The U.K.’s effort to rejoin a key World Trade Organization agreement that governs public procurement opportunities worth $1.7 trillion a year gained provisional backing on Tuesday.
Members of the 46-nation Government Procurement Agreement said they’re willing to offer their support, in principle, to allow the U.K. to rejoin the deal, U.K. Ambassador to the WTO Julian Braithwaite said in an interview in Geneva. The U.K. is currently a member due to its place in the European Union, which it leaves in March.
“I want to thank all the GPA parties who were unanimous in their support for the U.K.’s continued participation in the GPA,” Braithwaite said following the meeting.
The EU plans to circulate draft language next week to be inserted in a future decision on the U.K.’s accession to the GPA. GPA members will review the language at a meeting tentatively scheduled for Dec. 14.
