WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
GPA/110 
16 November 2011 
 
 (11-5859) 
  
  
 
REPORT (2011) OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT 
 
 
I. GENERAL 
1. This report covers the period since the Committee's previous Annual Report
1, that is 
mid-December 2010 through mid-November 2011.  It is  issued pursuant to Article XXIV:7(a) of the 
Agreement on Government Procurement ("the Agreem ent" or "the GPA").  An Addendum to the 
report may be issued if appropriate to reflect any developments after the date of issuance of this 
report. 
2. Since the last Annual Report, the Committee h as held one formal meeting:  on 9 March 2011.2  
This meeting was chaired by Mr. Nicholas Niggli (Switzerland).3 
3. The Committee has also held a series of info rmal meetings, also chaired by Mr. Niggli, 
focusing on accessions to the Agre ement, the negotiations under Article XXIV:7 of the Agreement, 
and other matters, in the weeks beginning 7 Marc h, 23 May, 19 September, and 17 October 2011, 
respectively. 
4. The following WTO Members are cove red by the Agreement:  Armenia4;  Canada;  the 
European Union, including its 27 member States;  Hong Kong, China;  Iceland;  Israel;  Japan;  Korea;  Liechtenstein;  the Kingdom of the Netherla nds with respect to Aruba;  Norway;  Singapore;  
Switzerland;  Chinese Taipei;  and the United States. 
5. Twenty-two WTO Members have observer status in the Committee on Government 
Procurement:  Albania, Argentina, Australia, Ba hrain, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, 
Georgia, India, Jordan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, 
Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Ukraine.  F our intergovernmental organizations, namely the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Internationa l Trade Centre, the Organization for Economic 
Co-operation and Development (OECD) a nd UNCTAD, also have observer status. 
II. ACCESSIONS TO THE AGREEMENT 
6. Work on pending accessions to the Agreement con tinued to be an important focus of the 
Committee during the reporting period.  The Republic of Armenia became a Party to the GPA as of 
15 September 2011.  Nine other WTO Members are in the process of acceding to the Agreement:  
Albania, China, Georgia, Jordan, the Kyrgyz Re public, Moldova, Oman, Panama and Ukraine.  A 
further four WTO Members have provisions regarding accession to the Agreement in their respective 
                                                      
1 GPA/106, dated 9 December 2010. 
2 GPA/M/43, dated 22 March 2011. 
3 At its meeting of 9 March 2011, the Committee agreed that Mr. Nicholas Niggli (Switzerland) should 
continue as Chairman at least until the summer brea k (GPA/M/43, dated 22 March 2011, paras. 12-13). 
4 The Republic of Armenia became a Party to the GPA as of 15 September 2011 (see its instrument of 
accession in document WT/Let/821 , dated 13 September 2011). GPA/110 
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Protocols of Accession to the WTO:  Croatia
5, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia6, 
Mongolia7 and Saudi Arabia.8  The Committee notes that several of these commitments have been 
outstanding for a considerable period, and intends  to seek an acceleration of work toward their 
fulfillment in 2012.  Most recently, a commitment re garding GPA accession has been included in the 
Report of the Working Party on the WTO Accession of Russia, which was adopted by the Working 
Party, on an ad referendum basis, on 10 Novemb er 2011.  The following provides additional details 
regarding particular WTO Members whose accessions were the subject of substantive discussions or 
other developments during the year. 
1. Armenia 
7. In the course of its meeting on 7 December 2010, the Committee adopted a Decision inviting 
Armenia to accede to the Agreemen t on terms that had been agreed.9  Under that Decision, Armenia 
was required to adopt and bring into force legisl ation in conformity with the provisions of the 
Agreement on Government Procurement as required by  Article XXIV:5(a) of the Agreement, and to 
submit to the Committee the said legislation, together with information regarding its entry into force.  
The Decision then provided a three-month period for Armenia to submit its instrument of accession 
following confirmation by the Committee that its national legislation meets the requirement of GPA 
conformity. 
8. On 8 February 2011, Armenia provided the final text of its legislation, in English, to the 
Committee.10  Armenia's accompanying communication also confirmed that:  (i) the Law on 
Procurement had been adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on 
22 December 2010 and signed by the President of the Republic of Armenia on 28 December 2010;  
(ii) the Law (LA-206-N) had come into force on l January 2011;  and (iii) the new Law is in full 
conformity with the WTO Agreement on Governme nt Procurement.  Also, all recommendations 
received from the Parties had been taken into account in its finalization.  Subsequently, in a formal 
meeting on 9 March 2010, the Committee confirmed th at Armenia had met the terms and conditions 
for its accession, specifically with respect to its na tional legislation, and that it could, therefore, 
proceed to deposit its instrument of accession to the Agreement.11  Subsequent to that, in response to a 
                                                      
5 WT/ACC/HRV/59, dated 29 June 2000, para. 156:  "The representative of Croatia confirmed that 
Croatia will initiate negotiations for membership in the Agreement on Go vernment Procurement upon accession 
by tabling an entity offer at that time.  He also confirmed that, if the results of the negotiations are satisfactory to 
Croatia and the other members of the Agreement, Croa tia will complete negotiations for membership in the 
Agreement by 31 December 2001.  The Work ing Party took note of this commitment." 
6 WT/ACC/807/27, dated 26 September 2002, para. 177:  "The representative of FYROM confirmed 
that, upon accession to the WTO, the Government of FY ROM 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 FY ROM 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." 
7 WT/ACC/MNG/9, dated 27 June 1996, para. 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 with a view to initiating negotiati ons for membership thereaft er.  The Working Party took 
note of this commitment." 
8 WT/ACC/SAU/61, dated 1 November 2005, para. 231:  "The representative of Saudi Arabia 
confirmed that, upon accession to the WTO, Saudi Arabia would initiate ne gotiations 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 partie s 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." 
9 GPA/105, dated 7 December 2010. 
10 GPA/ACC/ARM/12, dated 10 February 2011. 
11 GPA/M/43, dated 22 March 2011. GPA/110 
Page 3 
 
 
  request by Armenia, the Committee granted an exte nsion of the period for submission of Armenia's 
instrument of accession for six months, until 9 December 2011.12 
9. On 16 August 2011, Armenia deposited its instrument of accession with the Director-General 
of the WTO.13  A certified true copy of its terms of accession was then circulated by the 
Director-General to all WTO Members.14  As provided for by paragraph 2 of Article XXIV of the 
Agreement, the Agreement entered into force for Armenia on 15 September 2011.  In the course of 
the informal sessions that took place during the week beginning 19 September 2011, the Chairman and Parties warmly congratulated Armenia for its historic achievement in completing its accession to 
the Agreement in a very timely and effective f ashion.  The Committee considers Armenia's accession 
to be a very significant development that has cl early shown the relevance of the Agreement for 
transition economies. 
2. China 
10. China applied for accession to the GPA on 28 December 2007 and its initial offer was 
circulated to Parties on 7 January 2008.
15  Discussions dedicated to China's accession have taken place 
on multiple occasions during 200816, 2009,17 and 2010.18  On 9 July 2010, China submitted its revised 
offer.19  Subsequently, written requests for further impr ovements in China's offer were circulated by 
Japan20, Canada21, the United States22 and Switzerland.23  In the course of the Committee's informal 
sessions in October 2010 and in re lated high-level bilateral discussions with some Parties, China 
undertook to submit a "robust improved offer", inco rporating commitments regarding sub-central 
government entities, in advance of the Committee's fi nal meeting week in 2011.  In response to a 
deadline set by the Committee, furt her requests for improvement in China's offer were provided by 
Japan, Israel, Chinese Taipei, Norway, the European Union, Singapore and Korea.24  Subsequently, 
China's replies to Japan's questions were circulated.25 
11. In the course of the meetings held in March,  May and September 2011, Parties expressed their 
keen appreciation and respect for the efforts Chin a was making in preparing its second revised offer, 
to be submitted before the end of 2011, and for the commitment that China continued to show to its 
accession process.  They also noted that the submission of an improved offer in 2011 was of 
paramount importance in carrying China's accessi on process forward.  Significant further work 
remained to be done before the conclusion of Chin a's accession could be foreseen.  It was expected 
that the second revised offer by China would first,  fulfill the commitments to include sub-central 
                                                      
12 GPA/105/Add.1, dated 26 May 2011. 
13 GPA/109, dated 13 September 2011. 
14 WT/Let/821, dated 13 September 2011. 
15 GPA/ACC/CHN/1, dated 7 January 2008;  and GPA/93, dated 14 January 2008. 
16 Report (2008) of the Committee on Government Procurement to the General Council (GPA/95, dated 
9 December 2008). 
17 Report (2009) of the Committee on Government Procurement to the General Council (GPA/103, 
dated 12 November 2009). 
18 Report (2010) of the Committee on Government Procurement to the General Council (GPA/106, 
dated 9 December 2010). 
19 GPA/ACC/CHN/16, dated 9 July 2010. 
20 GPA/ACC/CHN/17, dated 16 September 2010. 
21 GPA/ACC/CHN/18, dated 21 September 2010. 
22 GPA/ACC/CHN/19, dated 30 September 2010. 
23 GPA/ACC/CHN/20, dated 7 October 2010. 
24 Japan - GPA/ACC/CHN/22, dated 14 January 2011, Israel - GPA/ACC/CHN/23, dated 
17 January 2011, Chinese Taipei - GPA/ACC/CHN/24, dated 21 January 2011, Norway - GPA/ACC/CHN/25, 
dated 25 January 2011, the European Union - GPA/ACC/CHN/26, dated 3 February 2011, Singapore - GPA/ACC/CHN/27, dated 17 February 2011 and Korea - GPA/ACC/CHN/28, dated 28 February 2011. 
25 GPA/ACC/CHN/29, dated 29 September 2011. GPA/110 
Page 4  
 
entities that China had made at a very high politic al level;  and second, address a number of other 
requests that had been made by Parties, which incl ude reduction in thresholds ;  expansion of services 
coverage, and the removal of restrictive general notes.   With regard to the legislative framework for 
government procurement in China, Parties reitera ted the importance that they attached to the 
conformity of China's national legislation with th e requirements of the GPA as a condition for China's 
accession to the Agreement. 
12. In the course of the year, China also receive d technical assistance from various Parties and 
from the WTO Secretariat.  In particular, Secretar iat officials participated in a two-day seminar 
organized for sub-central government officials in Wuhan, and a related seminar for senior policy 
officials in Beijing, both in June 2011.  Subseque ntly, China indicated that the assistance provided by 
Parties and the Secretariat had been useful to its ongoing preparations for completion of its accession 
negotiations and implementation of the Agreement. 
13. The Committee considers that China's GPA accession,  on terms that are comparable to those 
of the existing Parties, is a matter of treme ndous significance for the Agreement and for the world 
economy, and a very important signal for other em erging economies.  It hopes for significant further 
movement on this matter in 2012. 
3. Jordan 
14. Jordan submitted its application for GPA accession on 19 July 2000.
26  Negotiations regarding 
Jordan's accession to the Agreement continued through 201027 and during the current reporting period.  
In July 2010, Jordan submitted an informal revised entity offer.  Subsequently, comments on Jordan's 
informal revised offer were ci rculated by the United States28, Canada29, Singapore30, and Japan.31  
Jordan's responses were circ ulated on 14 December 2010.32  On 10 May 2011, further comments on 
Jordan's offer were circul ated by Chinese Taipei.33 
15. In the course of the Committee meetings in Marc h 2011, Jordan requested that Parties attach 
due political significance to facilitati ng Jordan's accession in the contex t of recent developments in its 
region, and not introduce unnecessary new requests "lat e in the game".  Parties took note of this 
request while also indicating, at least in some ca ses, that remaining concerns would need to be 
addressed.  In the course of the meeting held in September 2011, Parties expressed some frustration with regard to the length of time that Jordan 's accession process was taking, and reiterated the 
importance of receiving Jordan's revised offer.  Th ey expressed the hope that the momentum would be 
revived and that Jordan would accede to the Agreem ent in early 2012.  Parties also reiterated that 
they, as well as the Secretariat, stood ready to assist Jordan in finalizing its accession process.  Jordan 
confirmed that the required modifications to its offe r were being prepared and that it hoped to be in a 
position to submit a revised offer in the near future. 
16. Jordan's accession will mark a very important  milestone for the Agreement, and the 
Committee looks forward to a successful c onclusion of the negotiation in 2012. 
                                                      
26 GPA/38, dated 19 July 2000. 
27 Report (2010) of the Committee on Government Procurement to the General Council (GPA/106, 
dated 9 December 2010). 
28 GPA/ACC/JOR/11, dated 6 August 2010. 
29 GPA/ACC/JOR/12, dated 20 September 2010;  and GPA/ACC/JOR/14, dated 16 November 2010. 
30 GPA/ACC/JOR/13, dated 15 November 2010. 
31 GPA/ACC/JOR/15, dated 22 November 2010. 
32 GPA/ACC/JOR/16, da ted 14 December 2010.  
33 GPA/ACC/JOR/17, dated 10 May 2011. GPA/110 
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  4. Ukraine 
17. Ukraine submitted its application fo r GPA accession on 9 February 2011.34   T h i s  
development was enthusiastically  welcomed by all Parties duri ng the meetings in March 2011.  
Parties indicated that they looked forward to recei ving Ukraine's initial offer, and its replies to the 
Checklist of Issues.  Subsequently, Ukraine's Rep lies to the Checklist of Issues was circulated on 
2 August 2011.35  Furthermore, the Secretariat presented a National Seminar on the GPA in Kiev on 
10 and 11 October 2011.  The Committee looks forwar d to receiving Ukraine's offer and to significant 
progress on Ukraine's GPA accession in 2012.  
5. Other pending accessions 
18. In the course of the year, the Committee also ke pt under review the situation regarding other 
pending accessions and accession commitments. 
6. Secretariat technical assistance and other acti vities potentially relevant to accessions to 
the Agreement 
19. During the reporting period the Secretariat orga nized and delivered a number of technical 
cooperation activities potentially relevant to accessions  to the Agreement.  These included:  (i) a 
National Seminar in Armenia early in the year;  (ii) a series of National Seminars in five different 
cities in India , namely Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyde rabad, and Delhi;  (iii) a second National 
Seminar on the Agreement in Hanoi, at the request of the Government of Viet Nam;   (iv) National 
Seminars in Wuhan City and Beijing at the request of China ;  and (v) a two-day National Seminar on 
the GPA in Kiev, Ukraine .  A Regional Workshop for Asia-Pacific economies  will be held in 
Bangkok, Thailand in December, in cooperation w ith the United Nations Economic and Social 
Commission for the Asia Pacific (UN ESCAP).  
20. On the invitation of the Government of Australia , on 24-25 August 2011, the Secretariat 
delivered a national seminar on the Agreement in Canberra, Australia.  While this was not per se  a 
technical assistance activity and it was made clear by  the hosts that the activity was for educational 
purposes only, the Secretariat was honoured to respond to  this request.  In addition, and as a further 
sign of the growing significance of the GPA in the global context, the Secretariat participated, by 
invitation, in a meeting of the G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group in May 2011 and in a Commonwealth Procurement Conferen ce in Mauritius in October 2011. 
21. A number of requests for national seminars on the Agreement remain outstanding pending 
receipt of additional information.  To the extent pos sible, these will be included in the Secretariat's 
2012 programme of activities. 
22. Pursuant to a standing request by the Committee
36, the Secretariat provided brief reports on its 
technical assistance activiti es in the course of the meetings held  in March, May and September 2011.  
Based on these activities, the Secretariat offered a number of observations.  First, it reaffirmed its 
previously reported perceptions of growing aw areness among the developing and transition economy 
worlds of the significance of government procuremen t for trade and development.  Second, it noted a 
greater openness on the part of developing and transition economies to consider objectively the 
potential benefits as well as the costs of GPA accessi on.  Third, it observed that the enhanced interest 
                                                      
34 GPA/ACC/UKR/1 and GPA/107, both dated 9 February 2011. 
35 GPA/ACC/UKR/2 of 2 August 2011. 
36 In 2010, the Committee requested the Secretariat to provide it with a report, on a continuing basis, on 
its technical co-operation activitie s in light of its potential relevance to future accessions.  See GPA/106, dated 
9 December 2010, para. 30.  See also GPA/103, dated 12 November 2009, para. 23. GPA/110 
Page 6  
 
in the Agreement is strongly linked to the prospects for the eventual coming into force of the revised 
text which, in addition to impr oved provisions on Special and Di fferential Treatment for developing 
countries acceding to the Agreement, will provide e nhanced flexibility for all Parties as compared to 
the 1994 Agreement.  
III. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT AND NOTIFICATIONS 
A. 
THRESHOLDS  
23. In accordance with the Decision on Modalities for Notifying Threshold Figures in National 
Currencies37, since the last annual report, Chinese Taipei and Korea have provided information on 
their respective threshold figures expressed in national currencies for 2011-2012.38 
B. NOTIFICATION AND REVIEW OF NAT IONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  
24. Pursuant to Article XXIV:5(b) of the Agreement, a notification was received from Japan.39 
C. STATISTICAL REPORTING  
25. Article XIX:5 of the Agreement requires Parti es to collect and provide, on an annual basis, 
statistics on their procurements covered by the Ag reement.  During the period under review, Canada 
has notified its statistical reports for 2008 and 200940;  Hong Kong, China has notified its statistical 
report for 201041;  Japan has notified its statistical report for 200942;  Singapore has notified its 
statistical reports for 2007 and 200843;  and Chinese Taipei has notified its statistical report for 2010.44  
Following the system established in July 2010, typi cally Parties reports are now mounted directly on 
the WTO's website in the format in which they have been provided.  At the sa me time, an appropriate 
notification is circulated to Parties and Observers. 
26. In April 2010, the GPA Parties established an  informal sub-body of the Committee to 
consider issues regarding the preparation and use of statistical reports.  During the reporting year, 
consideration has also been given to the matter of statistical reporting in the context of the 
Committee's discussions on its Future Works Progra mmes, to be undertaken following the coming 
into force of the revised Agreement.45 
D. CONSULTATIONS AND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT  
27. No matters were raised during the reporti ng period under Article XXII of the Agreement on 
Government Procurement (Consulta tions and Dispute Settlement). 
                                                      
37 GPA/1, dated 5 March 1996, Annex 3. 
38 GPA/W/309/Add.10, dated 6 January 2011;  and GPA/W/309/Add.11, dated 28 February 2011, 
respectively. 
39 GPA/37/Add.8, dated 13 April 2011. 
40 GPA/102/Add.6, dated 19 July 2011;  and GPA/104/Add.5, dated 19 July 2011. 
41 GPA/108/Add.1, dated 1 November 2011. 
42 GPA/104/Add.4, dated 5 May 2011. 
43 GPA/94/Add.6 and GPA/102/Add.5, both dated 22 February 2011. 
44 GPA/108, dated 26 August 2011. 
45 Throughout this report, the term "revised Agreement"  is without prejudice to the legal status of the 
future GPA, in particular in regard to the question of wh ether it will be brought into effect as a new international 
agreement or as an ame ndment to the GPA 1994. GPA/110 
Page 7 
 
 
  E. MODIFICATIONS TO THE APPENDICES OF THE AGREEMENT  
1. Modifications that have been certified since the meeting of 9 December 2010 
28. During the reporting period, the following pro posed modifications have been certified: 
 modifications by Japan: 
 
 - GPA/MOD/JPN/6346, effective as of 30 August 201147, given that no objections were 
made within 30 days; 
  - GPA/MOD/JPN/64
48, effective as of 5 October 201149, given that no objections were 
made within 30 days. 
 
2. Proposed modifications that remain outstanding 
29. As to outstanding proposed modifications, th e following developments have taken place 
during the reporting period: 
 (i) Notification by Canada50: 
 
  There were no developmen ts during the reporting period.51 
  (ii) Notifications by the European Union concerning proposed modifications relating to 
the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary , Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, 
Spain and Sweden: 
 
  - In April and July 2010, the EU submitted communications52 containing 
 proposed modifications to its Schedul es with regard to Spain and Ireland 
 pursuant to Article XXIV:6(a) of the Agreement.  Canada objected to both of  these proposed modifications.
53  There have been no new developments 
 during this reporting period; 
   - In November 2010, the EU submitted communications
54 containing proposed 
 modifications to its Schedules with re gard to the  Czech Republic, Finland, 
 France, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden pursuant to  Article XXIV:6(a) of the Agreement on Government Procurement.  During 
 this reporting period, Canada has objected to the proposed modifications to 
                                                      
46 Dated 1 August 2011. 
47 WT/Let/826, dated 22 September 2011. 
48 Dated 5 September 2011. 
49 WT/Let/829, dated 14 October 2011. 
50 Originally submitted in December 2006 (GPA /MOD/CAN/1, dated 19 December 2006). 
51 For the last reported update regarding this proposed modification, see GPA/103, dated 
12 November 2009, para. 11(i). 
52 GPA/MOD/EEC/3, dated 29 April 2010;  and GPA/MOD/EEC/5, dated 8 July 2010. 
53 GPA/MOD/EEC/4, dated 27 May 2010;  and GPA/MOD/EEC/6, dated 2 August 2010. 
54 Sweden - GPA/MOD/EEC/10, dated 25 November 2010;  France - GPA/MOD/EEC/11, dated 
7 December 2010;  Poland – GPA/MOD/EEC/12, da ted 7 December 2010, and GPA/MOD/EEC/12/Corr.1, 
dated 10 December 2010;  the Czech Republic – GP A/MOD/EEC/13, dated 7 Dece mber 2010;  Romania – 
GPA/MOD/EEC/14, dated 9 December 2010;  Finland – GPA/M OD/EEC/15, dated 10 D ecember 2010;  and 
Lithuania – GPA/MOD/EEC/16, dated 10 December 2010. GPA/110 
Page 8  
 
 Sweden, France, Poland, Romania and Finland
55;  and the United States has 
 objected to each of these proposed modifications56;  and 
   - In March 2011, the EU submitted a communication
57 containing proposed 
 modifications to its Schedules with  regard to Hungary pursuant to 
 Article XXIV:6(a) of the Agreemen t on Government Procurement.  The 
 United States objected to these proposed modifications58; 
  (iii) Notifications by Japan concerning proposed modifications relating to: 
 
  - East Japan Railway Company, Central Japan Railway Company and West 
 Japan Railway Company59: 
 
   No developments during the reporting period.60 
 
  - Railway Construction Public Cor poration and Corporation for Advanced 
 Transport and Technology61,62: 
 
   During the reporting period, the EU provided additional questions to Japan.63 
   - National Aerospace Laboratory
64: 
    No developments during the reporting period.
65 
   - Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Corporation, Japan Regional 
 Development Corporation, Ur ban Development Corporation66: 
 
   No developments during the reporting period.67 
  (iv) Notification by Norway: 
   - In January 2011, Norway sent a communication with proposed modifications 
 to its Annex 1 of Appendix I pursuant to Article XXIV:6(a) of the Agreement 
                                                      
55 GPA/MOD/EEC/18, dated 6 January 2011;  GPA/MOD/EEC/19, dated 6 January 2011;  
GPA/MOD/EEC/20, dated 6 January 2011;  GPA/MOD/EEC/21, dated 10 January 2011;  and GPA/MOD/EEC/22, dated 10 January 2011. 
56 GPA/MOD/EEC/17, date d 20 December 2010. 
57 GPA/MOD/EEC/23, dated 24 March 2011. 
58 GPA/MOD/EEC/24, dated 5 April 2011. 
59 GPA/W/144, GPA/W/145 and GPA/W/146, dated 29 August 2001 and GPA/W/152 and 
GPA/W/152/Corr.1, dated 20 September and 10 October 2001, respectively. 
60 For the last reported update regarding this proposed modification, see GPA/89, dated 
11 December 2006, para. 13(i). 
61 GPA/W/272 and GPA/W/272/Rev.1, dated 23 September and 8 October 2003, respectively.  A 
revised notification was distributed in documents GPA/MOD/JPN/55, dated 7 September 2010 and 
GPA/MOD/JPN/55/Corr.1, dated 19 November 2010. 
62 For the last reported update regarding this proposed modification, see GPA/106, dated 
9 December 2010, para. 14(iii). 
63 GPA/MOD/JPN/62, dated 4 March 2011. 
64 GPA/W/275, dated 23 September 2003. 
65 For the last reported update regarding this proposed modification, see GPA/106, dated 
9 December 2010, para. 14(iii). 
66 GPA/MOD/JPN/7, dated 26 July 2004. 
67 For the last reported update regarding this proposed modification, see GPA/85, dated 
10 November 2005, para. 14(i). GPA/110 
Page 9 
 
 
   on Government Procurement.68  Canada and the United States have submitted 
 objections to these proposed modifications.69 
  (v) Notifications by the United States: 
 
  - In September 2001, the US notified pr oposed modifications to reflect changes 
 in the administrative structure of the Federal Government70, as regards the 
 Uranium Enrichment Corporation: 
    No developments during the reporting period. 
 
 - In November 2010, the US notified proposed modifications to Annex 2 of 
Appendix I.
71  The EU and Canada have submitted objections to these 
proposed modifications.72 
 IV. THE NEGOTIATIONS UNDER ARTICLE XXIV:7 OF THE AGREEMENT 
30. Article XXIV:7(b) and (c) of the Agreement call for the Parties to undertake negotiations with 
a view to improving the Agreement and achieving the greatest possible extension of its coverage 
among all Parties, and eliminating any remaini ng discriminatory measures and practices.  The 
negotiations commenced in 1997 and have been ong oing since.  In December 2006, the negotiators 
reached provisional agreement on Articles I through  XXI of a revised text of the Agreement
73, subject 
to:  (i) a legal check;  (ii) a mutually satisfactor y outcome on the coverage negotiations;  and (iii) the 
general understanding governing the ne gotiations that nothing will be considered finally agreed until 
everything is agreed.74  Work on the legal check of Articles I through XXI of the revised GPA text 
was completed in 2007.  Subsequently, upon co mpletion of the verification of the linguistic 
consistency of the English, French and Spanish vers ions of the revised text, an updated version of the 
revised text was issued.75  Article XXII (Final Provisions) and related draft decisions regarding the 
coming into force of the revised Agreement remain to be finalized , although substantial progress has 
been made during the review period in resolving outstanding issues. 
31. With regard to the coverage-re lated aspects of the negotiations , modalities for the negotiations 
were adopted in 200476, and negotiations have been under way sinc e that time.  As of the end of the 
previous reporting period (2010), init ial offers had been circulated by all but one GPA Party, the latter 
being Hong Kong, China.  Subsequently, the pre-fi nal offer of Hong Kong, China was provided to the 
Committee in October 2011.77  Jordan, an acceding Member that is also participating in the coverage 
negotiations78, confirmed in 2006 that the offers that it had circulated to delegations in the course of 
its negotiations on accession to the current Agreement should also be considered as offers in the 
coverage negotiations.  With regard  to revised and/or second revised offers, these had been circulated 
                                                      
68 GPA/MOD/NOR/1, dated 6 January 2011. 
69 GPA/MOD/NOR/3, dated 4 February 2011;  and GPA/MOD/NOR/2, dated 13 January 2011, 
respectively. 
70 GPA/W/153, dated 25 September 2001. 
71 GPA/MOD/USA/9, dated 22 November 2010. 
72 GPA/MOD/USA/10, dated 30 November 2010;  and GPA/MOD/USA/11, dated 20 December 2010. 
73 GPA/W/297, dated 11 December 2006. 
74 GPA/89, dated 11 December 2006, para. 20. 
75 GPA/W/313, dated 16 December 2010;  and GPA/W/313/Corr.1, dated 13 January 2011. 
76 Modalities for the negotiations on coverage are set out in GPA/79, dated 19 July 2004. 
77 GPA/O/HKG/2, dated 18 October 2011. 
78 As noted above, Jordan is in  the process of negotiating its accession to the Agreement. GPA/110 
Page 10  
 
by 9 delegations as of the end of the previous re porting period, namely:  Canada;  Israel;  Japan;  
Jordan;  Korea;  Liechtenstein;  Norw ay;  Singapore;  and the United States.
79 
32. During the present reporting period, a major effort  has been made by the Parties, with the 
support and leadership of the Chairman, to bring th e negotiations to a full conclusion.  Discussions 
related to the negotiations took place in a series of  informal meetings held in the weeks beginning 
7 March, 23 May, 19 September,  and 17 October 2011.  In the course of each of these weeks, time 
was allotted for both bilateral cons ultations between Parties and info rmal plurilateral discussions on 
these issues.  In the course of each meeting, Parties were asked to update the Committee on the state 
of play in their negotiations with all individual partne rs, and to indicate the steps to be taken to ensure 
a satisfactory overall conclusion.  In addition,  progress in the negotiations was facilitated by: 
 - the tabling of further offers and revised offers by a number of Parties, including (in 
the period from the circulation of the Committee's last report through September 
2011) the European Union, Switzerland, Norway and the United States and, in the run-up to the October informal sessions, H ong-Kong, China and the Netherlands with 
respect to Aruba (all offers are cited in th e order in which they were provided);  and 
 
 - the unconditional support expressed by all Pa rties for the reaching of a conclusion of 
the negotiations by the time of the 8
th Ministerial Conference (MC8) in 
December 2011, pursuant to the roadmap that  was presented by the Chairman initially 
in March 2010 and updated, as appropriate , in April 2010 and December 2011.  The 
roadmap provides for consideration, in parallel fashion throughout the year, of four 
main work elements, namely:  (i) covera ge;  (ii) text;  (iii) new vs. amended 
agreement;  and (iv) the future work pr ogrammes of the Committee.  The overriding 
purpose of the roadmap is to ensure that all the issues before the Committee in the 
negotiations receive due attention on a continuing basis throughout the year. 
 
33. In the second half of the year, the Chairman , with assistance from the Secretariat, has 
undertaken a series of high-level consultations w ith Parties, to facilitate conclusion of the 
negotiations.  In addition, the Chairman has drawn to the attention of Parties the very substantial gains 
in market access for all Parties that he believes will flow from future accessions to the Agreement, 
conditional on conclusion of the present negotiations and bri nging into force of the revised 
Agreement.80 
34. Based on the efforts by the Parties and the Chairman, substantial convergence has been 
achieved in the GPA coverage negotiations.  In the negotiating session held in the week beginning 
17 October, the Chairman reported his assessment that  95 per cent of the GPA negotiating pairs in the 
negotiations either had achieved settleme nt or were very close to doing so. 
35. As a further element of the overall negotiating package, beginning in 2010 and with increased 
intensity of effort in 2011, the Parties have de veloped a set of Future Work Programmes to be 
undertaken by the Committee following the coming into force of the re vised Agreement.  This will 
include programmes related to:  (i) the treatment of  small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);  (ii) 
sustainable procurement;  and (iii) the collection a nd dissemination of statistical data.  The Committee 
                                                      
79 For further details of the negotiations during the previous reporting period, see Report (2010) of the 
Committee on Government Procurement to the Ge neral Council (GPA/106, dated 9 December 2010, 
paras. 31-37). 
80 See Robert D. Anderson, Philippe Pelletier, Kodjo Osei-Lah and Anna Caroline Mueller, Working 
Paper on Assessing the Value of Future Accessions to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement 
(GPA):  Some New Data Sources, Provisional Estimat es, and an Evaluative Fram ework for Individual WTO 
Members Considering Accession, WTO Staff Working Pa per ERSD-2011-15, 6 Octobe r 2011, available on the 
WTO website at:  http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd201115_e.pdf . GPA/110 
Page 11 
 
 
  views these programmes as a very important tool for carrying forward the interests and concerns of 
Parties with respect to key policy issues, and for ensuring the continuing relevance of the Agreement, 
in the future.  The Committee has also developed a draft decision relating to the use of electronic 
means to fulfill notification requirements under Ar ticles XIX and XXII of the Agreement, to be 
adopted as part of the overall negotiating package.  L astly, a draft decision relating to future work by 
the Committee on technical specifi cations and safety in the context of GPA coverage is under 
consideration by the Parties. 
36. Overall, the Committee believes that the Agre ement on Government Procurement has a very 
important role to play in the global economy and the present trading environment.  The Agreement 
provides significant market access opportunities for the Parties' suppliers, and is crucial to ensuring 
that those opportunities are not eroded.  In addition,  by ensuring minimum standards of transparency 
and promoting fair competition in Members' procur ement markets, it contributes importantly to good 
governance, the fight against corruption, and the realization of value for money for governments and their citizens.  These considerations have assumed increased importance in the present global 
environment.  Future accessions to the Agreement ha ve the potential to add ve ry substantially to the 
value of market access commitments and the systemic  relevance of the Agreement, over time.  In 
order for the Agreement to fulfill its role in the WTO system and to bring into it new WTO Members, 
conclusion of the present renegotiation and bringi ng into force of the revised Agreement are of 
paramount importance. 
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