RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE GPA/M/2
23July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2821)
Committee onGovernment Procurement
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON4JUNE 1996
Chairman: Mr.Harald Ernst (Switzerland)
1. Thefollowing agenda wasadopted:
A. Requests forobserver status
B. Procedures fornotifying national implementing legislation
C. Modifications ofAppendix ItotheAgreement
D. Accession negotiations
E. Establishment ofaloose-leaf system fortheAppendices oftheAgreement
F. Information technology
G. Uniform classification systems
H. Transparency ofnotices
I. Requirements stemming fromtheinclusion oftheAgreement inAnnex 4oftheWTO
Agreement
J. Preparation fortheSingapore Ministerial
K. Notification ofthresholds innational currencies
L. Other business
A. REQUESTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS
2. TheChairman informed theCommittee that,forreasons oftransparency, hehadsentaletter
totheChairman oftheGeneral Council transmitting, fortheinformation ofallMembers oftheWTO,
theprocedural decisions taken bytheCommittee atitsfirstmeeting on27February 1996 concerning
possibilitiesfortheMembersoftheWTOnotPartiestothenewAgreementonGovernmentProcurement
toparticipate asobservers intheCommittee, toreceive Committee documents andtoaccede tothe
newAgreement. Theletter including itsattachments hadbeenissued asaGeneral Council document
(WT/L/146).
3. TheCommittee agreed togrant observer status totheGovernments ofTurkey, Latvia and
Australia.GPA/M/2
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4. Therepresentative ofTurkey said, taking intoaccount thecontribution ofplurilateral trade
agreements totheglobal trading system, Turkey wished toparticipate asobserver intheCommittee.
5. Therepresentative ofLatvia saidthathiscountry wasintheprocess ofacceding totheWTO
and,aspartofitsgeneral exercise inforeign trade liberalization, attached great importance tothe
adoption ofinternationally accepted rules ongovernment procurement. Anewlawongovernment
procurement, drafted incompliance withtherequirements oftheAgreement, hadbeensubmitted for
theapproval oftheParliament. Taking intoaccount thescarce human resources allocated totrade
policy matters, Latvia could begin negotiations onaccession totheAgreement onlyafterithadcompleted
theprocedures ofaccession totheWTO. Meanwhile, Latvia 'sparticipation asobserver inthework
oftheCommittee would greatly facilitate thepreparations forthenegotiations onaccession tothe
Agreement.
B. PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFYING NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION
6. TheChairman recalled that,inresponse toarequest oftheCommittee atitsmeeting of
27February 1996, theSecretariat haddrawn upandcirculated draftprocedures forthenotification
ofnational implementing legislation inaninformal notedated 7May1996. Draft procedures were
based onthediscussion intheCommittee atitsfirstmeeting on27February 1996andonthechecklist
ofissues thathadbeenpresented inaninformal paper dated 16February 1996.
7. TheCommitteeadoptedtheProceduresfortheNotificationofNationalImplementingLegislation,
asamended inthelightofthecomments made bytherepresentatives oftheUnited States, Korea, the
European Communities andCanada.1Itagreed thatnotifications including responses tothechecklist
ofissues should bemade assoonaspossible butnotlaterthan31December 1996.
C. MODIFICATIONS OFAPPENDIX ITOTHE AGREEMENT
8. Therepresentatives ofNorway andtheUnited States informed theCommittee thatNorway
andtheUnited States hadagreed tomutually extend theirpresent coverage under theAgreement to
sub-centralentitiesaswellastotheelectricitysectorandtoharbours.ThecoverageundertheAgreement
between Norway andtheUnited States would besimilar tothereciprocal coverage between theEuropean
Community andtheUnited States. Theamendments totherelevant annexes would benotified indue
course.
9. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthattheEuropean Communities hadheld
discussions withIsrael onthereciprocal extension ofthecoverage oftheAgreement. Notification of
amendments totherelevant annexes would bemade induecourse.
10. Reiterating hisstatement made atthemeeting of27February 1996, therepresentative ofthe
European Communities confirmed thattheEuropean Communities intended tomake twomodifications
totheirSchedules: modifications relating totheconsequences oftheaccession ofthethreenewMember
States totheEuropean Community; andcertain changes warranted bydevelopments thathadtaken
place intheinternal organization ofthegovernments ofsome Member States, including theproposed
changes toAppendix IofSweden ascirculated indocuments GPR/W/133 andGPR/W/139.
11. Reiterating hisstatement made atthemeeting oftheCommittee of27February 1996, the
representative oftheUnited States confirmed thatthedeletion ofthethree ECMember States from
itsGeneral Note 5would benotified attheappropriate time.
1Subsequently circulated indocument GPA/1/Add.1GPA/M/2
Page3
12. TheChairman alsorecalled thattheCanadian Schedule offered tocover entities inallten
provinces onthebasisofcommitments tobereceived fromProvincial Governments, withafinallisting
tobeprovided within 18months aftertheconclusion ofthenewAgreement.
13. TherepresentativeofCanadareiteratedthathisdelegation'spositionasoutlinedinhisstatements
attheOctober andDecember 1995meetings oftheInterim Committee andtheFebruary 1996meeting
oftheCommittee hadremained unchanged.
14. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities onceagain stressed theneedforCanada to
honour thecommitments ithadundertaken bysigning theAgreement inMarrakesh. Heexpressed
thedisappointment ofhisdelegation thatCanada hadnotbeenabletocome upwithafinallisting of
entities inalltenprovinces ortoannounce adatebywhich suchalistcould beprovided.
15. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed torevert tothisagenda itemat
itsnextmeeting.
D. ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS
- Application foraccession byChinese Taipei
16. Therepresentative ofChinese Taipei saidthatitsoffer hadbeen revised toreflect the
improvements made inthelightofbilateral consultations heldinFebruary (GPA/SPEC/1). Since
thentheyhadcoordinatedwiththeirgovernmentagenciesontheremainingissues.Theywereconducting
further bilateral consultations which theyhoped would narrow down thelistoffewpending issues and
would leadtotheconclusion ofthenegotiations inthelatter partofthisyear. Healsoinformed the
Committee thatthePremier 'sOffice wascurrently reviewing adraftlawongovernment procurement,
drawn upinconformity withtheprinciples oftheAgreement.
17. TheCommitteetooknoteofthestatementsmade,agreedtoreverttothisissueatitsnextmeeting
and,inview ofthewish ofthedelegation ofChinese Taipei toconclude theprocess ofbilateral
consultations inthelatter partof1996, urged delegations topursue theirbilateral negotiations with
thisdelegation.
- Application foraccession bySingapore
18. Therepresentative ofSingapore drewattention tothereplies ofherdelegation tothequestions
putbyonedelegation concerning thedescription ofSingapore 'sprocurement régime (GPA/W/10).2
19. Therepresentative ofSingapore alsoinformed theCommittee thatherdelegation hadprepared
atentativerevisedofferwithaviewtoachievinganexpeditiousaccessiontotheAgreement.3Singapore's
revised offertookintoaccount theconcerns thatdelegations hadraised during thefirstround ofbilateral
consultations regarding theinitial offersubmitted inDecember 1995(GPA/IC/SPEC/2) andrepresented
substantially improved access togovernment procurement opportunities available inSingapore. The
mainfeatures oftheofferwere: thethreshold values applicable under therelevant annexes werelowered;
andthecoverage ofentities wasextended. Thecoverage ofcentral government entities under Annex 1
wasnowcomprehensive, except fortheMinistry ofDefense, thussubjecting 46percentofthetotal
value oftheir procurement tothedisciplines oftheAgreement. Several important purchasers in
2Subsequently circulated asdocument GPA/W/19
3Subsequently circulated asdocument GPA/SPEC/2GPA/M/2
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government procurement market wereincluded -92percentofthetotalprocurement oftheMinistry
ofEnvironment, 83percentofthatoftheMinistry ofHealth and92percentofthatoftheMinistry
ofEducation. Thelistofstatutory boards inAnnex 3wasexpanded, subjecting twenty-five suchentities
thathadbeenrequestedinbilateralconsultationstothedisciplinesoftheAgreement.Undertheimproved
offer56percentinvalue terms ofthetotalprocurement ofstatutory boards would becovered; for
example, more than80percentofthetotalprocurement oftheCivil Aviation Authority and91per
centofthetotalprocurement oftheHousing Development Board and86percentoftotalprocurement
oftheLand Transport Authority werecovered. Thethreshold levels inAnnex 3werereduced toSDR
400,000 forbothgoods andservices andtoSDR5million forconstruction. Thescope oftheservice
sectors wasexpanded under Annex 4toinclude, among others, veterinary science services, consultancy
services intheinstallation ofcomputer hardware, systems andsoftware consulting services, electronic
mailvoice online information database retrieval, motion picture services, translation andinterpretation
services; andthethreshold levelapplied toentities under thisannex wasreduced toSDR 400,000.
Theinitial offeronAnnex 5wascomprehensive andincluded allcategories ofconstruction services
andthethreshold levelwasreduced toSDR5million. Inconclusion, sheexpressed herdelegation 's
hopethatParties would facilitate anexpeditious accession process withaviewtoitscompletion by
theendofJuly1996. Bearing inmind thistime-frame, Singapore would tableitsfinalofferbymid-
June.
20. Therepresentatives oftheEuropean Communities, theUnited States, Canada, Korea, Norway,
Japan andSwitzerland welcomed thedraftrevised offerwhich appeared tohavereflected significant
improvements totheinitial offer. Theysupported Singapore 'sefforts toconclude bilateral consultations
assoonaspossible.
21. TheChairman noted thegeneral support forSingapore 'sefforts foranearlyaccession process
andtheintention ofSingapore tosubmit arevised offerby14June1996totheSecretariat afterholding
further bilateral consultations withinterested Parties. Heproposed that,afterthesubmission of
Singapore 'srevised offer, theSecretariat would draw upandcirculate, intheweek of17June1996,
adraftDecision onAccession towhich would beattached theterms ofaccession ascontained inthe
offerbySingaporeforconsiderationandadoptionbytheCommittee.4ThisDecisionwouldbeconsidered
adopted ifnoobjections orrequests forextension ofthistime-limit werereceived fromParties within
thirty daysofthedateoftheissue ofthedocument.
22. TheCommittee soagreed.
E. ESTABLISHMENT OFALOOSE-LEAF SYSTEM FOR THE APPENDICES OFTHE
AGREEMENT
23. TheChairmanrecalledthat,attherequestoftheInterimCommittee,theSecretariathadprepared
anoteoutlining howaloose-leaf system toperiodically update theAppendices intheAgreement might
work, taking intoconsideration relevant experience inother areas oftheWTO suchasinregard to
tariff schedules (GPA/W/3).
24. Therepresentatives oftheUnited States, Canada, theEuropean Communities, Switzerland
andNorway reiterated theirsupport fortheestablishment ofaloose-leaf system toregularly update
theAppendices totheAgreement which would record themodifications andrectifications notified and
agreed pursuant totheprocedures under Article XXIV:6. They agreed, therefore, thattheloose-leaf
system should constitute theofficial legalrecord ofnational schedules.
4Subsequently circulated indocument GPA/W/21GPA/M/2
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25. Asked bytheChair tocomment ontheadvantages ofgiving theloose-leaf system legaleffect,
therepresentative oftheSecretariat saidthattheprincipal advantages would betoprovide delegations
withonlyonesystem tomaintain uptodateandaclearpicture ofthelegalstatus oftheAppendices -
something which didnotresult fromthepresent procedures. Withaviewtofacilitating itsoperation,
itwassuggested thatdelegations submit proposed changes totheirAppendices under theprovisions
ofArticle XXIV:6 intheformofreplacement pages oradditional pages tobeinserted intheloose-leaf
system withtheproposed changes identified onthose pages. Once these changes, circulated inthe
GPA/W/- document series, would havebeenadopted bytheCommittee andcertified according tothe
procedures under Article XXIV:6, those replacement pages could thenbecirculated forinsertion in
theloose-leaf system, inaddition tothecirculation intheWT/Let/- document series.
26. Therepresentative ofJapan saidthat,since theDiethadapproved theauthenticated certified
textoftheMarrakesh Agreement onGovernment Procurement of15April 1994, hisdelegation would
needtoassess theimplications ofaloose-leaf system withlegal status inthelightoftheapproval
procedures inhiscountry. Hisdelegation hadasimilar position inrespect oftheSchedules under
GATT andGATS.
27. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities saidthat,recognizing thatthedocument which
would record theagreed modifications toParties 'concessions would havelegaleffect, theCommittee
should limititsconsideration towhether suchdocument would bemade available inaloose-leaf system
orinanyother version. Hedisagreed withtheJapanese position which could imply thatchanges made
byParties totheirrespective Appendices inaccordance withtheprocedures under theArticle XXIV:6
oftheAgreement could havelegaleffect onlyafterthecompletion ofthelegislative approval procedures
ineachoftheParties.
28. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthataproposed modification orrectifications to
theAppendices hadlegaleffect onceitwasagreed bytheCommittee pursuant totheprocedures of
Article XXIV:6. Circulation ofsuchmodifications inoneconsolidated textorinaseries ofdocuments
wasamatter ofform rather thanofsubstance.
29. TheChairman confirmed thatonlymodifications which would havebeenadopted would be
systematically made available asderestricted documents tothewider public under theloose-leaf system.
Thiswould, however, notpreclude Parties from notifying proposed changes totheirAppendices on
anunrestricted basis.
30. Onthequestion ofdistribution ofGPA documents toParties, Observers andWTO Members
inelectronic formandonthepossibility ofmaking theloose-leaf system available tothewider public,
therepresentative oftheSecretariat informed theCommittee that,attherequest oftheGeneral Council,
theWTO Secretariat wascurrently working ontwosystems fortheelectronic distribution ofWTO
documents. Oneconcerned theelectronic distribution ofrestricted documents destined forusebyWTO
Members, possibly through theInternet, andwould involve using passwords toguarantee thataccess
wasrestricted onlytothose entitled toreceive suchdocuments. AllGPA documents, including the
loose-leaf system, could bedistributed under thismethod. Thesecond system related tomaking available
unrestricted documents tothegeneral public through theWTO Home PageontheInternet. Theloose-
leafsystem could bemade available tothegeneral public bythismethod. Bothmethods wereexpected
tobeinoperation before theendof1996.
31. TheCommitteeagreedinprincipletoestablishaloose-leafsystemwithlegaleffecttoperiodically
update theAppendices totheAgreement, subject toascrutiny reserve ofthirty daysentered bythe
delegation ofJapan.GPA/M/2
Page6
32. TheChairman proposed thattheCommittee request theSecretariat toproduce anddistribute
anupdated setofAppendices, withaviewtoproviding astarting point fortheloose-leaf system and
thataperiod ofsixtydaysbeforeseen fromthedateofdistribution fordelegations toreview whether
theagreed changes hadbeencorrectly reflected. Healsonoted thattheSecretariat wasexploring ways
topublish theAgreement including theloose-leaf system ontheInternet andsuggested thatitproduce
induecourse anotethatwould outline themodalities ofaccess tothese andother GPA documents
through theInternet.
33. TheCommittee soagreed.
F. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
34. TheChairman recalled that, following therequest oftheCommittee atitsmeeting of
27February 1996, theSecretariat hadprepared acompilation ofissues relating totheimplications
ofthedevelopment ofinformation technology fortheAgreement and,inconjunction withtheChairman
andbased oninputs fromdelegations, hadidentified options forcarrying forward thework inthearea
ofinformation technology (GPA/W/15).
35. Therepresentative oftheUnited States, welcoming thecompilation ofissues oninformation
technology circulated indocument GPA/W/15, noted thatitseemed toreflect more anxiety about the
implications ofinformation technology thanwaswarranted.
36. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities, inreferring tothepaper presented byhis
delegation (GPA/W/13), saidthattheuseofinformation technology would have certain practical
consequences butitshould notbeassumed thattheynecessarily created theneedtomake changes to
theAgreement. However, some flexibility intheapplication ofrulescould bejustified totheextent
thatthisdidnotundermine therespect ofthebasic principles underlying theAgreement. Ingeneral,
itwasessential tosecure thatthenewtechnologies didnotleadtodiscrimination against Parties or
suppliers whodidnothaveaccess totheiruse.Thepaper bytheUnited States (GPA/IC/W/36), by
setting outcertain practical problems related tothisquestion, hinted attheneedforcertain changes
totheprovisions oftheAgreement, forinstance toallow thewider useofselective orlimited tendering.
Newtechnologies would beinstrumental inattracting offers fromagreater number ofsuppliers which
wastobewelcomed inaccordance withtheprinciples oftheAgreement. Increased useofselective
tendering procedures would notbetherightwayofhandling thepossible increase inthenumber of
offers. Thesystem ofopen procedures under theAgreement provided adequate flexibility tosolve
anyproblem thatcould ariseinthisconnection.
37. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities alsosaidthattherespect oftheprinciple of
non-discrimination wasessential asregards thesetting ofdeadlines taking intoaccount language
differences. Theuseofnewtechnologies should notleadtoashortening ofdeadlines tothedetriment
ofthose suppliers whohadnotbeenabletodevelop facilities forretrieving information ontendering
opportunities orforelectronic tendering. Inthemulticultural environment ofgovernment procurement,
shorteningofdeadlinescoulddiscriminateagainstforeignsupplierswhofaceddifficultyinunderstanding
tender procedures andinproviding arapid response inadifferent language. Furthermore, electronic
tendering systems should bedesigned from theoutset tobeeffectively transparent, compatible and
readily accessible toallsuppliers from allParties. Relying onthemarket tofillthegapwasnota
satisfactory option andinanyevent would taketime.
38. TherepresentativeofNorway,inreferringtothepaperpresentedbyherdelegation(GPA/W/14),
saidthatinformation technology systems should beopenandaccessible toallsuppliers andParties.
Theprinciple ofnon-discrimination should beobserved bothinterms ofaccess tosystems and
compatibility between different systems.GPA/M/2
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39. Therepresentative ofCanada cautioned thatshortening ofdeadlines should notundermine
increased competition inprocurement markets offered bynewtechnologies. Healsosaidthata
preliminary draftonpossible solutions tosome ofthese questions could assist thefuture discussion
ofthisissue intheCommittee.
40. Therepresentative ofKorea saidthatfurther discussion could giveguidance towhatextent
databases should cover entities atthesub-central government level. Pending electronic transmission
ofdata,hardcopypublications should continue tobetheprincipal means oftransmitting information
onprocurement. Parties advanced innewtechnologies could cooperate withotherParties indeveloping
therelevant information technology.
41. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatadoption ofinformation technology would
increase theefficiency ofprocurement procedures andwould improve access toprocurement
opportunities. Inresponse toconcerns expressed bytherepresentative oftheEuropean Communities,
heexplained thathisdelegation 'spaper oninformation technology (GPA/IC/W/36) pointed outthe
possibility oftheuseofselective tendering inthose situations where procuring entities adopting
information technology would befaced withaconsiderable increase inthenumber ofoffers. While
thepresent provisions ofArticle Xallowed theuseofselective tendering subject tocertain conditions,
areview ofthese provisions might benecessary toidentify possible areas where changes might be
warranted toaccommodate theeffects ofincreased useofinformation technology. Article Xcould
bemodified toensure thatanyincreased useofselective tendering would notleadtodiscrimination
between domestic andforeign suppliers. Healsosaidthattheprovisions oftheAgreement relating
todeadlines were based onthepractice ofdistribution ofpublications inhardcopyversion through
thepostal system. These might havetobereviewed toreflect thepossibilities offered bydevelopments
intheareaofelectronic datatransmission andelectronic tendering. Heagreed thatanyamendments
totherelevant provisions should takeintoaccount thedifficulties resulting fromdifferent languages.
42. Therepresentative ofJapan saidthatJapan nowprovided information tosuppliers worldwide,
through theInternet, notonlywithrespect toprocurement bycentral government entities, asindicated
intheSecretariat compilation (GPA/W/15, paragraph 14)butalsowithrespect togovernment-related
entities inAnnex 3aswellaschallenge procedures. Anumber ofMinistries andagencies inhiscountry
wereexamining thepossibility ofestablishing anelectronic database containing contract opportunities
provided byentities under Annexes 1and3,towhich private companies would haveaccess, andwhich
would alsoprovide electronic tendering facilities. Healsosupported theview ofthedelegation of
theEuropean Communities thatthenon-discrimination principle wasessential insecuring access to
contract opportunities forforeign suppliers onafairbasis. Healsosaidthatanypossible amendments
totherelevant provisions oftheAgreement could bediscussed under thereview procedures of
Article XXIV:7.
43. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthatthequestion ofaccess todomestic databases
byallother Parties deserved careful consideration. Hisdelegation wasconcerned about theimplication
thatarequirement foraone-way access todatabases inindividual Parties might haveonthebalance
ofrights andobligations between Parties under theAgreement. Healsoexpressed hisdelegation 's
readiness toprovide information ontheestablishment oftheAPEC Home Pageattherequest ofsome
delegations.
44. After discussion oftheoptions identified inthenoteoninformation technology forcarrying
forward work inthisarea(GPA/W/15, paragraphs 34to38),theChairman concluded asfollows.
First, theSecretariat would revise thequestionnaire oninformation technology (GPA/IC/W/4/Rev.1)
asproposedindocumentGPA/W/15.Second,henotedthattheEuropeanCommunities,incoordination
withNorway, would prepare apaper identifying thetechnical issues relating toinformation technology
thatmight needtobeexamined byexperts. Third, theSecretariat would prepare afactual noteonGPA/M/2
Page8
theaspects oftheAgreement thatithadbeensuggested might needtobere-examined inthelightof
information technology, setting outtherelevant provisions oftheAgreement anddrawing attention
toanypertinent information ontheirnegotiating history. Fourth, henoted thatthedelegation ofthe
United States would provide information onthepilotproject launched intheAPEC framework on
access tonational databases. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities suggested thatthe
Secretariat might alsoassist inthepreparation ofthepaper identifying thetechnical issues related to
information technology.
45. TheCommittee soagreed.
G. UNIFORM CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS
- Goods
46. TheChairman recalled that,atitsmeeting of27February 1996, theCommittee hadendorsed
therecommendation oftheWorking Group onStatistical Reporting thatthesystem of26product
categories beusedasabasis foraclassification system forproducts. With aviewtoidentifying the
precise levelofdetail desirable inthesystem of26product categories, theChairman, incooperation
withtheSecretariat, hadprepared apaper indicating whatcategories ofthe26product categories could
beusefully divided intosub-headings, and,where afurther breakdown hadbeensuggested, identifying
theprecise product coverage oftheproposed newcategories (GPA/W/17).
47. Therepresentative ofKorea questioned theappropriateness ofdividing category 15intotwo
subheadings, arguing thatseveral Parties hadexcluded telecommunications apparatus andequipment
fromthecoverage oftheAgreement. Inresponse, therepresentative ofJapan saidthathisdelegation
hadsuggested thebreakdown ofcategories 14and15because ofthegrowing volume ofprocurement
inthesecategories. Therepresentative oftheUnited States saidthat,while telecommunication entities
perseweregenerally notcovered under theAgreement, many entities covered under theAgreement
wereimportant procurers oftelecommunication equipment, which justified thedivision ofcategory 15
intotwosubheadings.
48. TheCommittee adopted theproduct classification system of26product categories asproposed
inAnnex 1ofdocument GPA/W/17, subject toscrutiny reserves ofthirty daysentered byCanada,
Korea andtheUnited States.5
- Services
49. TheChairman recalled that,atitsmeeting of27February 1996, theCommittee hadendorsed
therecommendation oftheWorking Group onStatistical Reporting thattheUNCPC beusedasthe
classification system forservices. With aviewtoreaching conclusions onthelevelofdetail which
would bedesirable, theChairman, incooperation withtheSecretariat, hadprepared apaper indicating
which ofthe30UNCPC divisions should becombined andifanysubdivisions would bedesirable
(GPA/W/17).
50. Inthisconnection,therepresentativesofCanadaandtheUnitedStatesstatedthattheirdelegations
would usetheNAFTA system forthepurposes ofstatistical reporting intheareaofservices andthat
atableofconcordance ofclassification would beprovided totheCommittee.
5Subsequently issued asdocument GPA/4GPA/M/2
Page9
51. TheCommittee adopted theservices classification system inAnnex 2ofdocument GPA/W/17,
asamended bymerging category 71and73intoonecategory named "transport services".6
H. TRANSPARENCY OFNOTICES
52. TheChairmanrecalledthat,inthecontextofendorsingtheInterimCommittee'srecommendation
thattherulesoforigin usedforthepurposes ofstatistical reporting inArticle XIX:5 oftheAgreement
should bethesame asthose applied under Article IVwhich werethose usedinthenormal course of
trade, thedelegation oftheEuropean Communities hadsuggested thatthere wasmerit inexamining
waystoestablish alinkbetween statistical information andthedegree oftransparency oftender notices
asaneffective wayofmonitoring theoperation oftheAgreement.
53. Attherequest oftherepresentative oftheEuropean Communities, theCommittee agreed to
revert tothisissue atitsnextmeeting.
I. REQUIREMENTS STEMMING FROM THE INCLUSION OFTHE AGREEMENT IN
ANNEX 4OFTHE WTO AGREEMENT
54. TheChairman recalled that,inaccordance withtheprovisions ofArticle 1:2andAppendix 1
oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofDisputes (Annex 2ofthe
WTO Agreement), theDispute Settlement Body (DSB) should benotified ofanyspecial oradditional
rules orprocedures ondispute settlement intheplurilateral trade agreements. Asrequested bythe
Committee atitsmeeting of27February 1996, theSecretariat hadprepared andcirculated informally
adraftnotification intheformofaletter fromtheChairman totheChairman oftheDispute Settlement
Body, fortheCommittee 'sconsideration andaction.
55. TheCommittee approved thedraftletter forforwarding totheChairman oftheDSB.7
J. PREPARATION FOR THE SINGAPORE MINISTERIAL
56. TheChairman recalled that,pursuant totheprovisions ofparagraph 7(a)ofArticle XXIV,
theCommittee shall annually inform theGeneral Council oftheWTO ofdevelopments inthe
implementation andoperation oftheAgreement. Thisyear, reports ofthisnature byWTO bodies
would subsequently betransmitted bytheGeneral Council totheSingapore Ministerial Conference.
Given theschedule ofmeetings, asnoted bytheGeneral Council atitsmeeting on16April 1996,
theCommittee onGovernment Procurement should adopt itsreport totheGeneral Council atthe
Committee 'smeeting planned for20September 1996. TheChairman suggested that,while the
Committee onGovernment Procurement wasnotasubsidiary body oftheGeneral Council, itmay,
withregard toformat andcontent ofitsreport, nevertheless wishtotakeaccount ofprocedures decided
intheGeneral Council inregard tothose reports. TheChairman oftheGeneral Council, atitsmeeting
on16April 1996, hadstated thateachbody mustdecide ontheformat ofthereport which itdeemed
most appropriate forconsideration ofrelevant issues. While taking thisintoaccount, hesuggested
thatthese reports include atleastthefollowing elements: (a)asection onimplementation ofthe
6Subsequently issued asdocument GPA/4
7Subsequently circulated indocument GPA/5GPA/M/2
Page10
Agreement; (b)progress concerning work under thebuilt-in agenda; (c)anindication asappropriate
ofissues andproblems which hadbeenidentified andrecommendations, ifany. TheChairman also
recalled thattheAgreement onGovernment Procurement haditsownbuilt-in agenda, inparticular
intheprovisions ofparagraph 7(b)and(c)andparagraph 8ofArticle XXIV andofparagraph 14
ofArticle V.
57. Withreferencetothesectionofthereportonprogressconcerningworkunderthebuilt-inagenda,
therepresentative ofCanada saidthatbilateral, plurilateral andmultilateral discussions hadmade it
evidentthattheCommitteeshouldgiveearlyconsiderationtocertainareasoftheAgreementthatrequired
improvement. Hesuggested thatthereport indicate thatwork would becarried outshortly pursuant
totheprovisions ofArticle XXIV:7 which provided forfurther negotiations. Themain elements of
suchnegotiations could include security ofmarket access under theAgreement, extension ofthe
Agreement tothosesectors presently excluded fromitscoverage, elimination ofdiscriminatory measures
andsimplification ofitsprocedural requirements. Thiswork could begin asfrom nextyearonthe
basis ofproposals tobesubmitted bydelegations.
58. Therepresentative oftheUnited States supported thesuggestion forareference toanearly
review under Article XXIV:7(b) inthereport totheGeneral Council. Thereview could address
improvement oftheprocedural aspects oftheAgreement aswellasexpansion ofitscoverage. The
report could alsopoint outtotheneedtoaccelerate thework under Article XXIV:8 intheareaof
information technology.
59. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities endorsed thestatement oftherepresentative
oftheUnited States. Hisdelegation would beprepared toconsider anyproposal thatwould beput
forward bythedelegation ofCanada foranearly review oftheAgreement.
60. TheCommittee requested theSecretariat toprepare andcirculate adraftreport totheGeneral
Council bytheendofJulyforitsadoption atthenextmeeting oftheCommittee.
K. NOTIFICATION OFTHRESHOLDS INNATIONAL CURRENCIES
61. TheChairman recalled that,atitsmeeting on27February 1996, theCommittee onGovernment
Procurement hadadopted aDecision onModalities forNotifying Threshold Figures inNational
Currencies (GPA/1, Annex 3)andreminded Parties that,pursuant tothisDecision, theyweretonotify
without delay totheCommittee onGovernment Procurement thethresholds fortheperiod 1996-1997
intheirrespective national currencies andthemethod employed fordetermining them. Sofarthe
delegations ofCanada, Japan andtheEuropean Community hadnotified (GPA/W/12 andAddenda 1
and2).
62. Therepresentatives oftheUnited States8,Switzerland andNorway saidthattheirdelegations
would notify theirapplicable thresholds inthenearfuture.
63. TheCommittee tooknoteofthestatements made.
L. OTHER BUSINESS
64. Thenextmeeting oftheCommittee isscheduled for20September 1996.
8Subsequently notified andcirculated indocument GPA/W/12/Add.3