsequently, such a contribution was provided by  one Party.  
 Carrying forward the work on this Work Programme  during the period under review , in 
the course of the Committee's February 2017 meetings , Parties were encouraged to 
submit non -papers regarding their views on what constitutes "best practices" for 
promoting and facilitating the participation of SMEs in government procuremen t. In the 
course of the Committee's June 2017 meeting s, two delegations  indicated their intention 
to jointly prepare  for discussion by the Committee a draft list of "best practices" for 
promoting and facilitating the participation of SMEs in government procurement , based 
on the practices identified in the Parties' non-papers . In the Committee's October 2017 
meeting s, some delegations indicated their desire to initiate the process of identifying 
the measures and policies considered to be good or best practices and to also commence 
identification of "other " measures.73 A further discussion on the topic is expected to take 
place in March 2018.  
4.3.  Concerning the Work Programme on Exclusions and Restrictions in Parties' Annexes , 
14 Parties have provided lists of country -specific and other exclusions or restrictions in their 
Annexes. A compilation of replies was circulated by the Secretariat in January 2016 and an 
updated version was circu lated in February 2017. Regarding the review called for in paragraph 6 of 
the Decision establishing the Work Programme on Exclusions and Restrictions i n Parties' Annexes74 
and as noted also in its 2016 Annual Report75, the Committee consider s that the exchange of 
information already conducted pursuant to this Work Programme has been useful.  Parties that 
have not yet provided their relevant inputs to the Wo rk Programme, including recently acceded 
Parties, are cordially requested to do so. Parties desiring additional information concerning any 
Parties' exclusions and restrictions may so request under the terms of paragraph 4 of the same 
Decision, or pursuant to their general rights as Parties to the Agreement.  
4.4.  More generally, with respect to all of the Work Programmes discussed above, the  Committee 
considers that its work has been useful in enhancing transparency and as a contribution to 
preparations for the eventual further review of the Agreement which is called for in Article XXII:7 
of the revised Agreement. It looks forward to further engagement, where appropriate, on these 
Work Programmes in 2018. Other Work Programmes foreseen at the conclusion of the GPA  
                                                
72 See GPA/113, Annex C  of Appendix 2,  439-441.  
73 Pursuant to Paragraph 4.1 of the relevant Decision, the  "Committee shall identify the measures and 
policies that it considers to be best practices for promoting and facilitating the participation of SMEs of the 
Parties in government procurement and prepar e a report that includes the best practices of the measures and 
policies and a list of the other measures. " 
74 See GPA/113, Annex F  of Appendix 2, 445 -446. 
75 See GPA/141, dated 29 November 2016, paragraph 4.4.  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  renegotiation in 2012, for example on Safety Standards  in International Procurement ; Review 
of the Use, Transparency and the Legal Frameworks of  Public -Private Partnerships , and 
their Relationship to Covered Procurement ; the Advantages and Disadvantages of 
Developing  Common Nomenclature for Goods and Services ; and the Advantages and 
Disadvantages of Developing  Standardized Notices76, will be taken up as and when the 
Committee considers this to be useful and timely.  
5  NOTIFICATIONS  UNDER THE AGREEMENT  
5.1.  This part of the report summarizes information relating  to the notifications under the 
Agreement, including with respect to: (i) the thresholds applicable under the Agreement; (ii) the 
notification of national implementing legislation; (iii) statistical re porting; (iv)  consultations and 
dispute settlement; and (v) modifications to the Agreement's Appendices.  
5.2.  The Committee takes note of the notifications made in the course of the reporting period and 
encourages delegations that have not yet provided re levant  notifications to do so.  
5.1  Thresholds  
5.3.  In accordance with the Decision on Modalities for Notifying Threshold Figures in National 
Currencies77, since the last A nnual Report, four Parties (the Republic of Korea, the Republic of 
Moldova, the Netherlands with respect to Aruba and New Zealand) have  provided information on 
their respective threshold figures expressed in national currencies  (see Table 1 below).   
Table 1: The Thresholds in Appendix I of the Agreement as  Expressed i n National 
Currencies  
Party  Symbol  Date  Period of validity  
Korea, Republic of  GPA/W/336/Add.6/Rev.1  13/01/ 2017 From 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2018  
Moldova, Republic of  GPA/W/336/Add.12  06/04 /2017 From 14/07/2016 to 14/07/2018  
Netherlands with respect to 
Aruba  GPA/W/314/Add.12  03/03/2017 From 01/01/2012 to 31/12/2013  
GPA/W/299/Add.11  03/03/ 2017 From 01/01/2008 to 31/12/2009  
New Zealand  GPA/W/336/Add.13  12/10/2017  From 01/01/2017 to 31/12/2018  
 
5.2  Notification of national implementing legislation  
5.4.  Pursuant to Article  XXIV:5(b) of the 1994 Agreement  and Article XXII:5 of the r evised 
Agreement , notifications were received from  one Party (Japan) ( see Table 2 below) . 
Table 2: National Implementing Legislation  
Party  Symbol  Date  
Japan  GPA/99/Add.5  03/04/2017  
GPA/37/Add.14  03/04/2017  
 
5.3  Statistical  reporting  
5.5.  Article  XIX:5 of the 1994 Agreement and Article XVI:4 of the revised GPA require Parties to 
collect and provide, on an annual basis, statistics on their procurements covered by the 
Agreement. During the period under review,  ten Parties (Canada, the Europea n Union, Iceland, 
Japan, the Republic of Moldova, the Netherlands with respect to Aruba, New Zealand, Switzerland, 
Chinese Taipei and Ukraine) have  provided statistical reports (s ee Table 3 below) . 
                                                
76 See GPA/113, Annex G, and GPA/113, Annex B, respectively.  
77 GPA/1, dated 5  March  1996, Annex  3. GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
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  Table 3: Statistics on Procurements Covered by the Agreement  
Party  Symbol  Date Legal Basis  Period 
covered  
Canada  GPA/130/Add.7  06/02/2017  Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2014 
GPA/130/Add.7/Rev.1  12/04/2017  Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2014 
European Union  GPA/123/Add.7  03/07/2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2013 
Iceland  GPA/142/Add.2  25/04/2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2016 
GPA/137/Add.6  25/04/ 2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2015 
Hong Kong, 
China  GPA/142/Add.6/Corr.1  04/09/2017  Art. XVI:4 revised 
GPA 2016  
GPA/142/Add.6  31/08/2017  Art. XVI:4 revised 
GPA 2016  
Japan  GPA/137/Add.5  25/04/ 2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2015 
Moldova, Republic 
of GPA/142/Add. 1 06/04/2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2016 
The Netherlands 
with respect to 
Aruba  GPA/130/Add.8  03/03/2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2014 
New Zealand  GPA/142/Add.4  19/07/2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2016 
GPA/137/Add.7  19/07/2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA From 
12/08/2015 to 
31/12/2015  
Switzerland  GPA/142/Add.5  22/08/ 2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2016 
Chinese Taipei  GPA/142/Add.3  03/07/2017 Art. XVI:4 revised GPA 2016 
Ukraine  GPA/142  30/01/ 2017 Art. XVI:4  revised GPA 2016 
 
5.4  Consultations and dispute settlement  
5.6.  No matters were raised during the reporting period under Article  XXII of the 1994 Agreement 
or Article XX of the revised Agreement (Consultations and Dispute Settlement).  
5.5  Notifications relating to the Appendices to the Agreement78 
5.5.1   Notifications related to A ppendices I of the Agreement  
5.7.  Since the last A nnual Report, four Parties (Armenia, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore) 
have notified proposed modifications to Appendix I of the revised Agreement , pursuant to Article 
XIX:1 of the revised GPA  (see Table 4 below).  
5.8.  In addition, three Parties (Armenia, Japan and Singapore) have notified proposed 
modifications to Appendix I of the 1994 GPA, pursuant to Article XXIV:6(a) of the  1994 Agreement  
(see Table 5 below).  
5.5.2   Notifications related to  Appendices II to IV of the Agreement  
5.9.  During the reporting period , there has been no notification.  
                                                
78 See also GPA/W/326, dated 19  March 2014 - Committee on Government Procurement - Approval and 
issuance of updated loose -leaf schedules to the revised Agreement - Note from the Secretariat; and 
GPA/W/327, dated 11  April 2014 - Committee on Government Procurement - Certification of updated loose -leaf 
schedules to the revised Agreement - Appendices II -IV - Note from the Secretariat .  
  GPA/W/345/Rev.1  
 
- 16 - Table 4: Modifications to Appendix I that have been notified  under Article XIX:1 of the revised GPA  
Party 
proposing 
modifications  Proposed Modification s Related Communications  Certification  Status and  
Remarks  
 Doc Symbol  Date  Questions/  
Objection  Doc Symbol  Party  Date  Effective 
Date  Symbol   
Armenia  GPA/MOD/ARM/3  02/03/2017  
    16/04/2017  WT/Let/1252  The proposed modification has become 
effective, as no objection has been 
received within 45 days.  Questions  GPA/MOD/ARM/4  United States  13/03/2017  
Replies  GPA/MOD/ARM/5  Armenia  20/03/2017  
Japan  GPA/MOD/JPN/97  05/04/2017         20/05/2017  WT/Let/1264  The proposed modification has become 
effective, as no objection has been 
received within 45 days.  
GPA/MOD/JPN/99  28/09/2017        Outstanding. The end of the objection 
period is on 12 November 2017.  
New Zealand  GPA/MOD/NZL/3  27/10/2017      11/12/2016  WT/Let/1224  The proposed modification has become 
effective, as no objection has been 
received within 45 days.  
GPA/MOD/NZL/479 11/05/2017         26/06/2017  WT/Let/1269  The proposed modification has become 
effective, as no objection has been 
received within  45 days.  
Singapore  GPA/MOD/SGP/5  02/11/2016      17/12/2016  WT/Let/1227  The proposed modification has become 
effective, as no objection has been 
received within 45 days.  
 
Table 5: Modifications to Appendix I that have been notified  under Article XXIV:6(a) of  the 1994  Agreement80 
Party proposing 
modifications  Proposed Modification  Certification  Status and Remarks  
 Doc Symbol  Date  Effective Date  LET Document Symbol  Remarks  
Armenia  GPA/MOD/ARM/2  02/03/2017  01/04/2017  WT/Let/1251  The proposed modification has become effective, as no 
objection has been received within 30 days.  
Japan  GPA/MOD/JPN/96  05/04/2017  05/05/2017  WT/Let/12 59 The proposed modification has become effective, as no 
objection has been received within 30 days.  
GPA/MOD/JPN/98  28/09/2017  28/10/2017  Let document to be circulated.  The proposed modification has become effective, as no 
objection has been received within 30 days.   
Singapore  GPA/MOD/SGP/4  02/11/2016  02/12/2016  WT/Let/1226  The proposed modification has become effective, as no 
objection has been received within 30 days.  
 
__________  
                                                
79 See also GPA/MOD/NZL/4/Corr.1, da ted 26 June 2017.  
80 A list of outstanding proposed modifications to Appendix I under the 1994 Agreement from 2015 and previous years is provided in GPA/134, dated 16 November 2015, 
paragraph 5.9.