The annual West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference in mid-February provided an opportunity for taking stock of advancements and setbacks in international procurement. The assessment pointed to modest improvements in the international procurement arena over the past year, including the addition of Moldova and Ukraine to the roster of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA). Setbacks included the withdrawal of the United States from the Pacific Rim trade agreement and the stalled negotiations of a transatlantic trade pact with the European Union. Looking ahead, unknowns include Trump's approach to procurement restrictions and Brexit.
The current GPA participants number 47, slightly less than 30% of the WTO membership. That number is set to expand when Australia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan complete their negotiations to join the GPA. In addition, Russia may start negotiations, following its application last August to join the plurilateral Agreement. For all of these countries, except Australia, GPA accession would fulfill a commitment made as part of its terms for becoming a WTO member.
The negotiations of three of the WTO members advanced in 2016, and could be completed within 2017. Over the past year, they submitted new market access offers detailing the procurement that they would open under the GPA:
- Australia submitted a revised offer.
- The Kyrgyz Republic presented a revised initial offer, 14 years after it had initially tabled its first offer (in 2002).
- Tajikistan tabled three revised offers in 2016, and a fourth offer earlier this month.
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