[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 237 (Thursday, December 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68327-68329]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32862]


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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE


World Trade Organization (WTO)

AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative.

ACTION: Solicitation of Public Comment Regarding U.S. Preparations for 
Multilateral Negotiations on Government Procurement Issues.

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SUMMARY: The Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is providing notice of 
the U.S. intention to develop proposals and positions related to 
negotiations on government procurement issues under the auspices of the 
World Trade Organization (WTO). The Committee of Participants of the 
WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) are engaged in negotiations 
on the potential improvement of that Agreement, as provided for in 
Article XXIV.7(b) of that Agreement. The current text of the GPA is 
available on the WTO world wide web site, at www.wto.org/wto/govt/
agreem.htm. Currently, there are 26 participants in the GPA (see the 
supplementary information, below).
    As previously noted in section IV of the TPSC's August 19, 1998 
notice of preparations for the third Ministerial Conference of the WTO 
(Federal Register, Volume 63, number 160, pages 44500-44502), the TPSC 
is also developing proposals and positions related to WTO consultations 
and negotiations on transparency in government procurement under the 
ongoing WTO work program agreed at the December 1996 WTO Ministerial 
Conference in Singapore.
    The TPSC invites public comment regarding the development of the 
agenda, scope, content and timetables for these negotiations. The 
Administration seeks views on the broadest possible range of issues for 
consideration, including the content of international rules relating to 
government procurement and specific U.S. market access interests. The 
deadline for written comments is Friday, January 15, 1999.
    Decisions on the potential improvement of the GPA will be based on 
consensus among the 26 participants to the Agreement. Decisions related 
to the development of a potential WTO Agreement on Transparency in 
Government Procurement will be based on consensus among WTO Members. 
This solicitation is intended to facilitate the Administration's 
preparation of U.S. proposals and positions for these negotiations, and 
acceptance of such proposals by participants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions on the 
provision of public comments, contact Gloria Blue, Executive Secretary, 
Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, (202) 395-3475. For questions relating to the substance 
of WTO negotiations on transparency in government procurement or of 
negotiations on the improvement of the GPA, contact John Ellis, 
Director for Government Procurement, at 202/395-3063.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. The WTO Working Group on Transparency in Government Procurement

    At the December 1996 WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore, WTO 
members agreed to ``establish a working group to conduct a study on 
transparency in government procurement practices, taking into account 
national policies, and, based on this study, to develop elements for 
inclusion in an appropriate agreement.'' Taking into account the 
significant progress that has been made to date in the study phase of 
the Working Group's mandate, the trade ministers of the United States, 
the European Union, Japan, and Canada have called for the conclusion of 
a WTO agreement on transparency in government by the time of the Third 
WTO Ministerial Conference, scheduled for late 1999 in the United 
States.

II. The WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

    The GPA, which entered into force on January 1, 1996, is a 
``plurilateral'' agreement included in Annex 4 to the WTO Agreement. As 
such, it is not part of the WTO ``single undertaking'' and its 
Membership is limited to WTO Members that specifically signed it in 
Marrakesh or that subsequently accede to it. The GPA's current 
Membership include the United States, the member states of the European 
Union (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, 
Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, 
Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom), the Kingdom of the Netherlands with 
respect to Aruba, Canada, Hong Kong China, Israel, Japan, the Republic 
of Korea, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland. Iceland,

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Panama and Chinese Taipei are in the process of negotiating accession. 
Under their protocols of accession to the WTO, Bulgaria, Mongolia and 
Slovenia have committed to join the GPA.
    The GPA is the successor to the first international Agreement on 
Government Procurement, also known as the Government Procurement Code, 
which was negotiated during the 1975-1979 Tokyo Round and entered into 
effect on January 1, 1981. the GPA made important improvements to the 
Code, including prohibition on the use of offsets (unless specifically 
provided for in the GPA annex) and a requirement that each Party 
establish independent review bodies to rule on bid challenges. The GPA 
also provided significantly greater market access coverage, including 
the addition of commitments relating to a wide range of service sectors 
and the inclusion of sub-central (i.e., state) governments and 
government-owned enterprises. State procurement entities of 37 U.S. 
states are currently covered by the GPA.
    The WTO Secretariat estimates that the value of government 
procurement opportunities covered under the GPA exceeds $400 billion 
annually. The export opportunities for U.S. products and services are 
immense, ranging from basic agricultural and other commodities to 
sophisticated services and manufactured goods and technologies.
    To ensure that the rules of GPA remain up to date and to maintain 
progress in creating new trade opportunities in this area, Article 
XXIV.7 of the GPA specifically called for renewed negotiations within 
three years of the entry into force of the Agreement, i.e., by January 
1, 1999. Many current GPA participants view these negotiations as an 
opportunity to simplify the Agreement in a way that will make it more 
accessible to a wider range of international participants.

A. Modalities for Negotiations

    At its June 1998 meeting, the Committee of GPA Participants agreed 
to proceed with the negotiations called for under Article XXIV.7 on the 
following basis:
    (1) The Committee will aim to complete negotiations on the 
simplification and improvement of the Agreement by the third WTO 
Ministerial at the end of 1999, with a view, in particular, to 
increasing the attractiveness of the Agreement to new members; and
    (2) The Committee will, in parallel, continue work on the removal 
of discriminatory measures and practices incorporated in the individual 
members' annexes to the Agreement and on the expansion of the market 
access coverage.
    The Committee agreed that Participants' formal proposals on the 
simplification and improvement of the Agreement should be submitted to 
the Committee no later than April 1999.

B. Substantive Issues

    Issues for the review process that have been highlighted to date by 
GPA participants, and on which public comment is solicited, include:
    (1) Whether the text of the GPA should be re-organized or 
simplified in order to make the Agreement more understandable to 
officials responsible for its implementation, while maintaining its 
effectiveness in ensuring open and competitive procurement procedures;
    (2) Whether the Agreement should be updated to accommodate 
electronic communications and other emerging technologies used in 
modern procurement systems, while ensuring equitable access for 
potential suppliers with different technological capabilities;
    (3) Whether the use of electronic communications and other emerging 
technologies allows for greater flexibility in the minimum time periods 
for submission of bids established under the Agreement, while ensuring 
that all international bidders have adequate time to participate;
    (4) Whether the GPA's statistical reporting requirements can be 
simplified, while preserving participants' ability to effectively 
monitor implementation of the Agreement;
    (5) Whether there should be greater flexibility for developing 
country participants in implementing GPA requirements and whether GPA 
participants' procuring entities should be more flexible in assessing 
developing country suppliers' bids on covered procurements;
    (6) Whether specific conditions and exceptions to GPA participants' 
current market access commitments (in Appendix 1 to the Agreement) 
should be removed in order to provide more uniform and understandable 
GPA market access coverage; and
    (7) Whether GPA participants' market access commitments should be 
expanded to cover additional goods and service sectors and additional 
central and sub-central government entities.
    In the context of the GPA review process, the TPSC also seeks 
public comments on:
    (1) Any specific GPA-participant procurement entities or markets 
not currently covered by the Agreement which, if covered, might be 
expected to offer significant new trade opportunities for U.S. 
suppliers and workers; and
    (2) Any policies or practices of GPA participants or covered 
procuring entities which unfairly restrict U.S. suppliers' ability to 
participate in procurements covered by the Agreement, including 
discriminatory technical requirements and offset measures such as those 
listed in the footnote to Article XVI of the GPA.

Public Comments Requested

    The TPSC invites written comments on U.S. objectives with respect 
to the various categories of issues identified above, including the 
agenda, scope, content and timetables for work and negotiations. 
Comments submitted should clearly indicate the category or categories 
of issues outlined in the submission.

Submission of Written Comments

    Those persons wishing to submit written comments should provide ten 
(10) copies (in English) no later than January 15, 1999, to Gloria 
Blue, Executive Secretary, Trade Policy Staff Committee, Office of the 
United States Trade Representative, Room 122, 600 17th Street 
Northwest, Washington, D.C., 20508. Comments should state clearly the 
position taken and should describe the specific information supporting 
that information.
    If the submission contains business confidential information, ten 
copies of a confidential version, and ten copies of a public version 
that does not contain confidential information, must be submitted. A 
justification as to why the information contained in the submission 
should be treated confidentially must be included in the submission. In 
addition, any submissions containing business confidential information 
must be clearly marked ``Confidential'' at the top and bottom of the 
cover page (or letter) and each succeeding page of the submission. The 
version that does not contain confidential information should also be 
clearly marked, at the top and bottom of each page, ``public version'' 
or ``non-confidential.''
    Written comments submitted in connection with this request, except 
for information granted ``business confidential'' status pursuant to 15 
CFR 2003.6, will be available for public inspection in the USTR Reading 
Room, Room 101, Office of the United States Trade Representative, 600 
17th Street NW, Washington, DC. An appointment to review the file may 
be made by calling Brenda Webb at (202) 395-6186. The Reading Room is 
open to the public

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from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through 
Friday.

Frederick L. Montgomery,
Chairman, Trade Policy Staff Committee.
[FR Doc. 98-32862 Filed 12-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3190-01-M