RESTRICTED
GENERAL AGREEMENT GPA/IC/M/1
10August 1994
ONTARIFFS AND TRADE
(94-1665)
Interim Committee onGovernment Procurement
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING HELD ON29JUNE 1994
Chairman: Mr.Harald Ernst (Switzerland)
1. Thefollowing agenda wasadopted:
A. Election ofofficers;
B. Observers totheInterim Committee;
C. Further negotiations among Signatories ontheexpansion ofcoverage priortotheentry
intoforce oftheAgreement;
D. Modifications ofAppendix ItotheAgreement prior toitsentry intoforce;
E. Adoption ofadecision onaccession negotiations prior totheentry intoforce ofthe
Agreement;
F. Adoption ofadecision toadminister rectifications ofapurely formal nature to
Appendices ItoIVprior totheentry intoforce oftheAgreement;
G. Completion ofAppendices II,IIIandIVtotheAgreement;
H. Progress innational ratification procedures;
I. Publication oftheAgreement;
J. Circulation ofInterim Committee documents;
K. Statistical reporting;
L. Information technology;
M. Recommendations forprocedural decisions bytheCommittee onGovernment
Procurement;
N. Establishment ofaPractical Guide tothenewAgreement;
O. Requirements stemming fromtheinclusion oftheAgreement inAnnex 4oftheWTO
Agreement;
P. Other business.GPA/IC/M/1
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2. Itwasagreed thattheapplications foraccession from theKingdom oftheNetherlands with
respect toAruba andfromChinese Taipei would betaken upunder point Eandobservership forthese
twoGovernments under point B.
A. ELECTION OFOFFICERS
3. TheInterim Committee elected Mr.Harald Ernst (Switzerland) asitsChairman and
Mr.Peter Young (United Kingdom) asitsVice-Chairman.
B. OBSERVERS TOTHE INTERIM COMMITTEE
4. TheInterim Committee decided asfollows:
ObserverstatusmaybegrantedtoanygovernmentwhichnotifiestheInterimCommittee
ofitsinterest toacquaint itselfwiththenewAgreement onGovernment Procurement
anditsactivities withaviewtoconsidering possible accession totheAgreement. The
Interim Committee would takeadecision oneachrequest. Requests forobservership
from international organizations would beconsidered onacase-by-case basis.
5. Inthelightoftheinterest expressed bytheGovernments oftheKingdom oftheNetherlands
withrespect toAruba andofChinese Taipei inapplying foraccession, theInterim Committee agreed
togrant these twoGovernments observer status.
C. FURTHER NEGOTIATIONS AMONG SIGNATORIES ONTHE EXPANSION OF
COVERAGE PRIOR TOTHE ENTRY INTO FORCE OFTHE AGREEMENT
D. MODIFICATIONSOFAPPENDIXITOTHEAGREEMENTPRIORTOITSENTRYINTO
FORCE
6. TheChairman suggested thattheInterim Committee takethese twoitems together. Hesaid
thattheInterim Committee maywishtokeepunder review negotiations among Signatories onthe
expansion ofcoverage prior totheentry intoforce oftheAgreement. Inthisregard, herecalled that
therepresentatives oftheEuropean Communities andtheUnited States hadinformed Signatories, during
thecourse oftheMarrakesh Meeting, oftheoutcome ofnegotiations between themwhich theywould
forthemost partwishtoincorporate inthenewAgreement. Ithadalsobeensaidatthattimethat
discussions might takeplace withregard totheapplication ofthese results vis-à-vis certain other
Signatories. Hedrew theattention ofdelegations toarecent communication fromthedelegations of
theEuropean Communities andtheUnited States together withacorrigendum dated 27June1994.
7. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities noted thattheagreement which hadbeen
reached inMarrakesh inApril ofthisyearbetween thenominated negotiators ofhisdelegation and
those oftheUnited States hadonlyreached acertain stage intheinternal decision-making processes
within theEuropean Communities. Hesaidthatthecommunication from hisdelegation andthatof
theUnitedStateswhichhadbeeninformallydistributedtoMembersoftheInterimCommitteeon15June
hadbeendistributed forinformation purposes only,sincetheagreement wasstillfarfromhaving reached
itsfinalstatutory procedures. Hecautioned thatthecommunication should notbetreated inanyofficial
manner inthisCommittee.GPA/IC/M/1
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8. Therepresentative oftheUnited States underlined thehistoric significance oftheagreement
reached inMarrakesh between hisdelegation andtheEuropean Communities andobserved thathis
delegation stood ready tocontinue work withindividual governments during thisinterim period to
seekexpansion oftheircoverage aswell. Hereiterated hisdelegation 'sobjective that,bytheentry
intoforce ofthisAgreement, nearuniform coverage among alltheSignatories should beachieved.
9. TheChairman noted thattheInterim Committee would needtogetbacktothismatter when
theEuropean Communities andtheUnited States would beinaposition tomake aformal notification
undertheproceduresadoptedbytheInformalWorkingGroupatitsmeetinginJanuaryon"Modifications
oftheAnnexes toAppendix ItotheAgreement before itsEntry intoForce". Inthemeantime, he
invited delegations toconsult witheachother bilaterally andplurilaterally withaviewtopreparing
theuseofthose procedures.
10. Therepresentative ofCanada recalled thattheCanadian Schedule offered tocover entities in
alltenProvinces onthebasis ofcommitments tobereceived from Provincial Governments, witha
finallisting tobeprovided within eighteen months aftertheconclusion ofthenewAgreement on
GovernmentProcurement.TheProvincialandFederalGovernmentswerecurrentlyengagedinintensive
negotiations toreduce andeliminate internal tradebarriers among theProvinces. Theproposed internal
trade agreement wasbroadly based andwasseeking toremove barriers among Provinces inarange
ofareas including government procurement. Negotiations were atthefinalstages ofconclusion at
Ministerial level. While theinternal trade agreement would belikely tocontinue tofurther liberalize
internal trade overtime, hisdelegation hoped tobeinaposition intheearly autumn toengage each
oftheProvinces insubstantive discussions concerning sub-central coverage under theGovernment
Procurement Agreement. Heexpressed thehopethat,atthenextmeeting ofthisCommittee, hewould
beinaposition toprovide further details onthese discussions.
11. TheInterim Committee tooknoteofthestatements made.
E. ADOPTION OFADECISION ONACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS PRIOR TOTHEENTRY
INTO FORCE OFTHE AGREEMENT
12. TheChairman recalled thataccording totheDecision Establishing theInterim Committee,
oneofitstasks wastoadopt, andperform functions required by,procedures enabling negotiations
totakeplaceonaccession totheAgreement priortoitsentryintoforce, taking intoaccount those adopted
insimilar circumstances attheendoftheTokyo Round aswellastheUruguay Round Decision on
AccessiontotheAgreementonGovernmentProcurement.TheSecretariathadcirculatedadraftdecision,
taking intoaccount these twoDecisions aswellasrelevant partsoftheMinisterial Decision taken at
Marrakesh ontheAcceptance ofandAccession totheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade
Organization. Hestressed thatthisdraftdecision would enable accession negotiations totakeplace
prior totheentry intoforce oftheAgreement. Theactual accession would onlytakeplace afterthe
entry intoforce oftheAgreement, pursuant toArticle XXIV:2.
13. Referring toparagraph 5ofthedraft, therepresentative oftheUnited States wondered, given
thattheobjective pursued bythedraftdecision wastocomplete theaccession process priortotheentry
intoforce ofthenewAgreement, whether theInterim Committee should notbegiven authority totake
thefinaldecision onanapplication, rather thantheCommittee under thenewAgreement. Inresponse,
therepresentative oftheSecretariat saidthatthispartofthedrafthadbeenbased onasimilar approach
adopted intheDecision ontheAcceptance ofandAccession totheAgreement Establishing theWorld
Trade Organization: thatDecision alsoenabled negotiations totakeplace onaccession totheWTO
prior toitsentry intoforce, butstipulated thatthefinaldecision would betaken bytheMinisterial
Conference oftheWTO. ThePreparatory Committee would submit areport onitsexamination ofGPA/IC/M/1
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theapplicationforaccession,whichmightincludeaprotocolofaccession,forapprovalbytheMinisterial
Conference. Inaddition, henoted thatArticle XXIV:2 required theParties totheAgreement totake
thedecision ontheterms ofaccession. Parties tothenewAgreement would notexistuntiltheAgreement
cameintoforce.TherepresentativeoftheEuropeanCommunitiespointedoutthattheInterimCommittee
could prepare thewhole process ofaccession negotiations uptothepoint ofactual approval. He
acknowledged thatapproval required aCommittee decision butthatthatcould bedoneimmediately
upon entry intoforce oftheAgreement inJanuary 1996.
14. TheInterim Committee tooknoteofthestatements made andadopted theDecision onAccession
Negotiations totheAgreement onGovernment Procurement (1994) Prior toitsEntry intoForce
(Annex 1).
Application foraccession byChinese Taipei
15. TheChairman referred tothecommunication from Chinese Taipei, dated 24June1994, in
which itexpressed itsinterest inacceding tothenewly-concluded Agreement onGovernment
Procurement.
16. Therepresentative ofChinese Taipei stated thaton24JunehisGovernment hadtransmitted
acommunication totheDirector-General expressing itsinterest inacceding tothenewly-concluded
Agreement onGovernment Procurement. Ithadalsoindicated thatitwasready toenterintonegotiations
withSignatories totheAgreement ontheterms foritsaccession. HisGovernment wascurrently in
theprocess ofnegotiating accession totheGATT 1947andeventually totheWTO. HisGovernment 's
intention wastocomplete those negotiations before theendofthisyear. Therefore, hisGovernment 's
application tojointhenewly-signed Agreement onGovernment Procurement atthisearly stage once
again demonstrated itsstrong commitment tothemultilateral trading system anditsdetermination to
accept therulesandtheprinciples oftheGATT andtheWTO. HisGovernment hoped thattheterms
ofitsaccession totheAgreement onGovernment Procurement would becommensurate withthestage
ofdevelopment ofChinese Taipei, especially intheareaofgovernment procurement.
17. TheInterim Committee invited thedelegation ofChinese Taipei tosubmit relevant information
including anoffer bywayofappropriate Appendices containing listsofentities andservices which
would becovered bytheAgreement, aswellaslistsofrelevant publications, pursuant toparagraph 2
oftheDecision onAccession Negotiations totheAgreement onGovernment Procurement (1994) Prior
toitsEntry intoForce, andagreed torevert tothismatter when theinformation requested would be
available.
18. Therepresentative oftheUnited States voiced hisGovernment 'spleasure inreceiving Chinese
Taipei 'sapplication foraccession andoffered hisGovernment 'sassistance totheauthorities ofChinese
Taipei inpreparing theinformation requested andtoactasasounding board indetermining which
areas would beappropriate forcoverage.
Application foraccession oftheKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba
19. TheChairman referred tothediscussions thathadtaken place under theCommittee tothe
1988 Agreement, notably thecommunication from theKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect to
Aruba contained indocument GPR/W/122/Rev.1, dated March 41993, anditsreplies of26May1994
toquestions submitted byHong Kong.
20. Therepresentative oftheKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect toAruba recalled thather
delegation hadexpressed thedesire toaccede bothtotheAgreement presently inforceandtothenewly-GPA/IC/M/1
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signed Agreement. Sheobserved thatthedocuments referred tobytheChairman wereself-explanatory
inthisrespect.
21. TheInterim Committee invited thedelegation oftheKingdom oftheNetherlands withrespect
toAruba tosubmit relevant information including anofferbywayofappropriate Appendices containing
listsofentities andservices which would becovered bytheAgreement, aswellaslistsofrelevant
publications, pursuant toparagraph 2oftheDecision onAccession Negotiations totheAgreement
onGovernment Procurement (1994) Prior toitsEntry intoForce, andagreed torevert tothismatter
when theinformation requested would beavailable.
F. ADOPTION OFADECISION TOADMINISTER RECTIFICATIONS OFAPURELY
FORMAL NATURE TOAPPENDICES ITOIVPRIOR TOTHE ENTRY INTO FORCE
OFTHE AGREEMENT
22. TheChairman recalled that,according totheDecision Establishing theInterim Committee,
oneofitstaskswastoadopt, andperform functions required by,procedures toadminister rectifications
ofapurely formal nature toAppendices ItoIVprior toentry intoforce oftheAgreement. The
Secretariat hadcirculated adraftdecision on14June.
23. TheInterim Committee adopted theDecision onAdministration ofRectifications ofaPurely
Formal Nature toAppendices 1toIVoftheAgreement onGovernment Procurement (1994) Prior
toitsEntry intoForce (Annex 2).Following suggestions fromtherepresentatives oftheUnited States
andoftheEuropean Communities, theInterim Committee invited theSecretariat toprepare, for
circulation prior tothenextmeeting, adraftofadecision ontheadministration ofother modifications
totheAppendices ofthetypes envisaged inArticle XXIV:6 oftheAgreement prior toitsentry into
force. Itwasunderstood thatthisDecision would employ totheextent possible themechanisms of
Article XXIV:6. Thepointwasmade bytherepresentative oftheUnited States thatSignatories 'rights
under Article XXIV:6 should notbecompromised. Therepresentative ofJapan expressed hisconcern
thatnosuchdecision should facilitate anycontraction oftheagreed coverage.
G. COMPLETION OFAPPENDICES II,IIIAND IVTOTHE AGREEMENT
24. TheChairman recalled thatattheInformal Working Group 'sMarch meeting, theGroup had
taken noteofCanada 'sintention tocommunicate totheSecretariat assoon aspossible alistof
publications which itwould useforentities atthesub-federal level. Therepresentative ofCanada noted
thathehadnocomments atthisstagetoaddtothose inhisprevious intervention regarding theongoing
discussions withtheProvinces inhiscountry. Atthenextmeeting hewould perhaps beinaposition
toprovide further information.
25. TheChairman alsorecalled that,atthatsamemeeting, theGroup hadtaken noteoftheintention
ofthedelegation oftheUnited States toprovide acomprehensive listofjournals usedforpublication
ofnotices ofintended procurements atsub-federal levelinAppendix II.TheGroup hadagreed that,
intheevent thatthiscould notbedonebefore Marrakesh, thematter could betaken upbytheInterim
Committee. Therepresentative oftheUnited States explained thathisGovernment wascurrently in
aprocess ofimplementing theAgreement atthesub-central level. Heexpected togototheStates
withacomprehensive analysis ofwhat theymust do,aswellasseeking information from them
individually. Hewasnotinaposition atthisstage toofferanycomprehensive listofpublications.
Hesaidthathisdelegation hadagreed topresent suchinformation ontheunderstanding thatitwas
under noobligation todoso.TheUnited States 'obligations withrespect tothepublication ofnotices
ofintended procurement andpost-award notices, including atthesub-central level, would bemetbyGPA/IC/M/1
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theCommerce Business Daily. Theentry inAppendix IIfortheUnited States made itclearthatState
publications would notbealternatives topublication intheCommerce Business Daily butcomplements.
26. TheInterim Committee tooknoteofthestatements made
H. PROGRESS INNATIONAL RATIFICATION PROCEDURES
27. Nocomments were made under thisagenda item.
I. PUBLICATION OFTHE AGREEMENT
28. TheChairman noted thattheTreaty Copy oftheAgreement, boththetextandtheAppendices,
assigned inMarrakesh, would bepublished bytheGATT Legal Services inthenormal GATT Treaty
series veryshortly. Itwould beonsaletothepublic. Inaddition, theInformal Working Group at
itsmeeting of10March 1994 hadagreed thatcomplete English, French andSpanish versions ofthe
Agreement would bepublished. These publications would alsobeonsaletothegeneral public and
additional totheformal treaty copypublication. Given thatsignificant changes totheSchedules of
certain countries maytakeplace inthenearfuture, hesuggested thatpublication oftheEnglish, French
andSpanish versions bepostponed untilsuchtimeasthese changes could beincorporated, preferably
before theendofthisyear. Itwould thenbeexplained intheintroduction tothese versions thatthe
contents reflected boththeTreaty Copy andsubsequent modifications.
29. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities cautioned against publishing theAgreement
onlyatsuchtimeasallchanges totheSchedules would beknown, since thereprobably always would
bepossible changes inthepipeline. Itwould bemore effective topublish theAgreement assoonas
possible atatimewhen therewasaninterest inthisAgreement. Hesuggested thatonewayofdealing
withcontinuing changes intheSchedules would bethepublication ofaloose-leaf version ofthe
Schedules. Therepresentative oftheSecretariat clarified thattheTreaty Copy, consisting bothof
thetextandtheAppendices, would bepublished veryshortly -thetextandAppendices II,IIIand
IVinallthree official GATT languages andAppendix Iintheauthentic language ofitssubmission
only. There would alsobeapublication ofthetextonly. Asregards thesuggestion ofaloose-leaf
publication, hesuggested thatthismight better betaken upunder agenda itemN,dealing withthe
Practical Guide, which wasaloose-leaf document.
30. Therepresentative oftheUnited States observed thattheUnited States Printing Office had
already published theAgreement onGovernment Procurement aspartofapublication containing all
oftheUruguay Round Agreements, forsaletothepublic.
31. TheInterim Committee tooknoteofthestatements made.
J. CIRCULATION OFINTERIM COMMITTEE DOCUMENTS
32. TheInterim Committee agreed thatformal documents would becirculated tomembers ofthe
Interim Committee andtoobservers andwould beavailable, onrequest, tomembers oftheWTO
Preparatory Committee andsubsequently tomembers oftheWTO itself. Incertain casesthecirculation
ofsensitive documents would bedetermined onanadhocbasis.GPA/IC/M/1
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K. STATISTICAL REPORTING
33. TheChairman suggested thattheInterim Committee haveafirstdiscussion onguidelines for
meeting thestatistical reporting requirements ofArticle XIX:5, inparticular inrespect oftheadoption
ofuniform classification systems andmethods tobeusedforproviding statistics onthecountry oforigin
ofproducts andservices. Herecalled that,inregard tothequestion ofuniform classification systems,
theCommittee under theAgreement presently inforce hadadopted anomenclature (GPR/M/1,
Annex III).Thisnomenclature hadnot,however, beenuniformly employed anddiscussions hadtaken
place under thatCommittee withaviewtoestablishing acommon classification system. Thequestion
ofaclassification system forstatistical reporting onprocurement ofservices hadnotofcourse been
considered sofar.There seemed therefore tobeatleasttwoissues. Thefirstwastheadoption of
uniform classification systems forgoods andservices. Inthisconnection, herecalled that,asregards
goods, document GPR/W/105, dated 11February 1991, containing ananalytical compilation bythe
Secretariat ofproposals made tothatdate,served asauseful starting point fordiscussion. Thesecond
issuewasmethods tobeusedforproviding statistics onthecountry oforigin ofproducts andservices,
ascalled forunder theprovisions ofArticle XIX:5 ofthenewAgreement. Inthisrespect hedrew
attention toaworking document circulated ontherequest oftheEuropean Communities inMarch of
lastyear(GPR/W/125).
34. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities stated thathisdelegation viewed statistical
reporting asoneofthemost important elements forenforcing theAgreement, bothinternally and
externally. Aworkable consensus onthetwoissues raised wascritical tothecomparability and
transparency ofstatistics andtherefore tothecredibility ofconclusions tobedrawn fromthemonitoring
ofprocurement covered bytheAgreement. Herecalled thatdocument GPR/W/105 basically offered
threealternatives foraclassification system: theCentral Product Classification (CPC), theHarmonized
System (HS)andthetwenty-six product categories asusedunder theAgreement presently inforce.
Thedocument concluded thatnone ofthese three systems wascapable ofgiving aglobal answer to
theconcerns expressed bydelegations outlined inthenote. Herecalled that,insummary, thefive
concerns related tothefunctionality ofthesystems, details required, inclusion ofservices, comparability
andtransparency, andaminimum administrative burden. However, thefinalthrust ofthedocument
seemed tobethattheCPC under thecircumstances wasthebestcandidate. Hisdelegation wasof
theviewthatthismerited serious consideration. Since thisdocument hadbeenwritten in1991, the
European Communities haddeveloped anewclassification system, covering goods, construction and
services, which wascalled "The Classification ofProducts byActivity". Theclassification system
oftheEuropean Communities wasusedintheentire European Economic Area, thusgiving itawide
scope ofapplication. Itcould beanadditional, fourth, candidate forconsideration. Heoffered acopy
totheSecretariat forcirculation totheMembers oftheInterim Committee forinformation. Heurged
thatwork bestarted ontheconsideration ofclassification systems atanearly stage. Heobserved that
itwould beuseful toreexamine thefiveareas ofconcerns previously identified intheSecretariat 's
noteofFebruary 1991 toseewhether theywere stillrelevant andwhether there were newareas of
concern. Onthesecond point, country oforigin, herecalled thathisdelegation wasoneofthefew
Parties which reported statistics onthebasisofthenationality ofthewinning supplier, rather thanon
thebasisofthecountry oforigin. Heacknowledged thattheconcept ofcountry oforigin ofaproduct,
letalone ofaservice, wasverydifficult todefine. There wereanumber ofquestions forconsideration.
Forinstance, wasitpossible toarrive atadefinition oforigin which wasmeaningful toallthose involved
intheprocurement process andinparticular tothose whoattheendofthedaywererequired tosupply
statistical data? Hereferred tothenotebyhisdelegation oflastyear, contained indocument
GPR/W/125, towhich theChairman hadalready made reference andsuggested thatthismight bea
useful source foradiscussion ontheissueoforigin. Inorder todosome meaningful work inthearea
ofstatistical reporting, bothontheissue ofclassification systems andoforigin, heproposed the
establishment ofasub-group composed ofexperts inthefieldofstatistical reporting andprocurement
toprepare andwork outcertain proposals andtoreport totheInterim Committee.GPA/IC/M/1
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35. Therepresentative oftheUnited States supported theideaofestablishing asub-group inthe
areaofstatistical reporting, composed ofexperts. Heobserved thatwiththeimplementation ofthe
newly-signed Agreement itwaslikely thatadditional problems would ariseintheareaofdetermining
classification systems. Hereferred forinstance totheStates, which didnotnecessarily useauniform
classification system. Hewarned thatoneshould startworking onthisissue without toomany
preconceptions. Forexample, hewasnotabsolutely convinced thatthere wasaneedforonesingle
classification system. Thepoint wastobeabletodeliver statistics thatweremeaningful totheother
participants. Inhiscountry, inmany respects, thatwasdonethrough aNAFTA system based, with
some modifications, onasystem developed intheUnited States. Some preliminary work hadbeen
doneinhiscountry tocompare itsclassification system, inparticular withrespect toservices, with
theCPCandsome difficulties hadarisen indeveloping aconcordance. Itwasnothelpful totranslate
statistics through abadconcordance when trying todetermine exactly whatacountry wasprocuring.
Theissue ofcountry oforigin wasclearly another bigproblem. Itwasmore imperative tohaveone
system inthisareasincethose statistics wereseenbythevarious domestic constituents asanindication
ofwhose markets wereopenandwhose werenot.Different systems todetermine origin could lead
toconfusion andstatistics could thusbeusedinthewrong way.
36. Therepresentative ofCanada recalled thatforsome timenowthere hadbeenaconcern on
howtoensure thatthestatistics reported bytheParties totheAgreement wereascomplete andaccurate
aspossible. Thisallowed agreater degree oftransparency oftheAgreement, helped ensure thatall
participantscompliedwiththeirobligationsundertheAgreementandprovidedsomeyardsticktomeasure
thedegree ofmarket access. Hisdelegation supported theideaofaworking group composed ofexperts.
Theissueraised bythedelegation oftheUnited States needed tobeexamined more fully. Aworkable
statisticalreportingsystemhelpedensurethatbalancedcoverageundertheAgreementcouldbeachieved.
Although hisdelegation wasnotinfavour ofaproliferation ofworking parties, thiswasoneareawhere
itwascritical thatsome specific expertise bebrought tobear.
37. Inthelightofthediscussion, theChairman proposed toestablish aworking group onstatistical
reporting withthefollowing terms ofreference: topropose totheInterim Committee guidelines for
meeting thestatistical reporting requirements ofArticle XIX:5, inparticular inrespect oftheadoption
ofuniform classification systems andmethods tobeusedforproviding statistics onthecountry oforigin
ofproducts andservices. Theworking group would beopentoallinterested members oftheInterim
Committee andwould report totheInterim Committee. Heproposed thathewould nominate achairman
afterconsultation withdelegations. Hesuggested thattheworking group could firstmeetontheoccasion
ofthenextmeeting oftheInterim Committee. TheInterim Committee soagreed.
L. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
38. TheChairman invited theMembers oftheInterim Committee toconsider whatpreparatory
steps would beuseful fortheimplementation ofthefuture responsibilities oftheCommittee on
Government Procurement inregard totheprovisions ofArticle XXIV:8 oninformation technology.
39. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities recalled thatparagraph 8ofArticle XXIV
stipulated thattheAgreement onGovernment Procurement should notconstitute anunnecessary obstacle
totechnical progress. Itwasofequal importance thatthedevelopment ofinformation technology should
notcreate barriers totransparent andefficient procurement. Anumber ofissues needed tobeaddressed.
Forinstance, theissueofstandards wasofcritical importance. Since eachgovernment wasdeveloping
itsownsystem ofelectronic tendering, potential suppliers would befaced withvarying standards of
information technology. Would thisimpair theirability totender internationally? Heurged delegations
tostartdiscussions onthese matters assoonaspossible, before theentry intoforce oftheAgreement.
Discussions could startwithanexchange ofinformation onthevarious national systems. WhetherGPA/IC/M/1
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thiswould subsequently leadtotheneedforaseparate working group wassomething thatcould be
considered atalaterstage.
40. Therepresentative oftheUnited States agreed withthedelegation oftheEuropean Communities
thatthiswasanimportant issue. Exchange ofinformation could beauseful firststep. Inthatcontext
hesuggested theestablishment ofasurvey forcirculation toMembers ofthisCommittee. The
representative oftheEuropean Communities supported theideaofasurvey. Hesuggested thatthe
Secretariat prepare anoterequesting Members todescribe thedevelopments theywerecurrently engaged
inintheareaofinformation technology, setting outthecurrent stateofplay,future plans anddirections.
Onthebasisofthisinformation, useful discussions could beenvisaged inthefirstplace intheInterim
Committee.
41. TheInterim Committee tooknoteofthestatements made andinvited theSecretariat toprepare,
inconsultation withinterested delegations, acommon format forthepresentation ofinformation. The
format would bemade available todelegations assoonaspossible, withaviewtoadiscussion atthe
nextmeeting oftheInterim Committee onthebasis ofinformation provided bydelegations.
M. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PROCEDURAL DECISIONS BYTHE COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
42. TheChairman noted thatoneofthetasks assigned totheInterim Committee wastoprepare
thefirstmeeting oftheCommittee onGovernment Procurement (1996) including draftdecisions on
procedural matters required under theAgreement. Suchdecisions might needtorelate tothefollowing
matters:
- participation ofobservers under thenewAgreement;
- accession ofnewParties;
- modalities fornotifying threshold figures innational currencies;
- circulation ofdocuments;
- derestriction ofdocuments; and
- notification ofnational implementing legislation.
Acompilation ofthetextsofthedecisions onthesematters adopted bytheCommittee oftheAgreement
presently inforce hadbeencirculated on6June1994. Given thatthenewAgreement onGovernment
Procurement would notenter intoforce until1January 1996, theInterim Committee might wishto
postpone detailed consideration ofthese matters untilnextyear, bywhich timeitwould alsohavethe
benefit ofrecommendations developed bythePreparatory Committee fortheWTO onsimilar questions.
N. ESTABLISHMENT OFAPRACTICAL GUIDE TOTHE NEW AGREEMENT
43. TheChairman recalled thattheSecretariat hadprepared andpublished inloose-leaf form a
Practical Guide totheAgreement presently inforce. Hesuggested thattheInterim Committee consider
whether apractical guide should beprepared inrespect ofthenewAgreement and,ifso,whatchanges
instructure andpresentation might bedesirable.
44. Therepresentative oftheUnited States stressed theimportance hisdelegation attached tothe
preparation andkeeping up-to-date ofapractical guide. Itwasatranslation oftheAgreement fortheGPA/IC/M/1
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benefit ofsuppliers; since theAgreement wasnegotiated forthebenefit ofsuppliers, aguide forthem
onhowtousetheAgreement wasafundamental necessity. Hesuggested thatdelegations givesome
thought astohowthepresent Practical Guide might bechanged toaccommodate thedevelopments
inthenewAgreement andrevert tothismatter atalaterstage.
45. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities agreed thatapractical guide wasanecessity,
inthatitmade theAgreement more accessible tosuppliers. Heinvited theSecretariat tocome forward
withideasonthestructure andpresentation ofsuchaguide. Heobserved that,inaddition toapractical
guide, publication anddistribution onawidescale oftheactual textoftheAgreement wasuseful as
well. Asanadditional point hecautioned thatitwould benecessary tomake itclearintheguide that
certain Parties might notinpractice employ thefullflexibility thattheAgreement allowed.
46. TheChairman concluded from thediscussion thatthere wasagreement inprinciple tothe
production ofapractical guide. TheInterim Committee tooknoteofthestatements made andagreed
torevert tothismatter atalaterstage, more inparticular asregards thequestion ofthestructure and
presentation ofthepractical guide.
O. REQUIREMENTS STEMMING FROM THE INCLUSION OFTHE AGREEMENT IN
ANNEX 4OFTHE WTO AGREEMENT
47. TheChairman noted thattheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement
ofDisputes stipulated thattheDispute Settlement Body (DSB) should benotified ofanyspecial or
additional rules orprocedures ondispute settlement intheplurilateral trade agreements. Heinvited
theInterim Committee torevert tothismatter oncetheDSBwasinexistence. TheInterim Committee
soagreed.
Dateofthenextmeeting
48. TheChairman suggested thatthenextmeeting would beheldsometime intheautumn.GPA/IC/M/1
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Annex 1
ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS TOTHE AGREEMENT ONGOVERNMENT
PROCUREMENT (1994) PRIOR TOITSENTRY INTO FORCE
Decision of29June1994
1. Anygovernment interested inacceding totheAgreement onGovernment Procurement (1994)
according toparagraph 2ofArticle XXIV andwishing toinitiate theprocess ofaccession prior tothe
entry intoforce ofthatAgreement mayrequest theInterim Committee topropose forapproval bythe
Parties totheAgreement onGovernment Procurement (1994) theterms ofitsaccession tothat
Agreement.
2. Tothiseffect, agovernment interested inaccession shallcommunicate itsinterest totheInterim
Committee andshallsubmit relevant information including anofferbywayofappropriate Appendices
containing listsofentities andservices which would becovered bytheAgreement, aswellaslistsof
relevant publications, having regard totheprovisions oftheAgreement.
3. ThegovernmentinterestedinaccessionwouldholdconsultationswiththeMembersoftheInterim
Committee ontheterms foritsaccession totheAgreement.
4. Withaviewtofacilitating accession, theInterim Committee onGovernment Procurement would
establish aworking party iftheapplicant government, oranyMember oftheInterim Committee, so
requests. Theworking party should examine: (i)thecoverage offermade bytheapplicant government;
and(ii)relevant information pertaining toexport opportunities inthemarket oftheSignatories, taking
intoaccount theexisting andpotential export capabilities oftheapplicant government andexport
opportunities fortheSignatories inthemarket oftheapplicant government.
5. TheInterim Committee onGovernment Procurement shall submit totheCommittee on
Government Procurement (1996) areport onitsexamination oftherequest. Thereport mayinclude
aninstrument ofaccession including Appendices containing listsofentities andservices which would
becovered bytheAgreement aswellaslistsofrelevant publications oftheapplicant government, for
approval bytheCommittee onGovernment Procurement (1996).GPA/IC/M/1
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Annex 2
ADMINISTRATION OFRECTIFICATIONS OFAPURELY FORMAL NATURE TO
APPENDICES ITOIVOFTHE AGREEMENT ONGOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (1994)
PRIOR TOITSENTRY INTO FORCE
Decision of29June1994
1. Rectifications ofapurely formal nature toAppendices ItoIVoftheAgreement onGovernment
Procurement(1994)priortoitsentryintoforceshallbenotifiedtotheInterimCommitteeonGovernment
Procurement andshall become effective provided there isnoobjection within thirty daystosuch
rectifications.
2. Until theentry intoforce oftheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization,
rectifications shallbedeposited withtheDirector-General totheCONTRACTING PARTIES tothe
GATT 1947, whoshallpromptly furnish toeachParty acertified truecopy ofit.Upon entry into
force oftheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization, rectifications shallbedeposited
withtheDirector-General ofthatAgreement whoshallpromptly furnish toeachParty acertified true
copyofit.