Looking Beyond Accession: Challenges to Implementing the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement in China

Abstract

Much of the literature on China's ongoing attempts to accede to the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) Agreement on Government Procurement (“GPA”) focuses on which Chinese entities will ultimately be covered by the Agreement. While coverage issues are, no doubt, important, this paper argues that China will face an even greater number of challenges when implementing and harmonizing the requirements of the GPA with its own domestic procurement laws. In particular, the GPA's Article XVIII requirement for an effective domestic review mechanism may be especially difficult for China to achieve. In light of these challenges, this paper argues that current GPA members should address problems with China's domestic legal framework for procurement now, not look to the domestic review device to resolve problems after accession.