WTO government procurement revised

   During the 8th Ministerial Conference Thursday, the World Trade Organization finalized the revision to its Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).
   The United States praised the revision stating it will provide new opportunities for U.S. goods and services suppliers to secure government procurement contracts in numerous additional markets in WTO member economies.
   “Government procurement represents one of the most rapidly expanding areas of opportunity for traders of goods and services,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk in a statement.
   “After more than 10 years of negotiations, this revision demonstrates the WTO’s ability, through persistence, hard work, and a spirit of collaboration, to reach agreements that strengthen and clarify rules, and expand opportunities through market access,” Kirk added. “We look forward to this accomplishment providing momentum to other aspects of the WTO’s negotiating function.”
   Currently, 42 WTO members are covered by the GPA. Kirk also noted that the revised agreement will provide a strong foundation for other WTO members to join the GPA – providing even more market access – and indicate that the United States is ready to encourage new accessions.
   Kirk particularly called on China to accelerate its accession to the GPA. China began its negotiations to join the GPA four years ago.
   “Since that time, China has submitted three offers, each an improvement over the last,” he said. “But China still has some distance to go before the procurement that it is offering is comparable to the extensive procurement that the United States and other parties cover under the GPA. For example, we are urging China to cover state-owned enterprises, add more sub-central entities and services, reduce its thresholds for the size of covered contracts, and remove other broad exclusions.”