The WTO Government Procurement Agreement, explained

What it is

The WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) is an international treaty that opens public procurement markets between its parties. It covers 48 nations. Above a published value threshold, public buyers in a member state must let suppliers from every other member state bid on the same terms as domestic firms — no discrimination on the basis of nationality or origin, and no requirement to set up a local entity.

In practice, that turns dozens of national procurement markets into one addressable opportunity. A German firefighting-equipment maker can bid on a contract in Canada; a UK IT consultancy can win a framework in Australia — directly, on equal footing.

How the thresholds work

The equal-bidding guarantee applies above a value threshold. The thresholds are set in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and converted into each market’s currency on a two-year cycle. The lowest tier — central-government contracts for goods and services — starts around SDR 130,000 (roughly €140,000 in the EU). Sub-central entities and works contracts sit higher.

Below the threshold, procurement can stay domestic. Above it, the tender has to be opened internationally — which is exactly the band where a foreign supplier has a real, enforceable right to compete. Hover any country on the map above to see its threshold.

Standard GPA threshold levels (Appendix I), in Special Drawing Rights. Source: WTO. National-currency conversions are re-set every two years (2026–2027 cycle).

What qlows monitors

Of the 48 GPA nations, qlows actively monitors 35— pulling live notices from each market’s official portal so you see the opportunities you are legally entitled to bid on. The other 13 parties are biddable too; we are connecting them over time.

The hard part was never eligibility — it’s finding the handful of notices worth your time across thousands published in multiple languages every week. That’s what qlows Adaptive Matching is built to solve.