Introduction to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement Robert D. Anderson Counsellor, WTO Secretariat National Seminar on Government Procurement Hotel.

Slides:



Advertisements
Similar presentations
Hamid Dom Reg WS March 04 1 INTRODUCTION THE GATS and DOMESTIC REGULATION.
Advertisements

Session 1: WTO Work on Transparency in Government Procurement January, Dar es Salaam Vesile Kulaçoglu,WTO Secretariat.
1 Session 6 : SCOPE AND COVERAGE OF GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT RULES January 2003, Dar es Salaam Vesile Kulaçoglu, WTO Secretariat.
Transparency and Domestic Regulation Mina Mashayekhi Division on International Trade UNCTAD.
1 Session 9 - Government -to-government dispute settlement procedures APPLICATION OF WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES TO GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Dispute Settlement in the WTO
The Multilateral Trading System: Opportunities and Challenges for the East African Community (EAC) Countries Anne Kamau Ministry of Trade Department of.
REGIONAL LIBERALIZATION ON SERVICES IN ACCORDANCE WITH MULTILATERAL DISCIPLINES Commercial Diplomacy Programme UNCTAD.
BRAZIL AND THE WTO GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AGREEMENT CHALLENGES FOR GPA-ACCEDING NATIONS GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL COLLOQUIUM 4 November 2014,
Public Procurement in Albania in the framework of recent reforms PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AGENCY 1.
1 The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA): overview and the accession process* Robert Anderson Counsellor, WTO Secretariat (Team leader for government.
“Trade Facilitation in the WTO Context” High-Level Policy Segment of the Committee for Trade, Industry and Enterprise Development United Nations Economic.
Intellectual Property Rights, Services and Trade Facilitation CARSTEN FINK African/LDCs Ambassadors Seminar on Post-Hong Kong Assessment of the Doha Round,
ZHRC/HTI Financial Management Training
1 WTO/WORLD BANK REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON PROCUREMENT REFORMS AND TRANSPARENCY IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT Dar es Salaam, Tanzania January 2003 Session.
WTO FORUM: ARTICLE 25 OF THE DSU Christian Albanesi Managing Counsel ICC International Court of Arbitration.
1 ITU-WTO WORKSHOP ON TELECOM & ICT REGULATION AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (GPA) Roger Kampf WTO Secretariat Geneva, 2 December 2004.
AUSTRALIA’S DOHA ROUND AGENDA. TODAY’S DISCUSSION  briefly, the WTO and Australia  what was decided at Doha  what has happened since Doha  Australia’s.
Single undertaking Article II “…2.The agreements and associated legal instruments included in Annexes 1, 2 and 3 (hereinafter referred to as "Multilateral.
Trade Facilitation in the World Trade Organization Workshop on Capacity Building Programme World Bank Institute Ein El-Sokhna, Egypt April 2004 Mohsen.
May 2005Economic Policy Programme1 ECONOMIC POLICY PROGRAMME TOWARDS AN ECONOMICALLY-VIABLE PALESTINIAN STATE: The Regulation of External Trade Monday.
rd National Agricultural Policy Workshop 3
WTO Accession Process Application for Accession Communication to WTO Director General General Council Establishment of a Working Party Multilateral Track.
Agreement on Government Procurement -Experience in Japan- March 2, 2015 Madoka Shimada Nishimura & Asahi 1.
Protectionism vs open markets: the GPA as an instrument of market governance in the government procurement sector* Kodjo OSEI-LAH Commonwealth Procurement.
ACCESSION TO THE WTO AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT AND LEGAL REFORM Anna Caroline Müller Legal Affairs Officer, WTO Secretariat INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL.
CURRENT SITUATION OF NEGOTIATIONS FOR MARITIME TRANSPORT SERVICES AT WTO By Nagayuki SUZUKI Deputy Director, International Maritime Agreements Office,
POTENTIAL BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF GPA ACCESSION: PROCEDURAL AND STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS Anna Caroline Müller Legal Affairs Officer, WTO Secretariat.
One law firm around the world One law firm around the world Status of GATS Negotiations David Hartridge Hanoi, Vietnam August 5, 2003.
The Draft SADC Annex on Trade in Services UNCTAD Secretariat Sub-regional Conference on Improving Industrial Performance and Promoting Employment in SADC.
Trade Facilitation, the WTO, and Development: An Overview John S. Wilson, The World Bank Tsunehiro Otsuki, Osaka University.
What is an RTA in the WTO? Types of preferential trade liberalization: ConcessionsMembersExamplesRTA? ReciprocalSelectiveEU, NAFTA, Mercosur,EPAs UnilateralSelectiveCotonou,AGOA.
1 Accessions to the WTO Samer Seif El Yazal ITTC, WTO.
Implementation of EU Electronic Communication Directives.
WTO Accession Process of Republic of Azerbaijan International Conference on “Law of International trade in the region of Caucasus and Central Asia May.
1 n European Commission PPN Italian Presidency Rom - 15 october 2009 Opening public procurement markets: Contribution of trade policies to the recovery.
SITPRO Simplifying International Trade WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiations – Transparency Dakar, Senegal November 2008.
Fiduciary Forum - JJ Verdeaux1 INTERNATIONAL REFERENCES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT Parallel session – 1 ½ hour.
African Development Bank High-Level Forum on Procurement Reforms: Sustaining Economic Development and Poverty Reduction through the Economic Crisis, Tunis,
1 THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES (GATS) And The Russian Federation WTO Secretariat.
NEGOTIATING TRADE FACILITATION Kennedy Mbekeani UNDP, RSC.
Membership (I) Membership (currently 160 Members): who can be a Member? -States; -separate customs territory (Macao, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei) -European.
Professor Centre for WTO Studies. INTRODUCTION IMPORTANCE OF SERVICES 30 May,
Protection of IPRs in Accession to WTO. Accession negotiations Multilateral (rules) Bilateral (individual members’ demands)
May 2005Economic Policy Programme1 ECONOMIC POLICY PROGRAMME TOWARDS AN ECONOMICALLY-VIABLE PALESTINIAN STATE: The Regulation of External Trade Monday.
- Existing Multilateral Disciplines on Trade in Services First agreement of multilateral and legally-enforceable rules aimed at the liberalisation of trade.
The Role of Peer Review in a Multilateral Framework on Competition Policy Andrea Bruce Investment Trade Policy UNCTAD Regional Seminar for Latin America.
Review of national implementing legislation in the GPA accession process and post- accession monitoring: current practice and future developments Anna.
CUTS Institute for Regulation & Competition Strengthening Skills on Commercial and Economic Diplomacy Training Programme for Civil Servants and Executives(CDS.05)
GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES (GATS). What is the GATS The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was negotiated under the Uruguay Round.
GPA INITIAL OFFER STEP BY STEP: HOW TO USE EXISTING PARTIES’ SCHEDULES AS GUIDANCE & RECIPROCITY Anna Caroline Müller Legal Affairs Officer, WTO Secretariat.
Designing the Green Economy: Support & Constraints under International Trade and Investment Law.
Challenges in WTO Accession —The case of Vietnam By Cristina Hernandez (UNDP-MPI Project VIE/02/009) World Bank Training Course “ Trade in Services and.
1 ARMENIA Public Procurement Reforms Seventh Regional Public Procurement Forum May , 2011 Mr. Karen Brutyan, PhD Head of the PIFC and PP methodology.
1 Competition policy in WTO sectoral agreements Dr. Pierre Arhel Counsellor (competition policy) Intellectual Property Division Sao Paulo, April.
UNCTAD 1 CHECKLIST OF ISSUES FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS ON TRADE IN SERVICES UNCTAD, Commercial Diplomacy Programme.
1 WORLD BANK SEMINAR Russian Academy of State Service Moscow, March/April 2005 WTO ACCESSION Norio KOMURO, Professor of International Economic Law, Kobe.
POLICY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES.  Introduction  Overview of EAC  Challenges in Implementing EAC CU  Opportunities Abound  Lessons from the European.
Johannes S. Schnitzer, EBRD Consultant 27 May 2015, Kiev, Ukraine Status of Ukraine’s accession to the WTO GPA PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REFORM IN UKRAINE: REVIEW.
Georg Roebling European Commission DG Trade, 14 June 2005 Government Procurement - a regional and international perspective.
Update on Multilateral Trade Negotiations “The July Package” PRESENTATION TO SELECT COMMITTEE 09 November 2004.
Trade Policy Review Mechanism Collective appreciation and evaluation of individual trade policies of Member States. It cannot be used for the enforcement.
Government Procurement Negotiations NORBERTO IANELLI LAURA ROJAS Trade, Integration and Hemispheric Issues Division BID.
SLIDES FOR QUESTION N°1. 2 World Trade Prospects Trade in goods: Past tendencies: average annual growths of world exports : 7% Prospects: the.
M O N T E N E G R O Negotiating Team for the Accession of Montenegro to the European Union Working Group for Chapter 5 – Public Procurement Bilateral screening:
Package of agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement
PRESENTATION TO THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRADE & INDUSTRY Protocol Amending the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation (WTO)
Trade - WTO.
The WTO-Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)
Status of GATS Negotiations
Presentation transcript:

Introduction to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement Robert D. Anderson Counsellor, WTO Secretariat National Seminar on Government Procurement Hotel Imperial, New Delhi May 2006

Contents of Presentation  Nature and purposes of the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)  What is procurement and why does it matter?  Main elements of the GPA  Overview of Parties ’ coverage commitments  Potential benefits of participation in the Agreement  Potential concerns about joining the Agreement: how they can be addressed  The accession process  Enforcement and dispute settlement  Summary of main points

I.Introduction: nature and purposes of the Agreement on Government Procurement

The Agreement on Government Procurement: nature and purposes (1)  A plurilateral agreement - not all WTO Members bound  Currently, covers only 37 WTO Members (including the 25 member States of the EC; most other developed countries and Israel; Hong Kong, China; Korea; and Singapore)  But note: nine more countries currently seeking accession (Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Jordan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Oman, Panama and Chinese Taipei).  Even more importantly: Other major developing countries (e.g. China, Saudi Arabia) have made commitments to join the GPA, as part of their WTO accession protocols

The Agreement on Government Procurement: nature and purposes (2)  Why have an Agreement on Government Procurement?  Procurement largely excluded from main WTO Agreements (GATT, GATS); yet constitutes a large proportion of economic activity and (potentially) trade  Ensures a transparent and competitive procurement and tendering process: serves the interest of both participating governments and foreign suppliers  Market access commitments: export opportunities for Parties’ national suppliers

II.What is procurement and why does it matter?

What is procurement?  Purchasing/obtaining by government departments and agencies of:  Supplies/goods (commodities, commercial items, manufactured items)  Services (including research and development)  Construction and public works  Potentially also includes:  Concessions and public-private-partnerships  Purchases by state-controlled corporations

Why procurement regimes matter  Significant proportion of Gross Domestic Product (5-15 % or more in most countries)  Essential function of government, vital to the delivery of socially important goods and services  Transportation and other infrastructure (airports, highways)  Public health (medicines and hospitals)  Schools, universities, defense and policing  Major implications for development; effectiveness of government

Benefits of an open and transparent procurement regime  More potential suppliers – results in more competition – lower prices/better quality goods and services  Access to broader pool of talent/technology  Translates into:  Reduced tax burden; and/or  Ability to provide more, better government services for same resources.  Also, potentially, increased access to foreign markets by (your own) domestic producers

III.Main Elements of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)

Main elements of the Plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement (1)  Coverage defined through detailed schedules (Annexes) in “Appendix I”.  Provisions on national treatment and non- discrimination (subject to important limitations in coverage)  Detailed provisions on aspects of the procurement process, to ensure transparent and open competition. Includes provisions on:  Tendering procedures;  Qualification of suppliers;  Invitations to participate;  Selection procedures;  Time limits, documentation, opening of tenders and contract award procedures.

Main elements of the Plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement (2)  Enforcement: provisions on national bid challenge procedures and application of the WTO-DSU  Special and differential treatment for developing countries  Built-in commitment to negotiations aimed at improving the Agreement, extending its coverage and eliminating discriminatory measures

Overview of Ongoing Negotiations Relating to the GPA  Negotiations cover both non-market access provisions of the Agreement (i.e. the text) and the market access (“coverage”) commitments  Purpose of negotiations on the text: to update/streamline the agreement and ensure greater flexibility, take account of new procurement methodologies (especially e- procurement) and facilitate the accession of new Members.  Purpose of the coverage negotiations: to deepen coverage and eliminate existing discriminatory measures.  All aspects of negotiations to be completed by end of 2006

IV.Overview of coverage commitments: examples of Parties ’ Appendix I

The scope and coverage of the Agreement: Appendix I and the Annexes  As specified in footnote 1 of the Agreement, for each Party, Appendix I is divided into five Annexes. These define the scope and coverage of the Agreement with respect to:  Central government entities (Annex 1)  Sub-central government entities (Annex 2)  Other covered entities such as public utilities (Annex 3)  Covered services (Annex 4)  Construction services (Annex 5)  General notes

Parties’ coverage commitments: where to find them  All Parties’ coverage commitments are available on the WTO website,  How to find them: go first to main website, then go to “Trade Topics”, then “Government Procurement”, then “Agreement on Government Procurement”, then “Appendix I”  I will now show some examples

V.Potential benefits of participating in the Agreement

Potential benefits of participating in the Agreement  A tool for achieving enhanced transparency and effective competition in national procurement markets: possibility of enhanced value for money  International “stamp of approval” re: national procurement processes  Possible significant export opportunities from access to markets that are currently foreclosed

VI.Potential concerns about joining the Agreement (which may or may not be applicable to India) … and ways in which they might be addressed

Potential concerns for developing countries (not necessarily applicable to India)  Adequacy of national legislation  Fears of adverse impact on small and medium- sized enterprises (but note relevance of possible exclusions, transition periods and offsets)  Concerns re: inability to take advantage of export market opportunities (NB: this is a concern for small, isolated developing countries but doesn’t seem relevant to India)

How remaining concerns might be addressed: negotiation and transition periods, other possibilities for special and differential treatment  Possibility of special and differential treatment for developing countries is a key principle of the Agreement. Includes possibility of:  Negotiated transition periods  Negotiated exclusions from coverage for sensitive industries  Exemption from prohibition of “offsets” which applies to all other (i.e. developed) countries. Offsets are domestic content, technology licensing and local investment requirements  “Favourable action by developed country Parties” (to facilitate imports from developing countries)

VII. The Accession Process

The basic process (from GPA Article XXIV:2)  Eligibility of any WTO Member to accede  Terms to be agreed (negotiated) with existing Parties  By deposit with the Director-General of an instrument of accession, including agreed terms  Entry into force on 30 th day afterwards

Some key procedural elements (From GPA/1, Annex 2 and GPA/W/109/Rev. 2 ) 1.Communication of interest in accession to Director- General and Committee on Government Procurement 2.Submission of relevant information, including on: (i) proposed coverage (draft Appendices); and (ii) national legislation (both essential) 3. Consultations to be held by the Committee, as necessary (supplemented by bilateral discussions with individual Parties) 4. Agreement on terms of accession, submission of Report on legislation and decision by the GPA Committee 5. Deposit of accession instrument/terms and entry into force

VIII. Compliance mechanisms under the GPA

Domestic review provisions: general  Purpose of domestic review provisions: permit suppliers (especially those who have lost out) to seek and obtain speedy correction of anomalies in the contractor selection process, consistent with national law.  A low-cost, effective means of systemic oversight.  Timely and transparent functioning of the review body is important.

Domestic review provisions: what does the GPA say?  GPA Article XX:2: “ Each Party shall provide non- discriminatory, timely, transparent and effective procedures enabling suppliers to challenge alleged breaches of the Agreement arising in the context of procurements in which they have, or have, or have had, an interest. ”  Article XX:6: “ Challenges shall be heard by a court or by an independent review body with no interest in the outcome of the procurement and the members of which are secure from external influence during the term of appointment.... ”

WTO dispute settlement under the GPA  Normal WTO Dispute Settlement machinery (DSU) fully applicable to disputes between GPA Parties  Certain special rules/procedures apply: e.g. (i) panels must include persons qualified in government procurement); (ii) absence of cross- retaliation under other WTO agreements  Actual disputes have been rare and voluntary settlements have usually been reached

Disputes to date under the current Agreement on Government Procurement  Japan: Procurement of a navigation satellite (panel requested by EC). Key allegation: tender specifications inconsistent with GPA in that they were based (partly) on a U.S. system, details of which not widely known. Resolved by negotiated settlement intended to establish a non-exclusive global navigation system.  US: Massachusetts “Burma Act” (prohibiting procurement by Massachusetts government entities from companies trading with Myanmar; panel requested by EC and Japan). Panel established but lapsed (issue resolved by U.S. Supreme Court decision barring implementation of the Massachusetts law).

Disputes to date (2)  Korea: Procurement of Inchon International Airport (panel requested by US). A key question was whether the procuring entity was covered by the GPA.  Panel held the procurement was not covered by the GPA since:  Entity not specifically listed  Entity was independent of the relevant listed entity, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation (not a “subordinate linear organization” or “attached organ”).

IX.For completeness... (other aspects of WTO work on government procurement)

Other aspects of the WTO’s work on procurement (1): multilateral work on transparency (on hold)  Work initiated at the Singapore Ministerial Conference; carried forward at Doha  Focus on transparency per se; no direct implications for market access  Work now on hold: General Council has decided there will be no negotiations on this subject (TGP) for the duration of the Doha Round  This work nevertheless provides a rich source of insights on international procurement issues

Other aspects of the WTO’s work on procurement (2): negotiations in the Working Party on GATS rules  Mandate given in GATS, Article XIII:2: “There shall be multilateral negotiations on government procurement in services....”  Under purview of the Working Party on GATS Rules (established by Services Council)  Limited progress to date: Members have differing views re: appropriate scope of negotiations

Summary of main points (1)  Nature of the GPA (plurilateral agreement; importance growing)  Definition and importance of government procurement (major aspect of economic activity; includes infrastructure and socially important goods/services of major developmental significance)  Main elements of the GPA (coverage commitments, national treatment and non-discrimination, procedural provisions, etc.)  Overview of Parties ’ coverage commitments (key to understanding potential export opportunities)

Summary of main points (2)  Potential benefits of participation in the Agreement (export opportunities abroad; help in implementing a transparent and competitive procurement process at home)  Potential concerns about joining the Agreement: how they can be addressed (availability of transition periods, negotiated exclusions, potential use of offsets, etc.)  The accession process and compliance mechanisms