The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) is an international agreement on the mutual opening of public procurement markets. Its aim is to enable companies from member states to have non-discriminatory access to public tenders in their respective partner countries.
The GPA forms an essential basis for the framework of the Trade Agreements Act (TAA), as it defines which countries are considered ‘eligible countries of origin’ under international trade agreements. Most of these countries – including Germany, the rest of the EU, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea and Canada – are parties to the agreement.
The TAA threshold, above which the special provisions of the TAA apply, is also derived from the GPA. This currently stands at around 174,000 US dollars for supply and goods contracts (as of 2026) and is regularly adjusted every two years to reflect economic developments and exchange rates.
It is important to note, however, that the GPA does not cover all procurement. Certain areas – such as defence, national security or particularly sensitive infrastructure projects – may be excluded from its scope. In such cases, national regulations such as the Buy American Act or specific security provisions often apply.
