metadata means structural or descriptive information about data, such as content, format, source, rights, accuracy, provenance, frequency, periodicity, granularity, publisher or responsible party, contact information, method of collection, and context;
personal data means any information, including data, relating to an identified or identifiable natural person;
significant harm includes bodily harm, humiliation, damage to reputation or relationships, loss of employment, business or professional opportunities, financial loss, identity theft, negative effects on the credit record, and damage to or loss of property.
unsolicited commercial electronic message means an electronic message that is sent for commercial or marketing purposes to an electronic address without the consent of the recipient or against the explicit rejection of the recipient; and
Article 21.2. Scope
1. This Chapter applies to measures adopted or maintained by a Party that affect trade by electronic means.
2. This Chapter does not apply to:
(a) government procurement; or
(b) information held or processed by or on behalf of a Party, or measures related to that information, including measures related to its collection, except for paragraphs 6 through 8 of Article 21.7, and Article 21.13.
3. For greater certainty, a measure that affects the supply of a service delivered or performed electronically is subject to the relevant provisions of Chapter 15 (Investment), Chapter 16 (Cross-Border Trade in Services) and Chapter 18 (Financial Services).
4. Articles 21.10 and 21.11 do not apply to the non-conforming aspects of measures adopted or maintained in accordance with Article 15.18 (Investment – Non-Conforming Measures), Article 16.7 (Cross-Border Trade in Services – Non-Conforming Measures) or Article 18.10 (Financial Services – Non-Conforming Measures).
Article 21.3. Access to and Use of the Internet for Digital Trade
The Parties recognize that it is beneficial for consumers in their territories to be able to:
(a) access and use services and applications of a consumer’s choice available on the Internet;
(b) connect end-user devices of a consumer’s choice to the Internet, provided that those devices do not harm the network; and
(c) access information on the network management practices of a consumer’s Internet access service supplier.
Article 21.4. Domestic Electronic Transactions Framework
1. Each Party shall maintain a legal framework governing electronic transactions consistent with the principles of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce 1996.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to:
(a) avoid unnecessary regulatory burden on electronic transactions; and
(b) facilitate input by interested persons in the development of its legal framework for electronic transactions.
3. Except in circumstances provided for under its law, a Party shall not deny the legal validity of a transaction, including any document or contract related to the transaction, solely on the basis that it is in electronic form.
Article 21.5. Electronic Authentication and Electronic Signatures
1. Except in circumstances provided for under its law, a Party shall not deny the legal validity of a signature solely on the basis that the signature is in electronic form.
2. A Party shall not adopt or maintain measures for electronic authentication and electronic signatures that would:
(a) prohibit parties to an electronic transaction from mutually determining the appropriate authentication methods or electronic signatures for that transaction; or
(b) prevent parties to an electronic transaction from having the opportunity to establish before judicial or administrative authorities that their transaction complies with a legal requirement with respect to authentication or electronic signatures.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, a Party may require that, for a particular category of transactions, the method of authentication or electronic signature meets certain performance standards or is certified by an authority accredited in accordance with its law.
4. Each Party shall encourage the use of interoperable electronic authentication.
Article 21.6. Online Consumer Protection
1. The Parties recognize the importance of adopting and maintaining transparent and effective measures to protect consumers from fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive commercial activities (2 )when they engage in digital trade.
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain consumer protection laws that address fraudulent, misleading or deceptive commercial activities that cause harm or potential harm to consumers engaged in online commercial activities.
3. The Parties recognize the importance of, and public interest in, cooperation between their respective national consumer protection authorities or other relevant bodies on activities related to cross-border digital trade and fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive commercial activities including the exchange of consumer complaints and other enforcement information as appropriate, in order to enhance consumer protection and their welfare.
Article 21.7. Personal Data Protection
1. The Parties recognize the economic and social benefits of protecting personal data of users of digital trade and the contribution that this makes to enhancing consumer confidence in digital trade.
2. To this end, each Party shall adopt or maintain a legal framework that provides for the protection of the personal data of the users of digital trade, taking into account the principles and guidelines of relevant international bodies. These principles include limitation on collection, choice, data quality, purpose specification, use limitation, security safeguards, transparency, individual participation, and accountability.
3. Each Party shall adopt or maintain non-discriminatory practices in protecting users of digital trade from personal data protection violations within its jurisdiction.
4. Each Party shall publish information on the personal data protections it provides to users of digital trade as part of its legal framework, including how:
(a) a natural person can access their own personal data; (3)
(b) a natural person can pursue a remedy; and
(c) an enterprise can comply with legal requirements.
5. Recognizing that the Parties may take different legal approaches to protecting personal data, each Party should encourage the development of mechanisms to promote compatibility between these different regimes. The Parties shall endeavour to exchange information on the mechanisms applied in their jurisdictions and explore ways to extend these or other suitable arrangements to promote compatibility between them.
6. A Party shall not use the personal data of natural persons obtained from an enterprise operating within its jurisdiction in a manner that constitutes targeted discrimination on manifestly wrongful grounds such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, medical, birth, or other status, genetic identity, age, ethnicity or disability.
7. Each Party shall ensure that any personal data disclosed to a government authority by an enterprise is protected against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.
8. Each Party shall ensure that any personal data disclosed to a government authority by an enterprise is not collected, created, accessed, disclosed, used, retained, or modified by a government authority in a manner that can reasonably be expected to cause significant harm to a natural person. (4)
9. The Parties acknowledge that their respective legal frameworks provide a suitable level of protection for personal information, including for personal information transferred between their jurisdictions.
10. Unless a modification to the other Party’s existing measures results in a materially lower standard of protection of personal information, a Party shall not adopt or maintain a measure for the protection of personal information that applies solely to cross-border transfers of personal information required for the conduct of business between the jurisdictions of the Parties, in a manner that modifies the conditions of competition to the detriment of service suppliers or enterprises of the other Party.
Article 21.8. Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Messages
1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures providing for the limitation of unsolicited commercial electronic messages.
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures regarding unsolicited commercial electronic messages that:
(a) require suppliers of unsolicited commercial electronic messages to facilitate the ability of recipients to prevent the ongoing reception of those messages; and
(b) require the consent, as specified in the measures of each Party, of recipients to receive commercial electronic messages.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate in cases of mutual concern regarding the regulation of unsolicited commercial electronic messages.
Article 21.9. Prohibition of Customs Duties on Digital Products Transmitted Electronically
1. A Party shall not impose customs duties on a digital product transmitted electronically between a person of one Party and a person of the other Party.
2. For greater certainty, paragraph 1 does not prevent a Party from imposing internal taxes, fees, or other charges on a digital product transmitted electronically, provided that those taxes, fees or charges are imposed in a manner consistent with this Agreement.
Article 21.10. Non-Discriminatory Treatment of Digital Products
1. A Party shall not accord less favourable treatment to a digital product created, produced, published, contracted for, commissioned, or first made available on commercial terms in the territory of the other Party, or to a digital product of which the author, performer, producer, developer, or owner is a person of the other Party, than it accords to other like digital products.
2. This Article does not apply to:
(a) a subsidy or grant provided by a Party, including a government-supported loan, guarantee or insurance; or
(b) broadcasting.
Article 21.11. Cross-Border Transfer of Information by Electronic Means
1. A Party shall not prohibit or restrict the cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, including personal data, if this activity is for the conduct of the business of a covered person.
2. This Article does not prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining a measure inconsistent with paragraph 1 that is necessary to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, provided that the measure:
(a) is not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade; and
(b) does not impose restrictions on transfers of information greater than are necessary to achieve the objective.
Article 21.12. Location of Computing Facilities
1. A Party shall not require a covered person to use or locate computing facilities in that Party’s territory as a condition for conducting business in that territory.
2. This Article does not prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining a measure inconsistent with paragraph 1 that is necessary to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, provided that the measure:
(a) is not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade; and
(b) does not impose restrictions on the use or location of computing facilities greater than are necessary to achieve the objective.
Article 21.13. Source Code
1. A Party shall not require the transfer of, or access to, source code of software owned by a person of the other Party, or to an algorithm expressed in that source code, as a condition for the import, distribution, sale, or use of that software, or of products containing that software, in its territory.
2. This Article does not preclude a regulatory body (5) or judicial authority of a Party from requiring a person of the other Party to preserve and make available the source code of software, or an algorithm expressed in that source code, for a specific investigation, inspection, examination, enforcement action, or judicial proceeding (6), subject to safeguards against unauthorized disclosure.
Article 21.14. Open Government Data
1. The Parties recognize the benefit of making data held by a regional or local government digitally available for public access and use in a manner consistent with paragraphs 2 through 4.
2. The Parties recognize that facilitating public access to and use of government data fosters economic and social development, competitiveness, and innovation. To this end, each Party shall endeavour to expand the coverage of that data, such as through engagement and consultation with interested stakeholders.
3. To the extent that a Party chooses to make government data digitally available for public access and use, it shall endeavour, to the extent practicable, to ensure that this data is:
(a) made available in a machine-readable and open format;
(b) searchable and retrievable;
(c) updated, as applicable, in a timely manner; and
(d) accompanied by metadata that is, to the extent possible, based on commonly used formats that allow the user to understand and utilise the data.
A Party shall further endeavour to make this data generally available at no cost or at a reasonable cost to the user.
4. To the extent that a Party chooses to make government data digitally available for public access and use, it shall endeavour to avoid imposing conditions (7) that unduly prevent or restrict the user of that data from:
(a) reproducing, redistributing, or republishing the data;
(b) regrouping the data; or
(c) using the data for commercial and non-commercial purposes, including in the process of production of a new product or service.
5. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate on matters that facilitate and expand public access to and use of open government data, including exchanging information and experiences on practices and policies, with a view to encouraging the development of digital trade and creating business opportunities, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Article 21.15. Digital Inclusion
1. The Parties recognize the importance of digital inclusion to ensure that all people and businesses can participate in, contribute to, and benefit from digital trade. To this end, the Parties recognize the importance of expanding and facilitating digital trade opportunities by removing barriers to participation in digital trade.
2. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate on matters relating to digital inclusion, including the participation of underrepresented groups, such as women, rural populations, low socio-economic groups, Indigenous Peoples, and other groups and individuals that disproportionately face barriers to digital trade. This cooperation may include:
(a) identifying and addressing barriers in accessing digital trade opportunities;
(b) sharing methods and procedures for developing datasets related to participation in digital trade; and
(c) improving digital skills and access to online business tools.
3. The Parties recognize the role played by small and medium-sized enterprises (8), including women-owned and Indigenous-owned enterprises, in economic growth and job creation, and the need to address the barriers to participation in digital trade for those enterprises. To this end, the Parties shall endeavour to:
(a) promote cooperation on digital trade between small and medium-sized enterprises of the Parties;
(b) encourage their small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in online platforms that could help them link with international suppliers, buyers and other potential business partners; and
(c) share best practices in improving digital skills, leveraging digital tools and technology, and other areas that could help small and medium-sized enterprises adapt to digital trade.
Chapter 22. TRADE AND GENDER EQUALITY
Article 22.1: General Understandings
1. The Parties acknowledge the importance of incorporating a gender perspective into, and an intersectional approach to, the promotion of inclusive economic growth, and the key role that coherent gender responsive domestic and international trade policies can play in achieving sustainable socioeconomic development. Inclusive economic growth aims to distribute benefits across the entire population by providing equitable opportunities for the participation of diverse groups of women and men in business, industry, and the labour market.
2. The Parties affirm the importance of promoting gender equality policies and practices, building and strengthening the capacity of the Parties in this area, including in non-government sectors, to promote equal rights, equal treatment and opportunities between men and women, and the elimination of all forms of discrimination and gender-based violence.
3. The Parties acknowledge that international trade and investment are engines of economic prosperity and sustainable development, and that improving women’s access to opportunities, eliminating discrimination against women, and removing gender-related and other barriers to international trade and investment, enhance women’s participation in national and international economies and contribute to sustainable economic development.
4. Each Party affirms its commitment to adopt, maintain, implement, enhance and enforce its gender equality laws, regulations, policies and practices in order to advance the empowerment of women and girls. The Parties recognize the right of each Party to set its gender equality priorities and to adopt or modify its laws, regulations, policies and practices in a manner consistent with this Agreement and with the international agreements to which it is party.
5. The Parties affirm that all women, and gender and sexually diverse people, have the right to the full range of economic rights under their law without the consent of another person in any relationship capacity, including the right to receive equal remuneration, open and manage a bank account, start a business, sign a legally binding contract, work in safe conditions, conduct international trade, gain and utilize digital and financial literacy skills, access, own, inherit and control economic resources such as land, and to be free from gender-based violence given that it is an impediment to women’s economic development and participation in and ability to benefit from trade.
Article 22.2: International Instruments
1. Each Party affirms its commitment to implement its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women done at New York on18 December 1979, and to give due consideration to the general recommendations made under its Committee.
2. The Parties recognize Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
3. Each Party affirms its commitment to implement its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities done at New York on
13 December 2006, and to give due consideration to the general recommendations made by its Committee.
4. The Parties recognize the importance to promote the objectives of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted in 1995 by the Fourth United Nations World Conference on Women in Beijing, in particular its strategic objective to promote women’s economic rights and independence.
5. Each Party affirms its commitment to implement the obligations addressing gender equality or women’s rights under any other international agreement to which it is party.
6. For the purpose of this Agreement, the Parties shall use the definitions to the extent possible of women-owned business, women-led business, and women-led cooperative established on 8 March 2021 by the International Organisation for Standardisation and the International Trade Centre.
Article 22.3: Non-Derogation
Each Party shall implement its gender equality laws, and shall not weaken or reduce the protection afforded to women, and gender and sexually diverse people, in its gender equality laws, regulations and policies in order to encourage trade or investment between the Parties or between them and a non-party.
Article 22.4: Public Awareness
Each Party shall domestically promote public knowledge of its gender equality laws, regulations, policies and practices, including by making them publicly available online.
Article 22.5: Information Sharing
1. Each Party shall establish or maintain a publicly accessible webpage containing information regarding this Agreement, including:
(a) a summary of the provisions of this Agreement that are relevant to trade and gender; and
(b) a list of key provisions of this Agreement relevant to gender.
2. Each Party shall include in its webpage referred to in paragraph 1 links to:
(a) the equivalent webpage of the other Party;
(b) the work plan referred to in Article 22.7;
(c) reports of activities implemented by the Committee; and
(d) the websites or webpages of its own government agencies and other appropriate entities that provide information the Party considers useful to women interested in trading, investing, or doing business in that Party’s territory.
3. The information described in paragraph 2(d) may include:
(a) registration procedures for national and international certification as a women-owned business;
(b) information on training programs to help women entrepreneurs learn about trade practices, benefit from mentoring, gain trade skills and expertise, including in digitalization and e-commerce, improve their leadership and access various opportunities;
(c) financing, mentoring, training and support programs aimed at helping women entrepreneurs from visible minority groups succeed in trade;
(d) financing programs for women-owned businesses, including export financing and insurance services and venture capital;
(e) information on calls for bids and government procurement opportunities encouraging women-owned businesses candidacies;
(f) information on supplier diversity programs to which women-owned businesses and other groups have preferential access;
(g) women entrepreneur’s networks, programs and organizations promoting women’s access to trade-related sectors, including financial, scientific and technical sectors;
(h) information and procedures on establishing and governing cooperatives, including accessing global markets;
(i) women-owned business success stories;
(j) procedures and financing programs for recruiting foreign workers;
(k) think tanks conducting research relevant to trade and gender, such as the WTO’s Gender Research Hub and Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub; and
(l) statistics of economic relevance and other macro data of interest about trade and gender.
Article 22.6: Cooperation Activities
1. The Parties acknowledge the benefit of sharing their respective experiences and practices in designing, implementing, monitoring, evaluating and strengthening policies and programs to encourage women’s participation in national and international economies.
2. The Parties shall carry out cooperation activities designed to improve the capacity and conditions for women workers, women-owned businesses, women-led businesses, and women-led cooperatives, to access and fully benefit from the opportunities created by this Agreement. The Parties shall carry out these activities with the inclusive participation of women in all their diversity.
3. The Parties shall be proactive and results-oriented in carrying out cooperation activities under this Chapter and shall be guided by the principles of: