15. Each Party, when making a notification under Article 2.10 or Article 5.7 of the TBT Agreement, shall at the same time transmit electronically the notification and text of the technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure, or an online address where the text of the measure can be viewed, to the Parties' contact points referred to in Article 11.12 (Contact Points).
16. If a Party is notifying a proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure to the WTO TBT Committee and the other Parties for the first time, (7) the Party shall notify it to the WTO TBT Committee and the other Parties as a regular notification. (8) Each Party shall endeavor to identify the scope of its proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure in its notification by reference to the specific Harmonized System heading, subheading, or tariff item for the products that would be affected by the proposal.
17. If a Party is notifying a proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure that is related to a measure that was previously notified, including because it is an revision, amendment, or replacement to the previously notified measure, the Party shall provide the WTO notification symbol for the previously notified measure. (9) Each Party shall endeavor to submit a revision to a notification if the notified measure has been substantially redrafted prior to its entry into force. If the Party files a revision or the circumstances in paragraph 18(e) arise, the Party shall endeavor to allow either a new or extended period of time for interested persons to submit comments to the Party.
18. Each Party shall submit an addendum to a notification it has previously made to the WTO TBT Committee and the Parties in any of the following circumstances:
(a) the period of time to submit comments on the proposed measure has changed;
(b) the notified measure has been adopted or otherwise entered into force;
(c) the compliance dates for the final measure have changed;
(d) the notified measure has been withdrawn, revoked, or replaced; (10)
(e) the content or scope of the notified measure is partially changed or amended;
(f) any interpretive guidance for a notified measure that has been issued; or
(g) the final text of the notified measure is published or adopted or otherwise enters into force.
19. Each Party shall endeavor to submit a corrigendum to a notification if it subsequently determines there are minor administrative or clerical errors in:
(a) a notification or subsequent related addendum or revision; or (b) the text of the notified measure.
20. If a Party obtains a translation of a measure notified to the WTO TBT Committee, whether official or unofficial, in an official WTO language other than the language of the notification, it shall endeavor to send the translation to the Parties' contact points referred to in Article 11.12 (Contact Points).
21. For the purposes of determining whether a proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure may have a significant effect on trade and is subject to notification in accordance with Articles 2.9, 2.10, 3.2, 5.6, 5.7, or 7.2 of the TBT Agreement and this Chapter, a Party shall consider, among other things, the relevant guidance in the Decisions and Recommendations Adopted by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Since 1 January 1995 (G/TBT/1/Rev.13), as may be revised.
22. When a Party has adopted a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure that may have a significant effect on trade, the Party shall promptly publish online:
(a) an explanation of how the technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure achieves the Party's objectives;
(b) a description of alternative approaches, if any, that the Party considered in developing the adopted technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure and the explanation of why it chose one approach over the others it considered;
(c) its views on any substantive issues raised in timely submitted comments on the y y proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure;
(d) any impact assessment it has undertaken;
(e) if not addressed by an impact assessment, an explanation of the relationship between the regulation and the key evidence, data, and other information the regulatory authority considered in finalizing its work on the regulation; and
(f) the date by which compliance is required.
Article 11.8. Compliance Period for Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures
1. For the purposes of Articles 2.12 and 5.9 of the TBT Agreement, the term "reasonable interval" means normally a period of not less than six months, except when this would be ineffective in fulfilling the legitimate objectives pursued by the technical regulation or the conformity assessment procedure. (11)
2. If feasible and appropriate, each Party shall endeavor to provide an interval of more than six months between the publication of a final technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure and its entry into force.
3. In addition to paragraphs 1 and 2, in setting a "reasonable interval" for a specific technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure, each Party shall provide suppliers with a reasonable period of time, under the circumstances, to be able to demonstrate the conformity of their products with the relevant requirements of the technical regulation by the date of entry into force of the specific technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure. In doing so, each Party shall endeavor to take into account the resources available to suppliers.
Article 11.9. Cooperation and Trade Facilitation
1. In addition to Articles 5, 6, and 9 of the TBT Agreement, the Parties acknowledge that a broad range of mechanisms (12) exists to facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results. In this regard, a Party shall give consideration to a request made by another Party with respect to any sector-specific proposal for cooperation including by, as appropriate:
(a) implementing mutual recognition of the results by conformity assessment bodies located in its territory and another Party's territory with respect to specific technical regulations;
(b) recognizing existing mutual and multilateral recognition arrangements between or among accreditation bodies or conformity assessment bodies;
(c) using accreditation to qualify conformity assessment bodies, particularly international systems of accreditation;
(d) designating conformity assessment bodies or recognise the other Party's designation of conformity assessment bodies;
(e) unilaterally recognizing the results of conformity assessment procedures performed in the other Party's territory; and
(f) accepting a supplier's declaration of conformity.
2. The Parties recognize that a broad range of mechanisms exist to support greater regulatory alignment and to eliminate unnecessary technical barriers to trade in the region, including:
(a) regulatory dialogue and cooperation to, among other things:
(i) exchange of information on regulatory approaches and practices,
(ii) promote the use of good regulatory practices to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures,
(iii) provide technical advice and assistance, on mutually agreed terms and conditions, to improve practices related to the development, implementation and review of technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures and metrology, or
(iv) provide technical assistance and cooperation, on mutually agreed terms and conditions, to build capacity and support the implementation of this Chapter;
(b) facilitation of the greater use and alignment of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures with relevant international standards, guides, and recommendations; and
(c) promotion of the acceptance of technical regulations of the other Party as equivalent.
3. In addition to subparagraph (c), the Parties shall work to develop common standards and conformity assessment procedures in sectors of mutual interest. The Parties shall determine the scope of this work through the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade established under Article 11.11 (Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade).
4. The Parties shall strengthen their exchange and collaboration on mechanisms to facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results, to support greater regulatory alignment and to eliminate unnecessary technical barriers to trade in the region. To this end, the Parties shall seek to identify, develop, and promote trade-facilitating initiatives regarding standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures that address particular cross-cutting or sector-specific issues.
5. The Parties shall encourage cooperation between their respective organizations responsible for standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation and metrology, whether they are public or private, with a view to facilitate trade.
Article 11.10. Information Exchange and Technical Discussions
1. The Parties recognize that technical discussions and information exchange can serve an important function in reaching mutually satisfactory solutions to trade concerns by promoting cooperation and consultation informed by relevant technical and scientific information. Accordingly, with respect to a matter that arises under this Chapter, a Party may request that another Party:
(a) engage in technical discussions concerning the matter; or
(b) provide information regarding any proposed or final technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure that relates to the matter.
2. The Party making the request shall do so in writing and identify: (a) the matter, including those provisions of the Chapter to which the matter relates;
(b) the reasons for the request, including any concerns with a proposed or final measure;
(c) whether the matter is urgent; and (d) if applicable, the precise information that is being requested.
The Party making the request shall transmit it to the Parties through their respective contact points designated pursuant to Article 30.5 (Agreement Coordinator and Contact Points).
3. With respect to a request made under paragraph 1 (a), the requesting Party and the requested Party shall discuss the matter identified within 60 days after the date the request was transmitted to the contact point, unless the request identified the matter as urgent, in which case the Parties shall endeavor to hold the technical discussions sooner. The requested Party, at its discretion, may decide to allow another Party to participate in the technical discussions. With respect to a request made under paragraph 1(b), the Party receiving the request shall provide appropriate information within a reasonable period of time. The Parties shall attempt to obtain satisfactory resolution of the matter.
4. Unless the Parties decide otherwise, any discussions or information exchanged under this Article, other than the request referenced in paragraphs 1 and 2, shall be kept confidential and is without prejudice to the Parties' rights and obligations under the Agreement, the WTO Agreement or any other agreement to which the requesting and requested Parties are party.
Article 11.11. Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
1. The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Committee), composed of government representatives of each Party.
2. Through the TBT Committee, the Parties shall strengthen their joint work in the fields of technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures with a view to facilitating trade between the Parties.
3. The TBT Committee's functions include:
(a) monitoring and identifying ways to strengthen the implementation and operation of this Chapter, and identifying any potential amendments to or interpretations of this Chapter for referral to the Commission;
(b) as appropriate, discussing proposed and final versions of standards, technical regulations, or conformity assessment procedures of any Party;
(c) monitoring any technical discussions on matters that arise under this Chapter requested pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 11.10 (Information Exchange and Technical Discussions);
(d) reaching an agreement on priority areas of mutual interest for future work under this Chapter and considering proposals for new sector-specific initiatives or other initiatives;
(e) encouraging cooperation between the Parties in matters that pertain to this Chapter, including the development, review, or modification of technical regulations, standard, and conformity assessment procedures;
(f) encouraging cooperation between non-governmental bodies in the Parties' territories, as well as cooperation between governmental and non-governmental bodies in the Parties' territories in matters that pertains to this Chapter;
(g) facilitating the identification of technical capacity needs;
(h) encouraging the exchange of information between the Parties and their relevant non-governmental bodies, if appropriate, to develop common approaches regarding matters under discussion in non-governmental, regional, plurilateral, and multilateral bodies or international conformity assessment systems or standards development relevant to this Chapter; including the WTO TBT Committee and bodies that develop standards in accordance with the TBT Committee Decision on International Standards, as appropriate;
(i) encouraging, on request of a Party, the exchange of information between the Parties regarding specific technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures of non-Parties as well as systemic issues, with a view to fostering a common approach;
(j) undertaking initiatives to support greater regulatory alignment in the region, including through the development of common standards or conformity assessment procedures, in sectors of mutual interest;
(k) reporting to the Commission on the implementation and operation of this Chapter;
(l) reviewing this Chapter in light of any developments under the TBT Agreement, and developing recommendations for amendments to this Chapter in light of those developments;
(m) engaging, as appropriate, with the public to participate in the work of the TBT Committee, for example by requesting and considering comments on matters related to the implementation of this Chapter; and
(n) taking any other steps that the Parties consider will assist them in implementing this Chapter.
4. Unless the Parties decide otherwise, the TBT Committee shall meet at least once a year.
5. The TBT Committee may establish and determine the scope and mandate of working groups to carry out its functions, and may invite, as appropriate, representatives of non- governmental entities to participate in a working group.
6. To determine what activities the TBT Committee will undertake, the TBT Committee shall consider work that is being undertaken in other fora, with a view to ensuring that any activities undertaken by the TBT Committee do not unnecessarily duplicate that work.
Article 11.12. Contact Points
1. Each Party shall designate a contact point and notify it to the other Parties for matters arising under this Chapter in accordance with Article 30.5 (Agreement Coordinator and Contact Points). A Party shall promptly notify the other Parties of any change of its contact point or the details of the relevant officials.
2. The functions of each contact point shall include:
(a) communicating with the other Parties' contact points, including facilitating discussions, requests and the timely exchange of information on matters arising under this Chapter;
(b) communicating with and coordinating the involvement of relevant government agencies, including regulatory authorities, in the territory of the Party it represents on relevant matters pertaining to this Chapter;
(c) consulting and, if appropriate, coordinating with interested persons in the territory of the Party it represents on relevant matters pertaining to this Chapter; and
(d) carrying out any additional responsibilities specified by the TBT Committee.
Chapter 12. SECTORAL ANNEXES
Article 12.1. Sectoral Annexes
1. In addition to other applicable provisions of this Agreement, this Chapter contains provisions with respect to chemical substances, cosmetic products, information and communication technology, energy performance standards, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals, as defined therein.
2. The rights and obligations set out in each annex to this Chapter shall apply only with respect to the sector specified in that annex, and shall not affect any Party's rights or obligations under any other annex to this Chapter.
ANNEX 12-C. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Article 12.C.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Annex:
cipher or cryptographic algorithm means a mathematical procedure or formula for combining a key with plaintext to create a ciphertext;
cryptography means the principles, means or methods for the transformation of data in order to conceal or disguise its content, prevent its undetected modification, or prevent its unauthorized use; and is limited to the transformation of information using one or more secret parameters, for example, crypto variables, or associated key management;
electromagnetic compatibility means the ability of a system or equipment to function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic environment without introducing intolerable electromagnetic disturbances with respect to any other device or system in that environment;
electronic labeling means the electronic display of information, including required compliance information;
encryption means the conversion of data (plaintext) through the use of a cryptographic algorithm into a form that cannot be easily understood without subsequent re-conversion (ciphertext) and the appropriate cryptographic key;
information and communication technology good (ICT good) means a product whose intended function is information processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display, or electronic processing applied to determine or record physical phenomena, or to control physical processes;
information technology equipment product (ITE product) means a device, system, or component thereof for which the primary function is the entry, storage, display, retrieval, transmission, processing, switching, or control (or combinations thereof) of data or telecommunication messages by means other than radio transmission or reception;
key means a parameter used in conjunction with a cryptographic algorithm that determines its operation in such a way that an entity with knowledge of the key can reproduce or reverse the operation, while an entity without knowledge of the key cannot;
supplier's declaration of conformity means an attestation by a supplier that a product meets a specified standard or technical regulation based on an evaluation of the results of conformity assessment procedures; and
terminal equipment means a digital or analog device capable of processing, receiving, switching, signaling, or transmitting signals by electromagnetic means and that is connected by radio or wire to a public telecommunications transport network at a termination point.
Article 12.C.2. ICT Goods That Use Cryptography
1. This Article applies to ICT goods that use cryptography. (6) This Article does not apply to:
(a) a Party's law enforcement authorities requiring service suppliers using encryption they control to provide unencrypted communications pursuant to that Party's legal procedures;
(b) the regulation of financial instruments;
(c) a requirement that a Party adopts or maintains relating to access to networks, including user devices, that are owned or controlled by the government of that Party, including those of central banks;
(d) a measure taken by a Party pursuant to supervisory, investigatory, or examination authority relating to financial institutions or financial markets; or
(e) the manufacture, sale, distribution, import, or use of the good by or for the government of the Party.
2. With respect to an ICT good that uses cryptography and is designed for commercial applications, no Party shall require a manufacturer or supplier of the good, as a condition of the manufacture, sale, distribution, import, or use of the good, to:
(a) transfer or provide access to any proprietary information relating to cryptography, including by disclosing a particular technology or production process or other information, for example, a private key or other secret parameter, algorithm specification, or other design detail, to the Party or a person in the Party's territory;
(b) partner or otherwise cooperate with a person in its territory in the development, manufacture, sale, distribution, import, or use of the product; or
(c) use or integrate a particular cryptographic algorithm or cipher.
Article 12.C.3. Electromagnetic Compatibility of ITE Products
1. This Article applies to requirements regarding the electromagnetic compatibility of ITE products.
2. This Article does not apply to a product:
(a) that a Party regulates as a medical device, a medical device system, or a component of a medical device or medical device system; or
(b) for which the Party demonstrates that there is a high risk that the product will cause harmful electromagnetic interference with a safety or radio transmission or reception device or system.
3. If a Party requires positive assurance that an ITE product meets a standard or technical regulation for electromagnetic compatibility, it shall accept a supplier's declaration of conformity, (7) provided that the declaration satisfies the Party's requirements regarding testing, such as testing by an accredited laboratory, in support of a supplier's declaration of conformity, registration of the supplier's declaration of conformity, or the submission of evidence necessary to support the supplier's declaration of conformity.
Article 12.C.4. Regional Cooperation Activities on Telecommunications Equipment
1. This Article applies to telecommunications equipment.
2. The Parties are encouraged to implement the APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment of May 8, 1998 (MRA-TEL) and, with respect to each other, the APEC Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Equivalence of Technical Requirements of October 31, 2010 (MRA-ETR), and to consider other arrangements to facilitate trade in telecommunications equipment.
3. In accordance with the Mutual Recognition Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the United Mexican States for the Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment, done on May 26, 2011 at Paris, France the United States and Mexico shall accept test reports provided by a recognized testing laboratory designated by the other Party under terms and conditions no less favorable than those it accords to test reports produced by testing laboratories in its territory, and without regard to the nationality of the supplier or manufacturer of the telecommunications equipment, or the country of origin of the equipment for which a test report has been produced.
4. In accordance with the Mutual Recognition Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United Mexican States for the Conformity Assessment of Telecommunications Equipment, done at Honolulu on 12 November 2011, Canada and Mexico shall accept test reports provided by a recognized testing laboratory designated by the other Party under terms and conditions no less favorable than those it accords to test reports produced by testing laboratories in its territory, and without regard to the nationality of the supplier or manufacturer of the telecommunications equipment, or the country of origin of the equipment for which a test report has been produced.
5. If a Party requires equipment subject to electromagnetic compatibility and radio frequency requirements to include a label containing compliance information about the equipment, it shall permit this information to be provided through an electronic label. The Parties shall exchange information, as appropriate, about their respective electronic labeling requirements with a view to facilitate compatible approaches to electronic labeling.
Article 12.C.5. Terminal Equipment
1. This Article applies to terminal equipment.
2. Each Party shall ensure that its technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures relating to the attachment of terminal equipment to the public telecommunications networks, including those measures relating to the use of testing and measuring equipment for conformity assessment procedures, are adopted or maintained only to the extent necessary to:
(a) prevent damage to public telecommunications networks;
(b) prevent degradation of public telecommunications services;
(c) prevent electromagnetic interference, and ensure compatibility, with other uses of the electromagnetic spectrum;
(d) prevent billing equipment malfunction; or
(e) ensure safety of and access to public telecommunications or services, including for the hearing impaired or other disabled persons.
3. Each Party shall ensure that the network termination points for its public telecommunications networks are established on a reasonable and transparent basis.
4. Each Party shall permit any recognized (5) conformity assessment body to perform the testing required under the Party's conformity assessment procedures for terminal equipment to be attached to the public telecommunications network, subject to the Partyâs right to review the accuracy and completeness of the test results.
Chapter 13. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Article 13.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
build-operate-transfer contract and public works concession contract means a contractual arrangement the primary purpose of which is to provide for the construction or rehabilitation of physical infrastructure, plants, buildings, facilities, or other government-owned works and under which, as consideration for a supplier's execution of a contractual arrangement, a procuring entity grants to the supplier, for a specified period of time, temporary ownership or a right to control and operate, and demand payment for the use of those works for the duration of the contract;
commercial goods or services means goods or services of a type generally sold or offered for sale in the commercial marketplace to, and customarily purchased by, non-governmental buyers for non-governmental purposes;
construction service means a service that has as its objective the realization by whatever means of civil or building works, based on Division 51 of the United Nations Provisional Central Product Classification (CPC);