A plurilateral treaty is a special type of multilateral treaty. A plurilateral treaty is a treaty between a limited number of States having a particular interest in the subject matter of the treaty. [2] The main difference between a plurilateral treaty and other multilateral treaties is that the availability of reservations under a plurilateral treaty is more limited. Due to the limited nature of a plurilateral contract, full cooperation between the parties is necessary to achieve the objective of the treaty. Consequently, reservations concerning plurilateral contracts were not permitted without the consent of all other contracting parties. This principle is codified in international law by Article 20(2) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: the International Convention on Dairy Products and the International Convention on Beef and Veal were abolished at the end of 1997. The signatory countries of the agreements have decided that the sectors covered by the agreements on agriculture, health protection and plant protection should be better managed. Some aspects of their work had been hampered by the small number of signatories. For example, some major exporters of dairy products did not sign the dairy agreement and the attempt to cooperate on minimum prices was therefore suspended in 1995. In most cases, all WTO Members sign all WTO Agreements. After the Uruguay Round, however, four agreements remained, initially negotiated under the Tokyo Round, which had a closer group of signatories and are known as plurilateral agreements. All other Tokyo Round agreements became multilateral commitments (i.e. obligations for all WTO Members) with the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995.

The four were: The term « plurilateral agreement » is used in the World Trade Organization. A plurilateral agreement implies that WTO member states would have the choice to accept new rules on a voluntary basis. This contrasts with the WTO Multilateral Agreement, to which all WTO Members are parties to the Agreement. The Agreement on Government Procurement is a typical plurilateral agreement. A plurilateral agreement is a multinational legal or trade agreement between countries. In economic jargon, this is an agreement between more than two countries, but not many, that would be a multilateral agreement. [1] The beef and dairy agreements were terminated in 1997. The agreement consists of two elements: the general rules and obligations, as well as the lists of undertakings of each participant whose acquisition of listed goods, services and construction services is subject to the agreement if they exceed the thresholds set out in the Annexes. The general rules and obligations mainly concern tendering procedures. They have evolved through different versions of the agreement in order to improve the level and non-discriminatory conditions of international competition and to take into account new developments in the field of public procurement, .B.dem use of electronic means in tenders. Governments are also required to establish internal procedures for aggrieved private bidders to challenge procurement decisions and to remedy those decisions if those decisions were taken in breach of the rules of the agreement.

The coverage plans contained in the agreement have expanded from central government agencies to sub-central entities, utilities and state-owned enterprises, and from goods to services and all types of construction services. At present, the agreement has parts that include WTO members. Other WTO Members participate in the GPA Committee as observers. Of these, members are in the process of acceding to the agreement. In most countries, the government and the authorities it controls are together the biggest buyers of goods of all kinds, from staple foods to high-tech equipment. They also buy large quantities of construction services and services such as telecommunications, roads, airports and power plants, etc. A strong public procurement system based on the principles of transparency, integrity and competition is essential to maximise the benefits of procurement for citizens and businesses. At the same time, political pressure to favour domestic suppliers over their foreign competitors can be very strong. It is a working paper and therefore represents ongoing research. The views expressed in this article are those of the author.

They are not intended to represent the views or opinions of the WTO or its Members and do not affect the rights and obligations of Members under the WTO. Any error is attributable to the author. If it follows from the limited number of negotiating States and the object and purpose of a treaty that the application of the treaty in its entirety between all parties is an essential condition for the consent of each party to be bound by the contract, a reservation must be accepted by all parties. [3] Trade in civil aircraft Public procurement Dairy products Beef. Download the document in pdf format (23 pages, 341 KB; opens in a new tab) An agreement on government procurement was first negotiated in the Tokyo Round and entered into force on 1 January 1981. The aim is to open up this activity to international competition as much as possible. It aims to make public procurement laws, regulations, procedures and practices more transparent and to ensure that they do not discriminate against foreign products or suppliers. During the Uruguay Round, and later in parallel with the Doha Round, the agreement was revised twice in negotiations between its signatories. The latest version came into effect on April 6, 2014. .