Revised World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)

The Revised World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement is a plurilateral agreement that sets common rules and procedures for covered government procurement. The WTO's formal title is Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Canadian solicitation documents often use the variant Revised World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP). The agreement is based on non-discrimination, transparency, impartiality and fairness (Trade Commissioner Service).

It does not apply to every public purchase. It applies only to procurement by listed entities, for listed goods and services, above the monetary thresholds in each party's coverage schedules. The revised agreement entered into force for Canada on April 6, 2014, as set out in Treasury Board Contracting Policy Notice 2014-2.

What the revised GPA covers

Each party to the agreement specifies which entities, goods and services are covered, and the thresholds above which the obligations apply. The agreement reaches procurement by listed central, sub-central and other entities, subject to those coverage schedules, as described in a WTO research paper on the GPA. Specified exceptions also apply.

The WTO states that the revised agreement covers procurement of goods, services and capital infrastructure by public authorities (WTO news item). Coverage is defined entity by entity and category by category, so being a public body or buying a listed item is not enough on its own.

How Canada applied the revised agreement in 2014

Policy Notice 2014-2 told federal departments and agencies that the 1994 GPA had been substantially renegotiated and that the revised GPA applied to Canada from April 6, 2014. The notice states that the federal departments and agencies subject to the agreement stayed the same, subject to government reorganizations. It also states that no goods, services or construction services were added to Canada's coverage lists at that time (Policy Notice 2014-2).

What changed was procedure. The revised GPA affects the notice-posting period, the information in notices, the content of tender documents and the circumstances in which limited tendering may be used.

How WTO-AGP appears in CanadaBuys notices

Canadian procurement documents list the agreement as a trade agreement that applies to the solicitation. A Public Works and Government Services Canada solicitation published on CanadaBuys carries the heading "Revised World Trade Organization - Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-AGP)" (CanadaBuys tender notice).

The agreement also appears in notices that justify a sole-source award. A Department of National Defence advance contract award notice cites Article XIII, Limited Tendering, of the revised WTO-AGP as the basis for its limited-tendering justification (CanadaBuys advance contract award notice). Defence buyers therefore use the agreement in practice, and suppliers will see it in these notices.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Treat the WTO-AGP reference as a coverage signal. To decide whether it applies to a given opportunity, check four things:

• the procuring entity;
• the goods or services being bought;
• the contract value against the applicable threshold;
• any exclusions or exceptions.

The agreement's procedural obligations mainly constrain the procuring entity. It does not replace the solicitation's bid instructions, so your submission and qualification requirements still come from the tender documents. When an advance contract award notice cites Article XIII, read the stated justification and the response deadline, because that is the window for a capable supplier to challenge the intended award.