Division

THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT,

NOTING that Article XXII:8(a) of the Agreement on Government Procurement (Agreement) provides that the Parties shall adopt and periodically review a work programme, including a work programme on safety standards in international procurement;

NOTING that Article X:1 of the Agreement provides that procuring entities ‘shall not prepare, adopt or apply any technical specification with the purpose or the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade’;

NOTING that Article III:2(a) of the Agreement does not prevent Parties from imposing or enforcing measures necessary to protect of public safety, provided that such measures are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade;

RECOGNISING the need for a balanced approach between public safety and unnecessary obstacles to international trade;

RECOGNISING that diverging practices among the Parties as regards public safety may have an adverse effect on the performance of the Agreement;

HEREBY ADOPTS THE FOLLOWING WORK PROGRAMME WITH RESPECT TO SAFETY STANDARDS: