2. The Sub-committee shall, among others:
(a) monitor the implementation and administration of this Chapter and of Annex II (Concerning the Definition of the Concept of "Originating Products" and Methods of Administrative Cooperation);
(b) provide a forum to consult and discuss on all issues concerning customs, including in particular customs procedures, customs valuation, tariff regimes, customs nomenclature, customs cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in customs matters;
(c) provide a forum to consult and discuss issues relating to rules of origin and administrative cooperation;
(d) enhance cooperation on the development, application and enforcement of customs procedures, mutual administrative assistance in customs matters, rules of origin and administrative cooperation;
(e) submit to the Trade Committee proposals for modifications to Annex II (Concerning the Definition of the Concept of "Originating Products" and Methods of Administrative Cooperation) for their adoption;
(f) provide a forum to consult and discuss requests for cumulation of origin under Articles 3 and 4 of Annex II (Concerning the Definition of the Concept of "Originating Products" and Methods of Administrative Cooperation);
(g) endeavour to reach mutually satisfactory solutions when differences between the Parties arise after a verification process conducted under Article 31 of Annex II (Concerning the Definition of the Concept of "Originating Products" and Methods of Administrative Cooperation);
(h) endeavour to reach mutually satisfactory solutions when differences regarding the tariff classification of goods arise between the Parties. If the matter is not resolved in the course of these consultations, it shall be referred to the Harmonized System Committee of the WCO. Such decisions shall be binding for the Parties involved.
3. The Parties may agree to hold ad hoc meetings for customs cooperation or for rules of origin and mutual administrative assistance.
Article 69. Technical Assistance on Customs and Trade Facilitation
1. The Parties recognise the importance of technical assistance in the area of customs and trade facilitation in order to implement the commitments set out in this Chapter.
2. The Parties agree to cooperate particularly, but not exclusively, on:
(a) enhancing institutional cooperation between the Parties;
(b) providing expertise and capacity building on legislative and technical matters to develop and enforce customs legislation;
(c) the application of modern customs techniques, including risk management, binding advance rulings, customs valuation, simplified procedures for entry and release of goods, post release controls, corporate audit methods and AEO;
(d) the introduction of procedures and practices reflecting, to the extent practicable, international instruments and standards applicable in the area of customs and trade, including WTO rules and WCO instruments and standards, inter alia the Revised Kyoto Convention and the WCO SAFE; and
(e) the simplification, harmonisation and automation of customs procedures.
Article 70. Implementation
1. The provisions of Article 59, subparagraph 2 (f), and Article 60 shall apply to Peru two years after the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. The provisions of Article 60, with the exception of those concerning advance rulings on tariff classification, and Article 62 shall apply to Ecuador two years after the entry into force of the Protocol of Accession to this Agreement to take account of the accession of Ecuador.
Chapter 4. Technical Barriers to Trade
Article 71. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are:
(a) to facilitate and increase trade in goods and to obtain effective access to the market of the Parties, by improving the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (hereinafter referred to "TBT Agreement");
(b) to avoid the creation, and encourage the elimination of unnecessary technical barriers to trade; and
(c) to enhance cooperation between the Parties in matters covered by this Chapter.
Article 72. Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Chapter the definitions in Annex 1 of the TBT Agreement shall apply.
2. The following definitions shall also apply:
- "non-permanent labelling" means affixing information to a product using adhesive labels, hanging tags or another kind of label that can be removed, or enclosing the information in the product packaging;
- "permanent labelling", means affixing information to a product by securely fastening it to the product by printing, sewing, engraving or similar processes.
Article 73. Relationship with the Tbt Agreement
The Parties reaffirm their rights and obligations under the TBT Agreement, which is incorporated into and made an integral part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 74. Scope of Application
1. The provisions of this Chapter apply to the preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, including any amendment thereof or addition thereto, which may affect trade in goods between the Parties.
2. This Chapter does not apply to:
(a) purchasing specifications prepared by governmental bodies for production or consumption requirements of such bodies; and
(b) sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
Article 75. Cooperation and Trade Facilitation
1. The Parties agree that cooperation between the authorities and bodies, in both the public and private sector, involved in technical regulation, standardisation, conformity assessment, accreditation, metrology and border control and market surveillance, is important for facilitating trade between the Parties. To that end the Parties commit to:
(a) intensifying mutual cooperation to facilitate access to their markets and to increase knowledge and understanding of their respective systems;
(b) identifying, developing and promoting initiatives that facilitate trade taking their respective experience into consideration. These initiatives may include, among others:
(i) the exchange of information, experience and data, scientific and technological cooperation and the use of good regulatory practices;
(ii) the simplification of certification procedures and administrative requirements established by a standard or technical regulation, and the elimination of those requirements for registration or prior authorisation that are unnecessary by virtue of the provisions of the TBT Agreement;
(iii) work towards the possibility of converging, aligning or establishing the equivalence of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures. Equivalence shall not a priori entail any obligation whatsoever on the Parties, unless otherwise explicitly agreed;
(iv) the examination, in a future regulatory review, of the possibility of using accreditation or designation as a tool for recognising the conformity assessment bodies established in the territory of another Party; and
(v) the promotion and facilitation of cooperation and the exchange of information between relevant public or private bodies of the Parties.
2. When a Party detains goods originating from the territory of another Party at a port of entry due to a perceived non-compliance with a technical regulation, the Party detaining the goods shall notify the importer without delay of the reasons for the detention.
3. A Party, upon request of another Party, shall give appropriate consideration to the proposals of such other Party for cooperation under this Chapter.
Article 76. Technical Regulations
1. The Parties shall use international standards as the basis for preparing their technical regulations unless those international standards are an ineffective or inappropriate means for achieving the legitimate objective pursued. A Party shall, upon request of another Party, provide the reasons for not having used international standards as a basis for preparing its technical regulations.
2. Upon request of another Party interested in developing a similar technical regulation, and in order to minimise the duplication of costs, a Party shall, to the extent possible, provide the requesting Party with any information, technical study or risk assessment or other available relevant document, with the exception of confidential information, on which that Party has relied for the development of such technical regulation.
Article 77. Standards
1. Each Party commits to:
(a) maintaining effective communication between its regulatory authorities and its standardisation institutions;
(b) applying the Decision of the Committee on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with Relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement adopted by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade on 13 November 2000, when determining whether an international standard, guide or recommendation exists within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and in Annex 3 to the TBT Agreement;
(c) encouraging its standardisation bodies to cooperate with the relevant standardisation bodies of another Party in international standardisation activities. Such cooperation may be undertaken in the international standardisation bodies or at regional level when invited by the corresponding standardisation body or via memoranda of understanding with the aim, among others, of developing common standards;
(d) exchanging information on the use of standards by the Parties in connection with technical regulations and ensure, to the extent possible, that standards are not mandatory;
(e) exchanging information on the standardisation processes of each Party and the extent of the use of international, regional or sub-regional standards as the basis for national standards; and
(f) exchanging general information on cooperation agreements concluded with third countries on standardisation matters.
2. Each Party shall recommend that non-governmental standardisation bodies located in its territory observe the provisions of this Article.
Article 78. Conformity Assessment and Accreditation
1. The Parties recognise that there is a broad range of mechanisms to facilitate the acceptance in the territory of a Party of the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted in the territory of another Party. Accordingly, the Parties may agree:
(a) on acceptance of a declaration of conformity from the supplier (16);
(b) on acceptance of the results of the conformity assessment procedures of the bodies located in the territory of another Party;
(c) that a conformity assessment body located in the territory of a Party may enter into voluntary recognition agreements with a conformity assessment body located in the territory of another Party for the acceptance of the results of its conformity assessment procedures;
(d) on the designation of conformity assessment bodies located in the territory of another Party; and
(e) on the adoption of accreditation procedures to qualify the conformity assessment bodies located in the territory of another Party.
2. To that end the Parties commit to:
(a) ensuring that the non-governmental bodies used in conformity assessment may compete;
(b) promoting the acceptance in conformity assessment processes of the results issued by bodies recognised under a multilateral accreditation agreement or by an agreement reached between some of their respective conformity assessment bodies;
(c) considering initiating negotiations in order to reach agreements facilitating the acceptance in their territories of the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted by bodies located in the territory of another Party, when it is in the interest of the Parties and it is economically justified; and
(d) encouraging their conformity assessment bodies to take part in agreements with the conformity assessment bodies of another Party for the acceptance of conformity assessment results.
Article 79. Transparency and Notification Procedures
1. Each Party shall electronically transmit to the contact points established in Article 10 of the TBT Agreement, directly or via the WTO Secretariat, their proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures or those adopted to address urgent problems of safety, health, protection of the environment or national security, arising or threatening to arise, in accordance with the TBT Agreement. The electronic transmission of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures shall include an electronic link to, or a copy of, the full text of the document giving rise to the notification.
2. Each Party shall also publish or electronically transmit those drafts or proposals for technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures or those adopted to address urgent problems of safety, health, protection of the environment or national security, arising or threatening to arise, which are in accordance with the technical content of the relevant international standards.
3. In accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2, each Party shall grant a period of at least 60 days, and whenever possible 90 days, from the date of the electronic transmission of the proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures so that the other Parties and other interested persons may submit written comments. A Party shall give positive consideration to reasonable requests for extending the period for comments.
4. A Party shall give appropriate consideration to the comments received from another Party when a proposed technical regulation is submitted to public consultation and, upon request of another Party, provide written answers to the comments made by such other Party.
5. Each Party shall publish or make available to the public, in printed or electronic form, its answers to the significant comments received no later than the date of publication of the final technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure.
6. Each Party shall, upon request of another Party, provide information on a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure which the Party has adopted or proposes to adopt.
7. The time period between the publication and the entry into force of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures shall not be less than six months, unless it is not feasible to achieve the legitimate objectives within that period. A Party shall give positive consideration to reasonable requests for an extension of this period.
8. The Parties shall ensure that all technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures adopted and in force are publicly available on a free official website, in such a way that they are easily located and accessed. If appropriate, guides on the application of technical regulations shall also be provided when they exist.
Article 80. Border Control and Market Surveillance
The Parties commit to:
(a) exchanging information and experiences on their border control and market surveillance activities, except in those cases in which the documentation is confidential; and
(b) ensuring that border control and market surveillance activities are undertaken by the competent authorities, to which end these authorities may use accredited, designated or delegated bodies, avoiding conflicts of interest between those bodies and the economic operators subject to control or supervision.
Article 81. Marking and Labelling
1. When a Party requires mandatory marking or labelling of products:
(a) permanent marking or labelling shall be required only when the information is relevant for consumers or users of the product or to indicate the conformity of the product with the mandatory technical requirements;
(b) additional information on the packing or packaging of the product by means of non-permanent labels may be required, when necessary to ensure market surveillance by the competent authorities;
(c) in relation to the information referred to in subparagraph (b), when reviewing the applicable rules, such Party shall examine the possibility of requiring that information to be provided by other means;
(d) unless necessary in view of the risk of the products to human, animal or plant health or life, the environment or national safety, such Party shall not require the approval, registration or certification of labels or markings as a precondition for sale on their respective markets. This subparagraph is without prejudice to measures adopted by a Party pursuant to its domestic rules to verify the compliance of labels with the mandatory requirements, and measures taken to control practices which may mislead consumers;
(e) when a Party requires the use of an identification number by the economic operator, this shall be issued without undue delay;
(f) provided it is not misleading, contradictory or confusing in relation to the information required in the country of destination of the goods, such Party shall allow:
(i) information in other languages in addition to the language required in the country of destination of the goods;
(ii) international nomenclatures, pictograms, symbols or graphics; and
(iii) information additional to that required in the country of destination of the goods;
(g) when the legitimate objectives established in the TBT Agreement are not compromised, such Party shall endeavour to accept non-permanent or removable labels, or having the information provided by means of the product manual, packing or packaging instead of it being printed on or physically adhered to the product.
2. When a Party requires marking or labelling of textiles, clothing or footwear, such Party:
(a) may only require the following information to be permanently marked or labelled:
(i) in the case of textiles and clothing: fibre content, country of origin, safety instructions for specific uses and care instructions; and
(ii) in the case of footwear: the predominant materials of the main parts, safety instructions for specific uses and country of origin;
(b) shall not establish:
(i) requirements regarding the physical characteristics or design of a label without prejudice to any measures such Party takes to protect consumers from misleading advertising;
(ii) an obligation to permanently label garments which, due to their size, makes this either difficult or diminishes their value; and
(iii) for goods sold in pairs, an obligation to label both parts when these are of the same material and design.
3. The Parties shall apply this Article at the latest one year from the entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 82. Trade Related Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
The Parties recognise the importance of trade related technical assistance and capacity building in facilitating the implementation of the provisions of this Chapter, which should focus on, among others:
(a) capacity building of the national institutions, their technical infrastructure and equipment, and training of human resources;
(b) promoting and facilitating participation in international bodies relevant to this Chapter; and
(c) fostering relations between the standardisation, technical regulation, conformity assessment, accreditation, metrology, border control and market surveillance bodies of the Parties.
Article 83. Sub-committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
1. The Parties establish a Sub-committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, comprising representatives of each Party.
2. The Sub-committee shall:
(a) follow up and evaluate the implementation and administration of, and compliance with, this Chapter;
(b) address adequately any issue that a Party raises relating to this Chapter and the TBT Agreement;
(c) contribute to the identification of priorities on cooperation matters and the technical assistance programmes in the area of standards, technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, accreditation, metrology, border control and market surveillance and examine the progress or results obtained;
(d) exchange information on the work carried out in non-governmental, regional and multilateral fora involved in activities relating to standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;
(e) upon request of a Party, consult on any matter arising under this Chapter and the TBT Agreement;
(f) establish, when required to achieve the objectives of this Chapter, working groups to deal with specific matters relating to this Chapter and TBT Agreement, clearly defining the scope and responsibilities of those working groups;
(g) facilitate, as appropriate, dialogue and cooperation between the regulators in accordance with this Chapter;
(h) pursuant to Article 75 subparagraph 1(b) of this Chapter, draw up a work programme in matters of mutual interest to the Parties, which shall be revised periodically;
(i) explore all other matters relating to this Chapter which may help to improve access to the markets of the Parties;
(j) revise this Chapter in light of any developments under the TBT Agreement and of the decisions or recommendations of the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, and make suggestions on possible amendments to this Chapter;
(k) inform, if deemed appropriate, the Trade Committee about the implementation of this Chapter; and
(l) take any other action which the Parties consider would assist them in the implementation of this Chapter and of the TBT Agreement and in facilitating trade.
3. To facilitate the implementation of this Chapter, the representative of each Party in the Sub-committee shall be responsible for coordinating with the institutions of the central government, local public institutions, non-governmental institutions and appropriate persons in the territory of such Party; and, upon request of another Party, invite them to take part in the meetings of the Sub-committee. The representative of the Parties shall communicate on any matter relating to this Chapter.
4. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the consultations pursuant to subparagraph 2(e) shall constitute consultations under Article 301, provided they fulfil the requirements established in paragraph 9 of that Article.
5. The Sub-committee may meet in sessions where the EU Party and one signatory Andean Country participate, regarding matters which relate exclusively to the bilateral relationship between the EU Party and such signatory Andean Country. If another signatory Andean Country expresses interest in the matter to be discussed in such session, it may participate in the session subject to prior agreement of the EU Party and the signatory Andean Country concerned.
6. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the Sub-committee shall meet at least once a year. Meetings may be held in person, or by other means agreed by the Parties.
Article 84. Exchange of Information
1. Any information or explanation provided at the request of a Party in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter shall be provided in print or electronic form within 60 days, which may be extended with prior justification by the reporting Party.
2. As regards the enquiries which the enquiry points should be prepared to answer and the handling and processing of such requests, in accordance with Article 10 of the TBT Agreement or with this Chapter, the Parties shall apply the recommendations of the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade adopted on 4 October 1995.
Chapter 5. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Article 85. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) protect human, animal or plant life and health in the territory of the Parties, while facilitating trade between the Parties in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary measures (hereinafter referred to as "SPS measures");
(b) collaborate for the further implementation of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (hereinafter referred to as the "SPS Agreement");
(c) ensure that SPS measures do not constitute unjustified barriers to trade between the Parties; (d) develop mechanisms and procedures aimed at efficiently resolving the problems arising between the Parties as a consequence of the development and implementation of SPS measures;
(e) reinforce communication and collaboration between the competent authorities of the Parties on sanitary and phytosanitary matters;
(f) facilitate the implementation of the special and differential treatment, taking into account the asymmetries between the Parties.
Article 86. Rights and Obligations
The Parties reaffirm their rights and obligations under the SPS Agreement. The Parties are also subject to the provisions of this Chapter.
Article 87. Scope of Application
1. This Chapter shall apply to any SPS measure that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties.
2. This Chapter shall not apply to the standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures defined in the TBT Agreement, except when they refer to SPS measures.
3. Additionally, this Chapter shall apply to the collaboration between the Parties on animal welfare matters.