GPA Accession: Lessons Learned on the Strengths and Weaknesses of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement

Authors

Christopher R. Yukins, George Washington University Law SchoolFollow
Johannes S. Schnitzer

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Status

Accepted

Abstract

Many member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have joined the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), a plurilateral agreement which aims to open public procurement markets. Joining the agreement reflects a commitment to international free trade, and to the rule of law in public procurement. A revised version of the GPA entered into force in 2014, and incorporated many amendments intended to make it easier for developing nations join the GPA. Among other things, the revised GPA now allows developing nations acceding to the GPA to open their public procurement markets more slowly, various transitional measures. This article reviews those changes, and discusses possible solutions to some of the practical and legal hurdles which nations face, as they consider accession to the GPA.

GW Paper Series

GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2015-6; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-64

SSRN Link

http://ssrn.com/abstract=2749889

Recommended Citation

Yukins, Christopher R. and Schnitzer, Johannes S, GPA Accession: Lessons Learned on the Strengths and Weaknesses of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (2015). 7 Trade Law & Development Journal 89 (India 2015); GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2015-64; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-64. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2749889