Brazil wants fast accession to WTO’s Public Procurement Agreement

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil signaled at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it expects discussions with other countries to move forward as quickly as possible in order to accede to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

At a meeting of the GPA Committee this week, the Brazilian delegation highlighted that despite the covid-19 pandemic, the country was able to issue a “very ambitious and broad” initial offer to open up public procurement contracts worth up to US$145 billion to competition from foreign companies.

According to Brazilian Ambassador Alexandre Parola, accession to the GPA is a priority for the country, as one of the means to deepen its integration into the world economy.

The Ministry of Economy’s International Trade Secretary Lucas Ferraz signaled that Brazil is ready to open negotiations on a reciprocal basis with the 48 current members of the agreement, in the segment estimated globally at US$1.7 trillion per year.

In its initial offer Brazil established a threshold between US$186,000 and US$572,000 for foreign sellers to participate in tenders for the purchase of goods and services, and of US$7,150 million for construction services.

For the first time, Brazil is offering foreigners access to public procurement in some states – Amazonas, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and the Federal District – and municipalities, joining the federal government and several state-owned companies.

The US praised Brazil for giving “a very encouraging signal” amid the global health crisis, noting that the openness shown by Brasilia could pave the way for other Latin American countries to consider joining the GPA too.

According to the Foreign Ministry, joining the agreement “will promote the reduction of public spending and the improvement of the quality of government goods and services, and will foster Brazilian exports and foreign investment in the country.”

The GPA does not automatically apply to all procurement made by the member governments of this agreement. Brazil’s final list of concessions will depend on negotiations with other members of the agreement.

The WTO Committee this week also examined the accession negotiations stage of China, Russia, North Macedonia and Tajikistan.

Source: Valor