By DPA,
Geneva : Taiwan has joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement that opens up government contracts to international competition, an official said Thursday.
“This was not an easy process and various compromises were needed on all sides along the way,” a member of the committee that finalised the government procurement agreement (GPA) late Wednesday said.
Chinese Taipei, as Taiwan is known within the WTO, had been negotiating membership of the agreement for 14 years, under the name “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu”.
The GPA made headlines recently, following the Buy America provisions in the US stimulus package.
While the US said the language of the legislation was legal and in line with its obligations under the GPA, other members of the agreement have expressed concern their rights might not be fully protected under the new law.
Since the introduction of the legislation in Washington, other countries, including China and Canada, have introduced their own buy-local packages.
The global government procurement market is estimated to total around $960 billion a year.