Government Procurement Experts' Group - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Budget and Management Committee

Committee on Trade and Investment

Economic Committee

SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation

Other APEC Groups and Initiatives

You Are Here: Home > APEC Groups > Government Procurement Experts' Group

The Government Procurement Experts' Group (GPEG) was established in 1995 to consider ways to achieve increased transparency and liberalization of government procurement markets in accordance with the objectives and principles of the Bogor Declaration and the Osaka Action Agenda. The GPEG continues its work in this area by:

Promoting the APEC GPEG Non-Binding Principles and the Transparency Standard
Sharing knowledge on government procurement regimes and best practices of member economies
Responding, in coordination with other APEC working groups as appropriate, to the APEC agenda as advised by CTI
Providing a forum for discussing and exchanging views on themes and topics related to government procurement

GPEG developed a set of APEC Non-Binding Principles on Government Procurement (NBPs), which were endorsed by APEC Leaders at their meeting in 1999 in Auckland, New Zealand. The NBPs have contributed to the successful promotion of transparency and the liberalization of government procurement markets across member economies. The first round of voluntary reviews and reports to GPEG against the NBPs has been completed by member economies.

The APEC GPEG NBPs are -

Value for Money,
Open and Effective Competition,
Fair Dealing,
Accountability and Due Process, and
Non-Discrimination.

The original set of NBPs included Transparency; this has now been subsumed into the area-specific APEC Transparency Standards on Government Procurement.

GPEG members work towards the application of these principles, taking into consideration the General Principles in the Osaka Action Agenda, including flexibility. Individual member economies are in the best position to decide on the applicability of individual elements of the NBPs, taking into account the specific characteristics of their economy and the costs and benefits of adopting specific measures.

The APEC GPEG is a sub-forum of the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI), and meets biannually in conjunction with the first and third APEC Senior Officials' Meetings.

Achievements

Working to improve government procurement across the region, GPEG has:

Completed member economies' reporting against the NBPs;

Identified elements of the NBPs that addresses APEC's work on anti-corruption;

Finalized the review and repackaging of the NBPs with the aim of making them easier to understand and more business-friendly;

Complemented the Transparency Standards on Government Procurement;

Completed the Model Measures for Government Procurement,
Conducted several capacity building activities such as seminars and symposiums on government procurement. The most recent was the APEC Seminar on Transparency in Procurement and E-procurement held in September 2006 in Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

Current Activities

Currently, GPEG focuses its work on:

Continuing to develop GPEG capacity-building projects, including progressing SME initiatives in consultation with the SME Working Group.
Sharing information on the Transparency Standards in Government Encouraging member economies to share information on their procurement frameworks, including e-procurement initiatives.
Information sharing on multilateral and bilateral trade arrangements negotiated by member economies.
Updating the GPEG website to enhance the transparency of members' government procurement policy, procedures and procurement opportunities.
Organizing a workshop on Government Procurement in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in 2007. The workshop is aimed at improving members' understanding on the GPA and government procurement issues in RTAs/FTAs to possibly assist members to consolidate their positions on government procurement.

Capacity Building Projects

China will host an APEC Workshop on Government Procurement in WTO and FTA which is scheduled to be held in Beijing on 18-19 October 2007. The purpose of the workshop is to improve the APEC members' understanding on the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) and government procurement issues in RTAs/FTAs and to help members consolidate their positions on government procurement.

A Brainstorming session on future activities was held in Cairns, Australia on 21-22 June 2007

To support the implementation of the Workshop of Government Procurement in WTO and FTA, which will improve APEC member understands and comprehension on GPA and government procurement issues in FTAs/RTAs.
Members agreed to set-up a GPEG Government Procurement Resource Centre as a central location for information on Procurement Policies; E-Procurement systems and experiences; Approaches to the Market/Calls for Tenders; and Contracts Awarded.
Members agreed to formulate e-Government Procurement Guidelines based on the best practices or experiences of each member economies.

Government Procurement Resources
GPEG members meet biannually prior to the first and third APEC Senior Officials Meetings. Outcomes from GPEG meetings such as presentations, reports and proposals are available through the GPEG Documents and Reports page.

General information regarding the efforts of GPEG's 21 member economies to liberalise government procurement is available from the drop down menu below. Users can search for information on member economies including specific information on current government procurement policies, procedures, trade opportunities and key contacts for each economy.

Hyperlinks to related websites, including those listing specific procurement opportunities offered by individual APEC member economies, are also provided.

To access this information, simply click on the drop down menu below.