Introduction

The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is on the cusp of a significant expansion in its membership. The accession of Chinese Taipei took effect on 15 July 2009. Currently, nine other WTO Members have applied for accession to the Agreement: Albania, Armenia, China, Georgia, Jordan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Oman and Panama. In addition, a further five WTO Members have provisions in their respective Protocols of Accession to the WTO which call for them eventually to seek accession to the GPA. These additional Members are: Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Mongolia, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine. The accession of these WTO Members has the potential to transform what has, until now, been largely a developed countries' club into a quasi-multilateral agreement with an important component of developing and transition economy members. The Agreement is, therefore, a key tool for promoting competition and good governance in such countries' economies, with potentially major significance for their development and growth.

The prospect of these accessions raises important questions for both the acceding countries and the existing Parties to the Agreement. The accession candidates need to understand the accession process, what they potentially have to gain and also what (if any) risks they run and costs they will incur. The existing Parties need to make judgements about the coverage commitments that will be deemed adequate and the types and extent of transitional measures to which they will agree in particular cases.