Celebrating 25 years of the WTO GPA
and 40 years since the GATT GPA

Canada

Canada regards this Agreement as an extremely important one … The Agreement is a first step in a new direction for the GATT.
(GPR/M/2, dated 5 June 1981)

Japan

The Agreement on Government Procurement constitutes one of the most significant and difficult achievements in the Tokyo Round of trade negotiations, bringing a new international framework of disciplines into the area of public purchases.
(GPR/M/2, dated 5 June 1981)

United States

The Agreement is a major achievement of the Multilateral Trade Negotiations. With this particular Agreement, one has for the first time succeeded in bringing international discipline and trade liberalization to an area where governments have traditionally employed their greatest creativity in excluding foreign competition from their markets.
(GPR/M/2, dated 5 June 1981)

United States

The package reached represents a significant step forward …. In improvements some major breakthroughs have been made in increasing transparency, closing loopholes and bringing the Agreement more up-to-date with current procurement practices.
(GPR/M/24, dated 7 January 1987)

European Economic Community

To a certain extent significant progress has been achieved in the negotiations, in particular by the inclusion of leasing and certain improvements on publications. However, there is still room for many textual improvements, for instance concerning separate publications.
(GPR/M/24, dated 7 January 1987)

GATT press communiqué

The new Agreement on Government Procurement … will greatly extend the scope of international competition in this area, covering, for the first time, services, including construction services, procurement at the sub-central level, for example States, Provinces, Departments and Prefectures and procurement by public utilities. In all the coverage will be expanded by some ten-fold in comparison to that under the old Agreement.

In addition, the Agreement will reinforce the rules applying in this area aimed at guaranteeing fair and non-discriminatory conditions of international competition. It will, for example, require governments to put in place domestic procedures by which aggrieved private bidders can challenge procurement decisions and obtain redress in the event that such decisions are made inconsistently with the requirements of the Agreement.
(GATT/1603, dated 15 December 1993)

European Union

As a result of the agreement that has just been reached, a new instrument that represents a major improvement over the existing Agreement will come into force.  Parties have agreed on a body of rules that … will serve as an essential reference in any other international agreements on government procurement.  In addition, Parties have also obtained greater market openness, which will stimulate international competition under conditions of transparency and equity.
(GPA/M/45, dated 13 April 2012)

United States

The US believes that the Agreement is important both in terms of modernizing the text of the Agreement as well as expanding the procurement opportunities covered under it. … The revised Agreement provides at least two important benefits for WTO members to join the GPA. First, the revision of the text of the Agreement has significantly clarified Parties' obligations under the GPA, which will help WTO Members wishing to accede to inform their domestic stakeholders of what GPA membership required. Second, the revised Agreement includes transitional measures for developing countries seeking to join the GPA.  These measures will permit a developing country to maintain some restrictions during a transitional period, while gradually opening their procurement markets.
(GPA/M/45, dated 13 April 2012)

Israel

The significance of the revised GPA is twofold. First, the achievements in expanding market access are very substantial.  In total, the expansion provides additional opportunities of many tens of billions of USD annually. Second, the revised Agreement offers Parties a unique intergovernmental instrument in the domain of government procurement, which is clear, user-friendly, and up-to-date with 21st century practices, including, for example, the use of electronic means.
(GPA/M/45, dated 13 April 2012)

Switzerland

Switzerland … is proud of what has been achieved during these negotiations. … The revised GPA allows for an economically sound allocation of public funds and it fosters competition on the basis of clear and more predictable rules for Parties' companies.
(GPA/M/45, dated 13 April 2012)

United States

The revised agreement provides U.S. firms with new and expanded opportunities to sell their goods and services to foreign governments, which unlocks opportunities for American workers and supports American jobs… This is a plurilateral success story in the WTO, and we should continue to build on it by expanding participation of developed and developing economies.
(United States Mission to International Organizations in Geneva, press release, dated 8 April 2014)