Guidance

Bidding for overseas government procurement opportunities

Information for UK businesses about overseas government procurement opportunities.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) opens up procurement markets among its parties. For the UK, as a party to the鈥�GPA, this means that:

  • UK businesses can bid for certain procurement opportunities in the other parties鈥� territories
  • businesses from those parties can bid for certain procurement opportunities in the UK

Procurement opportunities under the GPA

The sets out which markets are covered by the GPA. It also sets out what types of procurement opportunities are covered in each market.

GPA parties use their own online platforms for publishing procurement opportunities. The WTO website provides .

Procurement opportunities in addition to GPA coverage

The UK and EU have agreed an extension of market access coverage beyond the GPA.

This includes, but is not limited to:

  • the gas and heat distribution sector
  • certain private utilities that act as a monopoly
  • services including:
    • hospitality
    • telecoms
    • real estate
    • education

If you are a business seeking to bid for EU procurement opportunities, read more about the terms of procurement provisions of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Certain trade agreements between the UK and non-EU countries also include procurement provisions in addition to those covered by the 鈥�GPA. You can find out more about the鈥�terms of these agreements.

Contact

If you have any questions about the GPA or what is covered in the procurement agreements, use the to get in touch.

Updates to this page

Published 31 December 2020

Sign up for emails or print this page