GPA firsts and milestones

1947

First reference in a multilateral trade agreement to government procurement (exclusions in Articles III:8(a) and XVII:2 of the GATT 1947) 

1976

Start of negotiations on the GPA 1979

1979

Acceptance of the GPA 1979 by ten parties (covering 18 GATT contracting parties)

1981

First plurilateral liberalization of trade in government procurement under the auspices of the GATT (GPA 1979)

1981

First GATT contracting parties with developing country status become parties to the GPA (Hong Kong and Singapore)

1981

First meeting of the Committee on Government Procurement

1981

First Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee on Government Procurement elected (Mr. V. Segalla (Austria) and Mr T.H. Chau (Hong Kong))

1981

First observers to the GATT Committee on Government Procurement from Africa (Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Zaire)

1981

First observer to the Committee on Government Procurement from a non-contracting party (Ecuador)

1981

First request for consultations concerning a GPA dispute in the GATT (European Economic Community — Value-Added Tax and Threshold)

1982

First modification and compensatory adjustment becomes effective (the European Economic Community (EEC) proposes substituting one entity in the EEC list concerning Belgium by four new entities)

1983

First accession to the GPA (Israel)

1984

First adopted GATT dispute settlement panel report on a GPA dispute (European Economic Community — Value-Added Tax and Threshold)

1985

First working party established by the Committee on Government Procurement (to examine the implications for the GPA of certain computer procurement practices)

1988

First plurilateral extension of GPA coverage (plurilateral trade liberalization; GPA 1986)

1996

Second plurilateral extension of GPA coverage (plurilateral trade liberalization; GPA 1994)

1996

First general GPA prohibition on offsets (with development-related exceptions)

1996

First GPA coverage of services (including construction services)

1997

Establishment of the multilateral WTO Working Group on Transparency in Government Procurement

1997

First WTO accession with a commitment on the part of the acceding country to initiate negotiations for GPA membership (Mongolia)

1999

First request for consultations concerning a GPA dispute in the WTO (Japan — Procurement of a Navigation Satellite)

2000

First adopted WTO dispute settlement panel report on a GPA dispute (Korea — Measures affecting Government Procurement)

2001

First observer to the WTO Committee on Government Procurement from Africa (Cameroon)

2004

Suspension of the work of the multilateral WTO Working Group on Transparency in Government Procurement following the 2004 WTO General Council decision not to start multilateral negotiations on transparency in government procurement

2014

First explicit endorsement in the text of the GPA of environmental characteristics as an evaluation criterion

2014

Third plurilateral extension of GPA coverage (plurilateral trade liberalization; GPA 2012)

2014

First reference to “corrupt practices” in the GPA, the only such reference in any GATT/WTO agreement

2014

Start of the Committee on Government Procurement's work programme on exclusions and restrictions in parties' annexes

2014

Start of the Committee on Government Procurement's work programme on sustainable procurement

2014

Start of the Committee on Government Procurement's work programme on small and medium-sized enterprises

2014

Start of the Committee on Government Procurement's work programme on the collection and dissemination of procurement-related statistical data

2016

First arbitration procedures to facilitate objections to proposals for coverage modifications adopted by the Committee on Government Procurement

2018

First observer to the Committee on Government Procurement from a country in the process of WTO accession (Belarus)