The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is a plurilateral agreement under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which regulates the procurement of goods and services by the public authorities of the parties to the agreement, based on the principles of openness, transparency and non-discrimination.

The agreement was originally established in 1979 as the "Tokyo Round Government Procurement Code",World Trade Organization, Agreement on Government Procurement ("Tokyo Round Government Procurement Code"), WorldTradeLaw.net, 12 April 1979, accessed on 19 June 2024 which entered into force in 1981 under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.World Trade Organization, Agreement on Government Procurement, accessed 1 July 2019 It was then renegotiated in parallel with the Uruguay Round in 1994, and this version entered into force on 1 January 1996.

The text adopted in 1996 anticipated that there would be subsequent improvements. An understanding on the expected revisions was reached in December 2006, and the agreement was subsequently revised on 30 March 2012. The revised GPA came into effect on 6 July 2014 and has applied since 1 January 2021 to all members.

Parties The following WTO Members are parties to the amended 1994 agreement: Parties Accession date 1 January 1996 The European Union with respect to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden 1 January 1996 1 January 1996 1 January 1996 1 January 1996 1 January 1996 1 January 1996 The Netherlands with respect to Aruba 25 October 1996 1 January 1997 19 June 1997 18 September 1997 20 October 1997 28 April 2001 The European Union with respect to Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia 1 May 2004 The European Union with respect to Bulgaria and Romania 1 January 2007 Chinese Taipei 15 July 2009 15 September 2011 The European Union with respect to Croatia 1 July 2013 15 July 2015 12 August 2015 18 May 2016 14 June 2016 5 May 2019 1 January 202130 October 2023 WTO, North Macedonia ratifies revised government procurement pact, published 30 September 2023, accessed 5 October 2023

Notes

Observer status The following WTO Members have obtained observer status with respect to the GPA, with those marked with an asterisk (*) negotiating accession: Afghanistan, Albania*, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil*, Cameroon, Chile, China*, Colombia, Costa Rica*,World Trade Organization, Costa Rica submits application to join government procurement pact, published 28 September 2023, accessed 21 December 2023 Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Georgia*, India, Indonesia, Jordan*, Kazakhstan*, Kyrgyz Republic*, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman*, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia*, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan*, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.

Committee on Government Procurement Representatives from each WTO member which is a party to the Agreement serve on the Committee on Government Procurement, whose role is to oversee the agreement's implementation. WTO Members with observer status may attend committee meetings as an observer if they provide written notice of their participation. , Martin Zbinden of Switzerland is the chair of the committee.WTO, Committee on Government Procurement, accessed on 28 March 2025

Main principles The WTO states that the two "cornerstone" principles underlying the agreement are non-discrimination (in regard to the treatment of the goods and services from, and suppliers of, any other party to the agreement) and transparency.World Trade Organization, Overview of the Agreement on Government Procurement, accessed on 27 June 2024

Coverage Procuring entities bound by the Agreement vary by member state. Each member state has its own Appendix 1 which forms an integral part of the Agreement detailing how the agreement applies to their national procurement activities. Each Appendix 1 has seven annexes: Annex 1: central government entities covered by the Agreement Annex 2: sub-central government entities covered by the Agreement Annex 3: other entities covered by the Agreement Annex 4: scope: goods Annex 5: scope: services Annex 6: scope: construction services Annex 7: general notes.WTO, Agreement on Government Procurement: Coverage Schedules, accessed 17 December 2023

Review Body on Bid Challenges The Review Body on Bid Challenges is a body set up in 1998 by party states in order to allow suppliers to challenge irregular government tenders. The Review Body is independent and endeavors to process each case in an expeditious manner. The Review Body is also empowered to recommend Rapid Interim Measures (RIMs), which can be recommended within days where a Review Body finds a prima facie case for a bid challenge.

UK membership after Brexit The UK applied the agreement as part of its EU membership from 1 January 1996. After the UK left the EU on 1 February 2020, the agreement remained in force during the transition period until 1 January 2021. Discussions about continued UK membership were initiated on 27 June 2018,WTO, Australia’s accession negotiations for government procurement pact reach milestone – Chair, accessed 24 September 2022 and in October 2020, the UK was invited to become a party in its own right at the end of the transition phase.

References

External links WTO, Site covering the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) integrated Government Procurement Market Access Information Portal (e-GPA), a single point of access to market access information, provided by the WTO GATT, Text of the 1979 Agreement GATT, Revised agreement, 1988 WTO, Text of the 1994 Agreement WTO, Text of the Agreement as amended on 30 March 2012