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Government Procurement

Last updated: 30.07.2012 // The Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is the only legally binding agreement in the WTO focusing on the subject of government procurement. It is a plurilateral treaty, i.e. not all WTO members are parties to the Agreement. The Agreement covers the procurement of goods, services and capital infrastructure by public authorities and is administered by a Committee on Government Procurement.

Norway has been a party to the GPA since the establishment of the WTO, and was also a party to the corresponding GATT agreement on public procurement of 1981. The Agreement provides for market access on predictable and transparent conditions, to the benefit of Norwegian suppliers and government clients.

Revised GPA
Negotiations to improve the GPA started in 1997 and agreement was reached on the Ministerial Conference on 15 December 2011. The revised GPA was formally adopted on 30 March 2012. Norway has participated actively in the negotiations. The results are important, with substantial improvements in market access coverage creating new market opportunities and additional scope for development, and with greater transparency and predictability for economic operators. The revised Agreement also facilitates accession of new members to the Agreement, which in turn will benefit the Norwegian business community.

For a more detailed description of the GPA and its components, you may visit the WTO GPA website 


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Permanent Mission of Norway in Geneva

Office address:
35 bis, Avenue de Budé, CH-1202 Geneva

Postal address:
Box 264, CH-1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland

Phone: +41-(0)22 918 0400
Fax: +41-(0)22 918 0410 and +41-(0)22 918 0411
E-mail: mission.geneva@mfa.no