Agreement on Government Procurement

The following WTO Members are parties to the amended 1994 agreement: Notes Observer status The following WTO Members have obtained observer status with respect to the GPA, with those marked with an asterisk (*) negotiating accession: Afghanistan, Albania*, Argentina, Bahrain, Belarus, Brazil*, Cameroon, Chile, China*, Colombia, Costa Rica*, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Georgia*, India, Indonesia, Jordan*, Kazakhstan*, Kyrgyz Republic*, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman*, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Russia*, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan*, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. ==Main principles==

The WTO states that the two "cornerstone" principles underlying the agreement are non-discrimination (in regard to the treatment of the goods and services from, and suppliers of, any other party to the agreement) and transparency. ==Coverage==

Procuring entities bound by the Agreement vary by member state. Each member state has its own Appendix 1 which forms an integral part of the Agreement detailing how the agreement applies to their national procurement activities. Each Appendix 1 has seven annexes: • Annex 1: central government entities covered by the Agreement • Annex 2: sub-central government entities covered by the Agreement • Annex 3: other entities covered by the Agreement • Annex 4: scope: goods • Annex 5: scope: services • Annex 6: scope: construction services • Annex 7: general notes. == Review Body on Bid Challenges ==

The Review Body on Bid Challenges is a body set up in 1998 by party states in order to allow suppliers to challenge irregular government tenders. The Review Body is independent and endeavors to process each case in an expeditious manner. The Review Body is also empowered to recommend Rapid Interim Measures (RIMs), which can be recommended within days where a Review Body finds a prima facie case for a bid challenge. == UK membership after Brexit==

The UK applied the agreement as part of its EU membership from 1 January 1996. After the UK left the EU on 1 February 2020, the agreement remained in force during the transition period until 1 January 2021. Discussions about continued UK membership were initiated on 27 June 2018, and in October 2020, the UK was invited to become a party in its own right at the end of the transition phase. ==References==