The WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) covers three types of entities: central government entities, sub-central government entities and other entities. This post describes each GPA party's coverage of sub-central entities under the
revised GPA, as well as the sub-central coverage of
Montenegro and New Zealand, even though they are not yet members of the GPA. In October 2014, the WTO Committee on Government Procurement approved their terms for accession, which included their sub-central coverage. Each is expected to submit its instrument of accession this year. Three parties (Hong Kong, China, the Netherlands with respect to Aruba, and Singapore) do not have any sub-central entities.
GPA parties use two approaches to sub-central coverage. Nine parties list the entities that they cover; and five parties base their coverage on classifications of entities. The sub-central entities covered by the parties vary considerably as a consequence of differences in governmental structures.
Coverage based on listed entities: The GPA parties that specify their sub-central coverage by listing entities are Armenia, Canada, Israel, Republic of Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei and the United States.
Armenia lists 47 local authorities (municipalities), as defined by Republic of Armenia Law on Administrative-Territorial Division, No. N-062-I of 7 November 1995.
Canada covers all 13 of its provinces and territories, providing lists of the covered entities for some of its sub-central governments, and coverage of categories for others, such as all ministries, boards, commissions, agencies and committees of British Colombia
.
Israel lists three municipalities (Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and Haifa) and the Local Government Economic Services Ltd.
Japan lists all (47) of its prefectures and all (19) of its designated cities that are covered by the Local Autonomy Law.
Korea lists entities in two groups. Group A is comprised of 16 entities: the Seoul Metropolitan Government, six metropolitan cities and nine provinces. Group B lists local governments in Korea's three largest cities (Seoul, Busan and Incheon).
New Zealand lists 11 health boards and seven councils, with the coverage of the councils limited to “the procurement of goods, services and construction services relating to transport projects funded, in whole or in part, by the New Zealand Transport Agency”.
Chinese Taipei lists the Taiwan Provincial Government and the city governments for Taipei and Kaohsiung.
The United States covers 37 of its 50 states, with the entities covered varying by state. Details of the coverage of each state may be found in the
NASPO Guide to International Trade Agreements.
Coverage defined by categories of entities: The parties that define their coverage by the use of categories are the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Montenegro and Switzerland.
European Union covers entities in two categories:
- All regional or local contracting authorities, which include:
- All contracting authorities of the administrative units, as defined by Regulation 1059/2003, – NUTS Regulation, a regulation that establishes a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS).
- Regional contracting authorities are contracting authorities of the administrative units falling under NUTS 1 and 2.
- Local contracting authorities are contracting authorities of the administrative units falling under NUTS 3 and smaller administrative units.
- All contracting authorities that are bodies governed by public law, as defined by EU public procurement directive. The EU includes indicative lists of entities for each member state. (A “body governed by public law” is any body: i) established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character; ii) having legal personality; and iii) financed, for the most part, by the State, or regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law, or subject to management supervision by those bodies, or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law.)
Iceland covers entities in two categories:
- All contracting authorities of the regional or local public authorities, including all municipalities; and
- All other entities whose procurement policies are substantially controlled by, dependent on, or influenced by central, regional or local government and which are engaged in non-commercial or non‑industrial activities.
Liechtenstein covers entities in two categories:
- Public authorities at the local level; and
- All bodies governed by public law (same definition as EU).
Montenegro covers entities in two categories:
- All regional or local contracting authorities, which are described as all sub-central government entities (local self-government units) and subordinated organizations. Sub-central government entities are understood as contracting entities of administrative units with population between 7 million and 3 million, between 3 million and 800 000 and between 800 000 and 150 000 inhabitants and smaller administrative units such as municipalities.
- All contracting authorities which are bodies governed by public law (same definition as EU), for which Montenegro provides an indicative list of 17 contracting authorities.
Norway covers entities in three categories:
- All sub-central government entities operating at the regional (counties) or local (municipalities) level;
- All bodies governed by public law (same definition as EU); and
- All associations formed by one or several of the entities covered by the first two categories. Norway provides an indicative list of its covered entities, which includes 12 bodies and two categories (state banks and publicly owned and operated museums).
Switzerland covers any centralised or decentralised authority or administrative unit at the cantonal level under cantonal law and at the district and communal level. It also lists its 23 cantons.
Related Posts
40 States Cover Procurement under International Agreements
GPA Gains Two New Members
Implementation of Revised GPA
International Trade Agreement Guide for State Procurement
New Procurement Opportunities under Revised GPA
State Procurement Restrictions in Agreements
TTIP Negotiations: US-EU Procurement Commitments
