LegalizeOvereenkomst inzake overheidsopdrachten
Preamble
Parties to this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as “Parties”),
Considering that Ministers agreed in the Tokyo Declaration of 14 September 1973 that comprehensive Multilateral Trade Negotiations in the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (hereinafter referred to as “General Agreement” or “GATT”) should aim, inter alia, to reduce or eliminate non-tariff measures or, where this is not appropriate, their trade restricting or distorting effects, and to bring such measures under more effective international discipline;
Considering that Ministers also agreed that negotiations should aim to secure additional benefits for the international trade of developing countries, and recognized the importance of the application of differential measures in ways which will provide special and more favourable treatment for them where this is feasible and appropriate;
Recognizing that in order to achieve their economic and social objectives to implement programmes and policies of economic development aimed at raising the standard of living of their people, taking into account their balance-of-payments position, developing countries may need to adopt agreed differential measures;
Considering that Ministers in the Tokyo Declaration recognized that the particular situation and problems of the least developed among the developing countries shall be given special attention and stressed the need to ensure that these countries receive special treatment in the context of any general or specific measures taken in favour of the developing countries during the negotiations;
Recognizing the need to establish an agreed international framework of rights and obligations with respect to laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement with a view to achieving greater liberalization and expansion of world trade and improving the international framework for the conduct of world trade;
Recognizing that laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement should not be prepared, adopted or applied to foreign or domestic products and to foreign or domestic suppliers so as to afford protection to domestic products or suppliers and should not discriminate among foreign products or suppliers;
Recognizing that it is desirable to provide transparency of laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement;
Recognizing the need to establish international procedures on notification, consultation, surveillance and dispute settlement with a view to ensuring a fair, prompt and effective enforcement of the international provisions on government procurement and to maintain the balance of rights and obligations at the highest possible level;
Hereby agree as follows:
Article I. Scope and Coverage
This Agreement applies to:
- a). any law, regulation, procedure and practice regarding any procurement of products, through such methods an purchase or as lease, as rental or hire-purchase, with or without an option to buy by the entities 1)Throughout this Agreement, the word entities is understood to include agencies.2)[Red: De lijsten van de aankopende instanties zijn niet opgenomen. De lijsten liggen ter inzage bij het Ministerie van Economische Zaken, Directoraat-Generaal voor de Buitenlandse Economische Betrekkingen, Hoofdafdeling Handelspolitiek, alsmede bij de parlementaire documentatiedienst van de Tweede Kamer en bij de Staten van Aruba te Oranjestad.]subject to this Agreement. This includes services incidental to the supply of products if the value of these incidental services does not exceed that of the products themselves, but not service contracts per se;
- b). any procurement contract of a value of SDR 130,000 or more 1)For contracts below the threshold, the Parties shall consider, in accordance with paragraph 6 of Article IX, the application in whole or in part of this Agreement. In particular, they shall review the procurement practices and procedures utilized and the application of non-discrimination and transparency for such contracts in connexion with the possible inclusion of contracts below the threshold in this Agreement.3.This Agreement shall apply to any procurement contract for which the contract value is estimated to equal or exceed the threshold at the time of publication of the notice in accordance with Article V:4.. No procurement requirement shall be divided with the intent of reducing the value of the resulting contracts below SDR 130,000. If an individual requirement for the procurement of a product or products of the same type results in the award of more than one contract or in contracts being awarded in separate parts, the basis for application of this Agreement shall be either the actual value of similar recurring contracts concluded over the previous fiscal year or twelve months adjusted, where possible, for anticipated changes in quantity and value over the subsequent twelve months, or the estimated value of recurring contracts in the fiscal year or twelve months subsequent to the initial contract. The selection of the valuation method by the entity shall not be used with the purpose of circumventing the Agreement. In cases of contracts for the lease, rental, or hire-purchase of products, the basis for calculating the contract value shall be: In cases where a proposed procurement specifies the need for option clauses, the basis for application of this Agreement shall be the total value of the maximum permissible purchases, lease, rentals or hire-purchases, inclusive of optional purchases;
- (i). in the case or fixed-term contracts, where their term is twelve months or less, the calculation should be based on the total contract value for its duration, or, where their term exceeds twelve months, its total value including the estimated residual value;
- (ii). in the case of contracts for an indefinite period, the monthly instalment multiplied by forty-eight;
- (iii). if there is any doubt, the second basis of calculation, namely (ii), is to be used.
- c). procurement by the entities under the direct or substantial control of Parties and other designated entities, with respect to their procurement procedures and practices. Until the review and further negotiations referred to in the Final Provisions, the coverage of this Agreement is specified by the lists of entities, and to the extent that rectifications, modifications or amendments may have been made, their successor entities, in Annex I.
The Parties shall inform their entities not covered by this Agreement and the regional and local governments and authorities within their territories of the objectives, principles and rules of this Agreement, in particular the rules on national treatment and non-discrimination, and draw their attention to the overall benefits of liberalization of government procurement.
Article II. National Treatment and Non-Discrimination
With respect to all laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement covered by this Agreement, the Parties shall provide immediately and unconditionally to the products and suppliers of other Parties offering products originating within the customs territories (including free zones) of the Parties, treatment no less favourable than:
- a). that accorded to domestic products and suppliers; and
- b). that accorded to products and suppliers of any other Party.
With respect to all laws, regulations, procedures and practices regarding government procurement covered by this Agreement, the Parties shall ensure:
- (a). that their entities shall not treat a locally-established supplier less favourably than another locally-established supplier on the basis of degree of foreign affiliation or ownership;
- (b). that their entities shall not discriminate against locally-established suppliers on the basis of the country of production of the good being supplied, provided that the country of production is a Party to the Agreement in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Article.
The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to customs duties and charges of any kind imposed on or in connexion with importation, the method of levying such duties and charges, and other import regulations and formalities.
The Parties shall not apply rules of origin to products imported for purposes of government procurement covered by this Agreement from other Parties which are different from the rules of origin applied in the normal course of trade and at the time of importation to imports of the same products from the same Parties.
Article III. Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries
The Parties shall, in the implementation and administration of this Agreement, through the provisions set out in this Article, duly take into account the development, financial and trade needs of developing countries, in particular the least-developed countries, in their need to:
- a). safeguard their balance-of-payments position and ensure a level of reserves adequate for the implementation of programmes of economic development;
- b). promote the establishment or development of domestic industries including the development of small-scale and cottage industries in rural or backward areas; and economic development of other sectors of the economy;
- c). support industrial units so long as they are wholly or substantially dependent on government procurement;
- d). encourage their economic development through regional or global arrangements among developing countries presented to the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT and not disapproved by them.
Consistently with the provisions of this Agreement, the Parties shall, in the preparation and application of laws, regulations and procedures affecting government procurement, facilitate increased imports from developing countries, bearing in mind the special problems of the least-developed countries and of those countries at low stages of economic development.
With a view to ensuring that developing countries are able to adhere to this Agreement on terms consistent with their development, financial and trade needs, the objectives listed in paragraph 1 above shall be duly taken into account in the course of the negotiations with respect to the lists of entities of developing countries to be covered by the provisions of this Agreement. Developed countries, in the preparation of their lists of entities to be covered by the provisions of this Agreement shall endeavour to include entities procuring products of export interest to developing countries.
Developing countries may negotiate with other participants in the negotiation of this Agreement mutually acceptable exclusions from the rules on national treatment with respect to certain entities or products that are included in their lists of entities having regard to the particular circumstances of each case. In such negotiations, the considerations mentioned in paragraph la)-c) above shall be duly taken into account. Developing countries participating in regional or global arrangements among developing countries referred to in paragraph Id) above, may also negotiate exclusions to their lists, having regard to the particular circumstances of each case, taking into account, inter alia,the provisions on government procurement provided for in the regional or global arrangements concerned and taking into account, in particular, products which may be subject to common industrial development programmes.
After entry into force of this Agreement, the developing country Parties may modify their lists of entities in accordance with the provisions for modification of such lists contained in paragraph 5 of Article IX of this Agreement, having regard to their development, financial and trade needs, or may request the Committee to grant exclusions from the rules on national treatment for certain entities or products that are included in their lists of entities, having regard to the particular circumstances of each case and taking duly into account the provisions of paragraph la)-c) above. The developing country Parties may also request, after entry into force of this Agreement, the Committee to grant exclusions for certain entities or products that are included in their lists in the light of their participation in regional or global arrangements among developing countries, having regard to the particular circumstances of each case and taking duly into account the provisions of paragraph 1d) above. Each request to the Committee by a developing country Party relating to modification of a list shall be accompanied by documentation relevant to the request or by such information as may be necessary for consideration of the matter.
Paragraphs 4 and 5 above shall apply mutatis mutandisto developing countries acceding to this Agreement after its entry into force.
Such agreed exclusions as mentioned in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 above shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 14 of this Article.
Developed country Parties shall, upon request, provide all technical assistance which they may deem appropriate to developing country Parties in resolving their problems in the field of government procurement.
This assistance which shall be provided on the basis of non-discrimination among the developing country Parties shall relate inter alia,to:
- -. the solution of particular technical problems relating to the award of a specific contract;
- -. any other problem which the Party making the request and another Party agree to deal with in the context of this assistance.
Technical assistance referred to in paragraphs 8 and 9 above would include translation of qualification documentation and tenders made by suppliers of developing country Parties from a GATT language designated by the entity, unless developed country Parties deem translation as burdensome, and, in that case, explanation shall be given to developing country Parties upon their request addressed either to the developed country Parties or to their entities.
The developed country Parties shall establish, individually or jointly, information centres to respond to reasonable requests from developing country Parties for information relating to, inter alia,laws, regulations, procedure and practices regarding government procurement, notices about proposed procurements which have been published, addresses of the entities covered by this Agreement, and the nature and volume of products procured or to be procured including available information about future tenders. The Committee may also set up an information centre.
Having regard to paragraph 6 of the Tokyo Declaration, special treatment shall be granted to the least-developed country Parties and to the suppliers in those countries with respect to products originating in those countries, in the context of any general or specific measures in favour of the developing country Parties. The Parties may also grant the benefits of this Agreement to suppliers in the least-developed countries which are not Parties, with respect to products originating in those countries.
Developed country Parties shall, upon request, provide assistance which they may deem appropriate to potential tenderers in the least-developed countries in submitting their tenders and selecting the products which are likely to be of interest to entities of developed countries as well as to suppliers in the least-developed countries and likewise assist them to comply with technical regulations and standards relating to products which are the subject of the proposed procurement.
The Committee shall review annually the operation and effectiveness of this Article and after each three years of its operation on the basis of reports to be submitted by the Parties shall carry out a major review in order to evaluate its effects. As part of the three-yearly reviews and with a view to achieving the maximum implementation of the provisions of this Agreement, including in particular Article II, and having regard to the development, financial and trade situation of the developing coutries concerned, the Committee shall examine whether exclusions provided for in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 4 to 6 of this Article shall be modified or extended.
In the course of further rounds of negotiations in accordance with the provisions of Article IX, paragraph 6, the developing country Parties shall give consideration to the possibility of enlarging their lists of entities having regard to their economic, financial and trade situation.
Article IV. Technical Specifications
Technical specifications laying down the characteristics of the products to be procured such as quality, performance, safety and dimensions, testing and test methods, symbols, terminology, packaging, marking and labelling, and conformity certification requirements prescribed by procurement entities, shall not be prepared, adopted or applied with a view to creating obstacles to international trade nor have the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
De raadpleging van dit document komt niet in de plaats van het lezen van het oorspronkelijke Staatsblad of de Staatscourant. Wij aanvaarden geen aansprakelijkheid voor eventuele onnauwkeurigheden die voortvloeien uit de omzetting van het origineel naar dit formaat.