Coverage of the WTO's Agreement on Government Procurement: Challenges of Integrating China and other Countries with a Large State Sector into the Global Trading System

Abstract

The WTO's plurilateral Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is a significant WTO instrument to develop disciplines regulating government procurement. A recent major review of the GPA has led to a revised text, likely to enter into force in 2007. In the meanwhile, China, a country with a large state sector, has promised to initiate GPA accession negotiations by the end of 2007.The article provides a critical assessment of the extent to which the recent review of the coverage of the GPA has appreciated the characteristics of the government procurement regime of those countries with a large state sector. It is argued that the lack of a principled approach to entity coverage and the ambiguities surrounding the scope of covered procurement are likely to substantially hinder the negotiating process and prevent the optimal outcome of accession negotiations. It is suggested that a formula consisting of basic factors defining the coverage of government procurement disciplines, such as government control and competition, should be employed to address this issue. , Oxford University Press.