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ON THIS PAGE: Mandate WPGR Documents |
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GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT: SERVICES PROCUREMENT GATS negotiations on services procurement Pursuant to Article XIII:1 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), government procurement is exempt from the main market access provisions of that Agreement. Nevertheless, Article XIII:2 of GATS establishes a multilateral negotiating mandate on services procurement. The negotiations under Article XIII:2 of GATS have taken place in the multilateral Working Party on GATS Rules (WPGR), established by the Council for Trade in Services in 1995. |
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GATS Article XIII says: Government Procurement GATS Article XIII: 1. — Articles II, XVI and XVII shall not apply to laws, regulations or requirements governing the procurement by governmental agencies of services purchased for governmental purposes and not a view to commercial resale or with a view to use in the supply of services for commercial sale. GATS Article XIII: 2. — There shall be multilateral negotiations on government procurement in services under this Agreement within two years from the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement.
WPGR Documents back to top Documents of particular interest include: - a note by the WTO Secretariat providing an overview of government procurement-related provisions in economic integration agreements;
- an expanded note by the WTO Secretariat on government procurement-related provisions in economic integration agreements;
- a note by the WTO Secretariat on main approaches to the undertaking of commitments on government procurement in economic integration agreements; and - a report by the Chairperson of the Working Party on GATS Rules, dated June 2003, on negotiations on government procurement, comprising thematic tables of the main relevant documents prepared up to the issuance of the report. |
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