WTO - World Trade Organization
WTO - World Trade Organization
03/04/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Government Procurement Committee discusses GPA implementation, progress in accessions
government procurement
Government Procurement Committee discusses GPA implementation, progress in accessions
At a meeting of the Committee on Government Procurement on 4 March, parties to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) discussed issues concerning GPA implementation and progress in accession negotiations. Parties also elected a new Committee chair, Mr William Westerveld Jensen of Norway.
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Note
This note has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat to assist public understanding about the work of the WTO's councils, committees and other bodies. It is not intended as a complete account of all issues raised at the meeting. These can be found in the formal meeting minutes.
Regulatory developments in Canada
The United States, echoed by the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, raised concerns with new federal-level Canadian policies that entered into force in December 2025 and grant preferences for Canadian goods, services and suppliers in federal government procurement activities. Also at issue are amendments published in November 2025 to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal Procurement Inquiry Regulations. According to these parties, the recent developments raised concerns regarding whether Canada was acting in accordance with its commitment under the GPA 2012 to guarantee non-discriminatory access to other parties.�
The United States additionally expressed concerns about procurement restrictions implemented by three Canadian provinces since 2025 that it said appear to discriminate against US suppliers.�
Canada said that it is among the countries most exposed to the restructuring of global trade and that recent developments have significantly impacted its industries with highly integrated supply chains as well as trade-dependent sectors. Canada explained that its federal-level measures seek to respond to these exceptional challenges while continuing to provide GPA suppliers with access to Canadian federal procurement opportunities. Canada expressed its readiness to continue to engage with other parties on this issue.�
Regarding procurement measures at the provincial level, Canada said that it would convey the relevant concerns to the appropriate provincial authorities and would welcome further bilateral discussions with the United States.�
Other business
The Committee elected�Mr William Westerveld Jensen of Norway as its new chair for the period until the first meeting of the Committee in 2027.�
The Committee adopted a decisionconcerning the derestriction of an additional list of historic GPA documents, which covers convening notices, summaries of informal meetings and chairs' closing statements relating to Committee meetings. The decision aims to enhance the overall transparency of the work of the Committee.��
In addition, parties heard updates on accession progress by acceding members, including Albania, China, Costa Rica, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic.�
Timor-Leste, the first least-developed country member to launch accession negotiations, reported on progress made towards establishing an institutional framework to guide and coordinate its accession process.
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