RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE GPA/M/3
25October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4475)
Committee onGovernment Procurement
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON20SEPTEMBER 1996
Chairman: Mr.Harald Ernst (Switzerland)
1. Thefollowing agenda wasadopted:
A. Modifications toAppendix IoftheAgreement
B. Accession negotiations
C. Establishment ofaloose-leaf system fortheAppendices oftheAgreement
D. Information technology
E. Transparency ofnotices
F. Notification ofthresholds innational currencies
G. Procedures forthecirculation andderestriction ofdocuments
H. Annual Report (1996) oftheCommittee totheGeneral Council
I. Other business
A. MODIFICATIONS TOAPPENDIX IOFTHE AGREEMENT
2. TheChairman informed theCommittee that,indocuments GPA/W/22 andGPA/W/23, dated
17July1996, Norway andtheUnited States hadnotified theproposed modifications toAppendix I
oftheAgreement which followed onfrom theagreement reached between these twoParties. Since
noobjections hadbeenreceived within theprescribed time-period, these modifications hadbecome
effective on17August 1996. Certification ofthese modifications hadbeensubsequently circulated
indocument WT/Let/105.
3. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Community saidthatmodifications totheAppendices in
relationtotheconsequencesoftheaccessionofthethreenewMemberStatestotheEuropeanCommunity
would benotified within thenextfewweeks. Certain changes warranted bydevelopments thathad
taken place intheadministrative organization ofthegovernments ofsome Member States, including
theproposedchangestoAppendixIofSwedenascirculatedindocumentsGPR/W/133andGPR/W/139,
would benotified subsequently.
4. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatthedeletion ofthethreeEuropean Community
Member States fromtheGeneral Note5toAppendix IoftheUnited States would benotified shortly
incoordination withthenotification oftheEuropean Community.GPA/M/3
Page2
5. TheChairman alsorecalled thattheCanadian Schedule offered tocover entities inallten
provinces onthebasisofcommitments tobereceived fromProvincial Governments, withafinallisting
tobeprovided within 18months aftertheconclusion ofthenewAgreement. Therepresentative of
Canada saidthathisdelegation 'sposition asoutlined inhisstatement atthelasttwomeetings ofthe
Interim Committee oflastyearremained unchanged.
6. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed torevert tothisagenda itemat
itsnextmeeting.
B. ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS
- Chinese Taipei
7. TheChairman recalled that,atthelastmeeting, thedelegation ofChinese Taipei hadinformed
theCommittee thatitwasconducting bilateral consultations onthebasisofitsrevised offercirculated
indocument GPA/SPEC/1. Atthatmeeting, theCommittee hadagreed torevert tothisissue atits
nextmeeting and,inviewofthewishofthedelegation ofChinese Taipei toconclude theprocess of
bilateral consultations inthelatter partof1996, hadurged delegations topursue their bilateral
negotiations withthedelegation ofChinese Taipei.
8. Therepresentative ofChinese Taipei saidthat,following thebilateral consultations thathad
beenheldwithParties totheAgreement since lastJune, theoffer ofChinese Taipei contained in
GPA/SPEC/1 dated 1March 1996would beimproved asfollows: Annex 1would include theMinistry
ofNational Defense where anexhaustive listofgoods would apply; thethreshold forconstruction
services fortheentities inAnnex 1would belowered fromSDR 15,000,000 toSDR 5,000,000; the
Taiwan Railway Administration would beincluded inAnnex 3;theservices items ofCPC 841-
(consultancy services related totheinstallation ofcomputer hardware), CPC 842- (software
implementation services), andCPC 844-(database services) would beadded toAnnex 4;andthe
respective Notes toAnnexes 1to5aswellastotheGeneral Notes would beimproved further toreflect
theconcerns ofinterested Parties. Hisdelegation 'sintention wastocomplete thebilateral negotiations
assoonaspossible andittherefore hoped thatinterested parties would provide theircomments onthe
revised offerattheearliest datesoastofacilitate theprocess ofaccession totheAgreement. Healso
saidthatexperts responsible forChinese Taipei 'saccession were currently participating inthefinal
review ofthedraftLawonGovernment Procurement atthePremier 'soffice.
9. Therepresentative ofKorea saidthat,while bilateral agreement hadnotyetbeenreached with
Chinese Taipei, hisdelegation welcomed theindication byChinese Taipei thatitcould improve the
coverage ofitsoffer.
10. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed torevert tothisissue atitsnext
meeting.
- Singapore
11. TheChairman recalled that,asagreed atthelastmeeting, theSecretariat haddrawn upand
circulated on20June1996 adraftDecision onAccession, towhich were attached theterms ofits
accession submitted bySingapore on14June1996, forconsideration andadoption bytheCommittee
(GPA/W/21). ThisDecision would havebeenconsidered adopted ifnoobjections orrequests for
extension ofthetime-limit would havebeenreceived from Parties within 30daysofthedateofthe
issue ofthedocument, i.e.by20July1996. On19July1996 theSecretariat hadbeeninformed by
some Parties thattheywould wishtohaveadditional timeforconsideration oftheDecision beforeGPA/M/3
Page3
itsadoption(GPA/W/21/Add.1).Inacommunicationdated13August1996,thedelegationofSingapore
hadsubmittedarevisedofferwhichincludedanundertakingtoreviewitscurrentcompulsoryregistration
system (GPA/SPEC/2/Rev.1).
12. Therepresentative ofSingapore saidthat,following thesubmission ofitsinitial offer on
7December 1995, Singapore hadheldfourrounds ofbilateral negotiations withtheParties tothe
Agreement inFebruary, June, August andSeptember 1996. Initsfinaloffer of15August 1996
Singapore hadtaken intoaccount theconcerns ofParties totheAgreement (GPA/SPEC/2/Rev.1).
Theoffer represented asubstantial access togovernment procurement opportunities available in
Singapore. Itwould subject 46percentofSingapore 'stotalgovernment procurement, invalue terms,
tothedisciplines oftheAgreement. Forthecalendar year1995, thetotalamount ofprocurement
bytheGovernment ofSingapore wasS$18.4 billion, ofwhich S$8.4 billion, equivalent to8.1per
centofSingapore 'sgross domestic product in1995, would becovered under theAgreement. The
offerunder Annex 1toAppendix Iwasextended comprehensively toall23central-government entities
including allministries andorgans ofState. Annex 3covered allthe25major statutory boards, thus
subjecting 56percentoftheirtotalprocurement, invalue terms, tothedisciplines oftheAgreement.
Singapore 'sservices offerunder Annex 4wasequivalent toitsGATS commitments. Thecomprehensive
offerunder Annex 5included allcategories ofconstruction services. Thethreshold levels applicable
under therelevant Annexes were inlinewiththose applied bythemajority oftheParties tothe
Agreement. Inaddition, inaGeneral Note toAppendix ISingapore hadundertaken toreview the
current compulsory requirement forregistration offirms inorder toaddress theconcerns expressed
byParties. TheSingapore Government adopted thefundamental principles offairness, openness and
competitiveness foritsgovernment procurement system. Thecurrent registration system wasnon-
discriminatory andfulfilled thenational treatment requirement under theAgreement. Itsobjective
wastofacilitate thequalification process and,being afairsystem, itensured theapplication ofthe
same objective criteria inthequalification ofsuppliers. Through thissystem procuring entities kept
apoolofinformation oneach registered firmwhich reduced thetimerequired toexamine the
qualification ofafirmduring tender evaluation. Theregistered suppliers alsobenefited fromthissystem
astheydidnotneedtoprovide repeatedly thesame information eachtimetheyparticipated inapublic
tender. Theundertaking intheGeneral Note would giveSingapore timetofine-tune certain aspects
ofthissystem inorder toaddress anymisperception oruncertainty thatcertain Parties mayhavewith
theexisting system. ThisGeneral Noteinnowaydetracted orreduced theverysubstantial scope of
Singapore 'soffer andSingapore 'scommitments under theAgreement.
13. Therepresentatives ofCanada, theEuropean Community, Israel, Japan, Korea, Norway,
Switzerland andtheUnited States supported Singapore 'srequest toaccede totheAgreement. They
saidthatSingapore 'saccession would notonlyenable access toanimportant economy butwasalso
asignofinterest intheexisting WTO procurement regime inadynamic partoftheworld economy.
Thiswasawelcome development towards extending themembership oftheAgreement andforthe
WTO system ingeneral before theSingapore Ministerial Conference.
14. Therepresentative ofNorway saidthattheGeneral NoteinAppendix Ihadalleviated Norway 's
concerns relating tothecompulsory registration system. Herdelegation hoped thatSingapore would
proceed withanearly review ofthissystem within thethree-year period.
15. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Community saidthat,although Singapore hadmade agood
offerwhich hadresponded tomostofitsconcerns, theEuropean Community would make amodification
intheGeneral Notes andderogations from theprovisions ofArticle IIIunder itsAppendix Iwhich
would reflect theexclusion oftheelectric sector inSingapore 'soffer. Therepresentative ofNorway
saidthatherdelegation would make modifications similar tothose oftheEuropean Community inits
Appendix I.Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthatherdelegation mayalsomake certain
modifications initsAppendix I.GPA/M/3
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16. TheCommitteeadoptedadecisionontheaccessionofSingapore(documentGPA/6),andinvited
Singapore toaccede totheAgreement onGovernment Procurement ontheterms attached tothat
Decision.
17. Therepresentative ofSingapore thanked theCommittee fortheadoption oftheDecision on
Singapore 'sAccession atthepresent meeting. Itwasimportant forallparties concerned thatSingapore 's
accession tookplace before theWTO Ministerial Conference. Itsaccession, completed inarecord
period ofninemonths, wastheresult ofhardworkandcommitment fromSingapore 'ssideandgoodwill
fromallParties totheAgreement. Singapore 'sprompt accession would create agood precedent for
future accessions totheAgreement. Thechallenge before theCommittee wastomake theAgreement
more attractive fornon-Parties. Herdelegation would work closely withother Parties towards the
objectiveofachievingawidermembershipoftheAgreementandthemultilateralizationoftheAgreement
inthelonger term.
- Kingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba
18. TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee 'sDecision of27February 1996 ontheAccession
oftheKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba stated thattheDecision would expire six
months afterthedateofitsadoption, i.e.on27August 1996, unless itwasextended bymutual consent
betweentheCommitteeandtheKingdomoftheNetherlandswithrespecttoAruba(GPA/2,paragraph3).
On23August 1996theKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba hadrequested anextension
ofthedeadline fordepositing itsinstrument ofaccession (GPA/W/26).
19. Therepresentative oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba saidthatthedomestic legislative
process inAruba hadbeencompleted andthattheinstrument ofaccession would bedeposited inthe
nearfuture.
20. TheCommittee tooknoteofthisstatement andagreed toextend thedeadline forthedeposit
oftheinstrument ofaccession oftheKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba untiltheend
ofOctober 1996.1
C. ESTABLISHMENT OFALOOSE-LEAF SYSTEM FOR THE APPENDICES TOTHE
AGREEMENT
21. TheChairman recalled that,atthelastmeeting, theCommittee hadagreed toestablish aloose-
leafsystem withlegaleffect toperiodically update theAppendices totheAgreement andhadasked
theSecretariat toproduce anddistribute anupdated setofAppendices, withaviewtoproviding astarting
point fortheloose-leaf system. Hedrew attention tothemodifications thattheEuropean Community
intended tomake totheirSchedules inrelation totheconsequences oftheaccession ofAustria, Finland
andSweden (GPA/M/2, paragraph 10anditemAofthepresent agenda). Astheconsequential changes,
necessary toreflect thepresent membership oftheEuropean Community, would require amajor
reorganization oftheAppendices astheypresently stood, theSecretariat hadsuggested topostpone
thecirculation ofthedraftloose-leaf system untilafterthenotification andacceptance oftherelevant
modifications. Once thenecessary modifications fromtheEuropean Community weresubmitted and
approved, theSecretariat, asagreed atthelastmeeting oftheCommittee, would produce anddistribute
anupdated setofAppendices totheAgreement including accepted rectifications andmodifications
thathadbeenmade totheoriginally negotiated Appendices since thesignature oftheAgreement, with
1TheKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba subsequently deposited itsinstrument ofaccession
on25September 1996 (WT/Let/111 andGPA/7).GPA/M/3
Page5
aviewtoproviding astarting point fortheloose-leaf system. Asagreed, aperiod ofsixtydaysfrom
thedateofdistribution ofthedraftoftheconsolidated setofAppendices would begiven fordelegations
toreview whether theagreed changes hadbeencorrectly reflected.
22. TheChairman alsosaidthat,atitsJunemeeting, theCommittee hadnoted thattheSecretariat
wasexploring ways topublish theAgreement, including theloose-leaf system, ontheInternet and
ithadbeensuggested thattheSecretariat produce induecourse anotewhich would outline themodalities
ofaccess tothese andother GPA documents through theInternet. Adocumentation dissemination
facility through which WTO Members could obtain most WTO documents through theInternet had
nowbecome operational anddocument WT/L/174 contained anoteonhowthisoperated. Thissystem
didnot,asyet,extend todocuments withspecial distributions, including theGPAdocuments. However,
itwastheintention toinclude suchdocuments assoonaspossible andtheCommittee would beinformed
when thishadbeendone.
23. Asforthequestion ofmaking unrestricted documentation available tothepublic atlarge, the
Chairman saidthattheGeneral Council hadagreed on18July1996 thattheSecretariat would make
available onon-line computer network thematerial which wasaccessible tothepublic, including
derestricted documents (WT/GC/M/13, item9(c)andWT/L/162). Thiswould bedonethrough the
WTO Home PageontheInternet2which wasalready operational. Certain unrestricted documentation
would bemade accessible inthiswayinthecoming weeks andthiswould beprogressively extended
inthemonths ahead. Furthermore, theSecretariat hadtheintention toestablish aspecial siteon
government procurement ontheWTO Home Pagewhich would contain information relevant tothe
Agreement onGovernment Procurement andthrough which interested parties would beabletoaccess
relevant documentation more easily. TheSecretariat would provide anoteonthesematters oncemore
detailed information wasavailable.
24. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Community saidthatthesiteongovernment procurement
intheWTO Home Pagecould establish asystem ofhyperlinks ontheInternet toother home pages
related togovernment procurement existing invarious Parties, forexample totheUnited States
procurement jump station.
25. Members oftheCommittee expressed views onwhether thehard-copy version oftheloose-leaf
system would stillbenecessary oncetheelectronic version became available and,inparticular, whether
itcould fulfil thelegal requirements under theAgreement. Inresponse, therepresentative ofthe
Secretariat recalled themodalities fortheoperation oftheloose-leaf system assetoutindocument
GPA/W/3 onaPossible Loose-leaf System forPeriodically Updating theAppendices. Healsosaid
thatWTO documents would continue tobecirculated inhardcopy form aswellasmade available
inelectronic formthrough theDocument Dissemination Facility (DDF) untilsuchtimeadecision to
thecontrary wastaken byMembers.
26. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed torevert tothisagenda itemat
itsnextmeeting.
D. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
27. TheChairman recalled that,atitsJunemeeting, theCommittee hadcontinued itsdiscussion
ontheissue oftheimplications ofthedevelopment ofinformation technology fortheAgreement.
Onthebasis oftheoptions identified inanotebytheSecretariat (GPA/W/15) forcarrying forward
2http://www.wto.org/GPA/M/3
Page6
workinthisarea,ithadrequestedtheSecretariattopreparearevisionofthequestionnaireoninformation
technology asproposed indocument GPA/W/15 andafactual noteontheaspects oftheAgreement
thatithadbeensuggested might needtobere-examined inthelightofinformation technology. The
revised questionnaire wascirculated indocument GPA/W/24 andthefactual noteindocument
GPA/W/25. AttheJunemeeting, theCommittee hadalsonoted thattheEuropean Community, in
coordination withNorway andwiththeassistance oftheSecretariat, would prepare apaper identifying
thetechnical issues relating toinformation technology thatmight needtobeexamined byexperts and
thatthedelegation oftheUnited States would provide information onthepilotproject launched inthe
APEC framework onaccess tonational databases (GPA/M/2, paragraphs 44and45).
28. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Community saidthathisdelegation waspreparing adraft
noteidentifying thetechnical issues relating toinformation technology.
29. Therepresentative oftheUnited States described whathadbeenaccomplished intheAPEC
context onaccess tonational databases. Building from acooperative effort associated with a
demonstration project undertaken bytheUnited States Department ofCommerce forthe1995APEC
Ministerial inOsaka, theAPEC Secretariat hadfashioned anInternet Home Page ongovernment
procurement opportunities which served asagateway tosources ofinformation onprocurement
opportunities within themember economies orprovided anactual linkage tomember economies '
procurement information Internet sites. In1995, theUnited States Department ofCommerce undertook
togather specific information from APEC member economies oncontact points forinformation on
government procurement opportunities -either names andaddresses ofappropriate agencies orInternet
addresses where further information could beaccessed. Using Internet software tocreate ahomepage
toserve asanInternet gateway tothisinformation, Department ofCommerce officials hadestablished
thesiteattheDepartment ofCommerce fortemporary useasademonstration project astoitsfeasibility
fortheAPEC Ministerial inOsaka. Building ontheinformation gathered forthiscooperative effort,
theAPEC Secretariat hadsincedeveloped itsownprocurement homepage withidentical functions which
could beaccessed directly ormore conveniently through theAPEC Home Page ontheInternet
(http://www.apecsec.org.sg/gphome.html).Thequalityandtimelinessoftheinformationonopportunities
available from themember economies depended entirely ontheefficiency withwhich theeconomies
maintained theirowninformation siteswhich could beaccessed viatheAPEC homepage gateway.
Themain advantage oftheAPEC sitewasthatitprovided auseful starting point toseeking out
information from numerous economies andprocurement regimes.
30. Therepresentative ofCanada saidthenotebytheSecretariat ontheprovisions oftheAgreement
which might needtobere-examined inthelightofinformation technology (GPA/W/25) made itclear
thatthewording oftherelevant provisions oftheAgreement hadbeencarried overfrom theTokyo
Round Agreement andits1988 Revision andpredated theintroduction oftheuseofinformation
technology inprocurement. Thepaper pointed outthework thathadtobedoneandgaveafocused
viewofhowquickly changes might takeplace inthisarea.Atanearly opportunity theParties should
make thenecessary modifications toensure thattheAgreement would evolve withthefieldforwhich
itsetdown rights andobligations.
31. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthathisdelegation wasundertaking acomprehensive
review oftheissues related toinformation technology andtheGovernment Procurement Agreement.
Insodoing, itwould attempt todevelop approaches thatreflected thebalance ofinterest, which had
sometimes been perceived ascompeting, ofensuring andenhancing access while permitting the
accommodation ofnewtechnologies. TheAgreement would require amendments tofullyaddress the
issue ofinformation technology. Future negotiations under Article XXIV:7(b) should givepriority
tothisissue.GPA/M/3
Page7
32. Therepresentative ofJapan saidthatthenotebytheSecretariat oninformation technology
made itclear thattheexisting Agreement hadbeendrafted without information technology usedin
procurement procedures inmind. Hisdelegation wasprepared todiscuss thematter intheCommittee
under theterms ofArticle XXIV:8 and,ifnecessary, tonegotiate thenecessary amendments tothe
Agreement intheframework ofthereview under Article XXIV:7(b). Suchdiscussion should aimto
establish disciplines which would allow suppliers tochoose between theuseoftheprocedures stipulated
inthecurrent Agreement andprocedures based onelectronic communications. From theviewpoint
ofensuring consistency withtheprinciples ofnational treatment andnon-discrimination, theCommittee
should alsopayattention tosuchissues asthetreatment offoreign suppliers intheprocedures based
onelectronic communications, thetreatment ofsuppliers whoutilize communication systems which
differ fromtheprocuring entities, andthetreatment ofsuppliers whouseelectronic procedures intheir
procurements byentities which donotchoose toutilize electronic procedures.
33. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made agreed torevert tothisitematitsnextmeeting.
E. TRANSPARENCY OFNOTICES
34. TheChairmanrecalledthat,inthecontextofendorsingtheInterimCommittee'srecommendation
thattherulesoforigin usedforthepurposes ofstatistical reporting inArticle XIX:5 oftheAgreement
should bethesame asthose applied under Article IV,those usedinthenormal course oftrade, the
delegationoftheEuropeanCommunityhadsuggestedthattherewasmeritinexaminingwaystoestablish
alinkbetween statistical information andthedegree oftransparency oftender notices asaneffective
wayofmonitoring theoperation oftheAgreement. Atitslastmeeting, theCommittee hadagreed,
attherequest ofthedelegation oftheEuropean Community, torevert tothisissue.
35. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Community saidthathispoint could betaken upaspart
ofthefuture review under Article XXIV:7(b).
36. TheCommittee tooknoteofthisstatement.
F. NOTIFICATION OFTHRESHOLDS INNATIONAL CURRENCIES
37. TheCommittee tooknotethat,pursuant toitsDecision onModalities forNotifying Threshold
Figures inNational Currencies (GPA/1, Annex 3)of27February 1996, notifications hadbeenreceived
fromallParties onthethresholds fortheperiod 1996-1997 intheirrespective national currencies and
circulated indocuments GPA/W/12 andAddenda 1to6.
38. Therepresentative ofSwitzerland saidthatthethreshold figures forSwitzerland would bevalid
onlyfrom1January 1997astheyhadtobeimplemented through thenational legislation atthecentral
andsub-central level.
G. PROCEDURES ONTHE CIRCULATION AND DERESTRICTION OFDOCUMENTS
39. TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee took, on27February 1996, twoDecisions onthe
circulation andthederestriction ofdocuments, respectively. These decisions weretaken onaninterim
basis, withtheunderstanding thattheywould beexamined inthelightofdefinitive measures tobe
adopted bytheGeneral Council (GPA/M/1, paragraph 3andGPA/1). Atitsmeeting on18July1996,
theGeneral Council hadadopted aDecision onprocedures forthecirculation andderestriction ofWTO
documents (WTO/L/160/Rev.1). Inaccordance withitsfootnote 1,acopyofthisDecision hadbeenGPA/M/3
Page8
transmitted totheCommittee onGovernment Procurement foritsconsideration andappropriate action.
40. Therepresentative oftheUnited States, supported bytherepresentatives oftheEuropean
Community, Canada andSwitzerland saidthattheCommittee should alignitsprocedures forcirculation
andderestriction ofdocuments tothose adopted forWTO documents bytheGeneral Council.
41. TheCommittee agreed toalignitsprocedures withthose adopted bytheGeneral Council for
theWTO on18July1996andrequested theSecretariat toproduce adrafttothiseffect forexamination
bytheCommittee atitsnextmeeting.
H. ANNUAL REPORT (1996) OFTHE COMMITTEE TOTHE GENERAL COUNCIL
42. TheCommittee considered adraft annual report totheGeneral Council which hadbeen
circulated bytheSecretariat on23July1996. After discussion, theCommittee adopted Sections I
toIIIofthedraftannual report asamended inthelightofthediscussion. TheCommittee alsoagreed
thatatextonSection IVoftheReport onissues tobebrought totheattention oftheSingapore
Ministerial Conference would bedeemed tobeadopted bytheCommittee ifnocomments werereceived
from Parties within 20daysafteritscirculation, i.e.by14October 1996. Inthatcase, theReport
(GPA/-)wouldthenbesubmittedtotheGeneralCouncil,incorporatinganydevelopmentsintheinterval,
ofapurely factual nature, notably inregard todeposit ofinstruments ofaccession.
I. OTHER BUSINESS
- Dateofthenextmeeting oftheCommittee
43. Itisproposed thatthenextmeeting oftheCommittee beheldon24February 1997.