WTO says US$1.7 trillion available under its Government Procurement Agreement
Published:Monday | April 29, 2024 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has announced that US$1.7 trillion is available annually under its Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) of 2012 which Jamaica and other countries can benefit from.
“That’s gigantic. It’s huge and is about 2.5 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product. That’s the value of the market that is covered under the WTO agreement by Government Procurement Agreement every year,” said Philippe Pelletier, legal affairs officer at the World Trade Organization.
He made that announcement last Wednesday while delivering a lecture on procurement at the second day of the Elevate Procurement Conference, which was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from April 23-25.
The three-day conference, held under the theme ‘Elevate: Innovate, Create’, hosted more than 500 attendees, comprising suppliers of goods, services and works, public procurement oversight institutions, and international and regional procurement practitioners, among others.
The Office of Public Procurement Policy is hosting the conference as it seeks to raise the standard of public procurement performance and the public’s understanding of public procurement.
Pelletier shared that the benefits to be derived from participating in the WTO GPA are not limited to the export market.
“The best part of the agreement is to be an observer, where you will gain access to the operation and administration of the GPA 2012, committee documents that are not accessible by non-GPA parties, observers, [where you can] follow the GPA accession negotiations and receive relevant information, and where you may participate in the committee’s discussions and information-sharing activities, but not in decisions,” the WTO legal affairs officer shared.
The GPA 2012 is the main international instrument that regulates the conduct of international trade in procurement markets and is a plurilateral agreement within the WTO system. However, not all WTO members participate in the agreement, which at present has 22 parties that cover 49 WTO members.
He explained that interested parties can contact the Committee on Government Procurement and the WTO Secretariat for support and observer status, with no obligation to join the agreement as a party.
Further, Pelletier revealed that Jamaica and several other countries have opted to remain outside of the GPA, while pointing out that membership to the agreement is optional.
“WTO-Government Procurement Agreement is a plurilateral agreement, meaning it is optional, and only a subset of WTO members have agreed to be bound by it. For example, Jamaica is not one of them. Jamaica, up to now, has decided to stay outside of the WTO-GPA,” Pelletier noted.
Speaking at the same conference, Andrei Bennett, chief public procurement policy officer at the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, believes that this US$1.7-trillion market is an opportunity for suppliers to think about.
“It’s important to know about all the available opportunities and to go after them. Jamaica is not the only market for goods and services,” Bennett stated.
He argued that efficient suppliers can benefit from various contracts in the United Kingdom and the European Union through the CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement.
“Earning government contracts is a great way to increase profits. It’s important to know about all the available opportunities and to go after them,” he said.