Public procurement is therefore an enormous potential market for firms worldwide.
Even so, nations have not yet reached a multilateral agreement to liberalize this sector of the economy. Yet progress is being made toward the inclusion of government procurement in WTO disciplines. The plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement, which has been signed by twenty-seven nations with three more negotiating accession, obligates members to utilize fair and open procurement procedures. Yet the plurilateral government procurement agreement is not without its critics. Some argue that the agreement is not comprehensive enough, while others believe that it is already too restrictive and should never be negotiated at a multilateral level.