(b) the development of systems and mechanisms that allow verification of the legal origin of timber products throughout the marketing chain;
(c) the promotion of voluntary mechanisms for forest certification that are recognised in international markets;
(d) transparency and the promotion of public participation in the management of forest resources for timber production; and
(e) the strengthening of control mechanisms for timber production, including through independent supervision institutions, in accordance with the legal framework of each Party.
Article 274. Trade In Fish Products
1. The Parties recognise the need to conserve and manage fish resources in a rational and responsible manner, in order to ensure their sustainability.
2. The Parties recognise the need to cooperate in the context of Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (hereinafter referred to as "RFMO"), of which they are part, in order to:
(a) revise and adjust the fishing capacity for fishery resources, including those affected by overfishing, to ensure that the fishing practices are commensurate to the fishing possibilities available;
(b) adopt effective tools for the monitoring and control, such as observer schemes, vessel monitoring schemes, transhipment control and port state control, in order to ensure full compliance with applicable conservation measures;
(c) adopt actions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; to this end, the Parties agree to ensure that vessels flying their flags conduct fishing activities in accordance with rules adopted within the RFMO, and to sanction vessels under their domestic legislation, in case of any violation of the said rules.
Article 275. Climate Change
1. Bearing in mind the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (hereinafter referred to as "UNFCCC") and the Kyoto Protocol, the Parties recognise that climate change is an issue of common and global concern that calls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response, for the benefit of present and future generations of mankind.
2. The Parties are resolved to enhance their efforts regarding climate change, which are led by developed countries, including through the promotion of domestic policies and suitable international initiatives to mitigate and to adapt to climate change, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and taking particularly into account the needs, circumstances, and high vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change of those Parties which are developing countries.
3. The Parties also recognise that the effect of climate change can affect their current and further development, and therefore highlight the importance of increasing and supporting adaptation efforts, especially in those Parties which are developing countries.
4. Considering the global objective of a rapid transition to low-carbon economies, the Parties will promote the sustainable use of natural resources and will promote trade and investment measures that promote and facilitate access, dissemination and use of best available technologies for clean energy production and use, and for mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.
5. The Parties agree to consider actions to contribute to achieving climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives through their trade and investment policies, inter alia by:
(a) facilitating the removal of trade and investment barriers to access to, innovation, development, and deployment of goods, services and technologies that can contribute to mitigation or adaptation, taking into account the circumstances of developing countries;
(b) promoting measures for energy efficiency and renewable energy that respond to environmental and economic needs and minimise technical obstacles to trade.
Article 276. Migrant Workers
The Parties recognise the importance of promoting equality of treatment in respect of working conditions, with a view to eliminating any discrimination in respect thereof to any worker, including migrant workers legally employed in their territories.
Article 277. Upholding Levels of Protection
1. No Party shall encourage trade or investment by reducing the levels of protection afforded in its environmental and labour laws. Accordingly, no Party shall waive or otherwise derogate from its environmental and labour laws in a manner that reduces the protection afforded in those laws, to encourage trade or investment.
2. A Party shall not fail to effectively enforce its environmental and labour laws through a sustained or recurring course of action or inaction, in a manner affecting trade or investment between the Parties.
3. The Parties recognise the right of each Party to a reasonable exercise of discretion with regard to decisions on resource allocation relating to investigation, control and enforcement of domestic environmental and labour regulations and standards, while not undermining the fulfilment of the obligations undertaken under this Title.
4. Nothing in this Title shall be construed to empower the authorities of a Party to undertake labour and environmental law enforcement activities in the territory of another Party.
Article 278. Scientific Information
The Parties recognise the importance, when preparing and implementing measures aimed at protecting health and safety at work or the environment which affect trade between the Parties, of taking into account scientific and technical information and relevant international standards, guidelines or recommendations, while acknowledging that, where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, the lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing protective measures (92).
Article 279. Review of Sustainability Impacts
Each Party commits to review, monitor and assess the impact of the implementation of this Agreement on labour and environment, as it deems appropriate, through its respective domestic and participative processes.
Article 280. Institutional and Monitoring Mechanism
1. Each Party shall designate an office within its administration that shall serve as contact point to the other Parties for the purposes of implementing trade-related aspects of sustainable development and channelling all matters and communications that may arise in relation to this Title.
2. The Parties hereby establish a Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development. The Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall comprise high level representatives from the administrations of each Party, responsible for labour, environmental and trade matters.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, the Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall meet in sessions in which only the EU Party and one of the signatory Andean Countries participate when the subject relates exclusively to the bilateral relationship between the EU Party and such signatory Andean Country, including those matters addressed within the framework of Governmental Consultations provided for under Article 283 and the Group of Experts established under Article 284.
4. The Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall meet within the first year after the date this Agreement enters into force, and thereafter as necessary, to oversee the implementation of this Title, including cooperation activities referred to in Article 286, and to discuss matters of common interest related to this Title. This Sub-committee shall establish its own rules of procedure and adopt decisions by consensus.
5. The work of the Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall be based on dialogue, effective cooperation, furthering of commitments and initiatives under this Title and seeking mutually satisfactory solutions to any difficulties that may arise.
6. The following are functions of the Sub-committee of Trade and Sustainable Development:
(a) to carry out the follow-up of this Title and identify actions for the achievement of the objectives of sustainable development;
(b) to submit to the Trade Committee, when it deems it appropriate, recommendations for the proper implementation and make the best use of this Title;
(c) to identify areas of cooperation and verify the effective implementation of cooperation, without prejudice to Article 326;
(d) to assess, when it deems it appropriate, the impact of the implementation of this Agreement on labour and environment; and
(e) to resolve any other matter within the scope of application of this Title, without prejudice to the mechanisms set out in Articles 283, 284 and 285.
7. The Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall promote transparency and public participation in its work. Accordingly, decisions of this Sub-committee, as well as any report on matters related to the implementation of this Title that it may prepare, shall be made public, unless the Sub-committee decides otherwise. Furthermore, the Sub-committee shall be open to receive and consider inputs, comments or views from the public on matters related to this Title.
Article 281. Domestic Mechanisms
Each Party shall consult domestic labour and environment or sustainable development committees or groups, or create such committees or groups when they do not exist. Such committees or groups may submit opinions and make recommendations on the implementation of this Title, including on their own initiative, through the respective internal channels of the Parties. The procedures for the constitution and consultation of such committees or groups, which shall have a balanced representation of representative organisations in the areas mentioned above, shall be in accordance with domestic law.
Article 282. Dialogue with Civil Society
1. Subject to Article 280 paragraph 3, the Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall convene once a year, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, a session with civil society organisations and the public at large, in order to carry out a dialogue on matters related to the implementation of this Title. The Parties shall agree on the procedure for such sessions with civil society no later than one year following the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. In order to promote a balanced representation of relevant interests, the Parties shall allow all stakeholders in the areas set out in Article 281 the opportunity to participate in the sessions. The summaries of these sessions shall be publicly available.
Article 283. Governmental Consultations (93)
1. A Party may request consultations to another Party regarding any matter of mutual interest arising under this Title, by delivering a written request to the contact point of that Party. The requested Party shall reply expeditiously.
2. The consulting Parties shall make every attempt to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution of the matter through dialogue and consultations. Where relevant, subject to the agreement of both consulting Parties, they shall seek information or views of any person, organisation or body that may contribute to the examination of the matter at issue, including the international organisations or bodies of the agreements referred to in Articles 269 and 270.
3. If a consulting Party deems that the matter needs further discussion, that Party may request that the Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development be convened to consider the matter by delivering a written request to the contact point of the other consulting Party. The Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall convene promptly and endeavour to agree on a resolution of the matter. Unless the Sub-committee decides otherwise, its conclusions shall be made public.
4. The Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall periodically publish reports describing the outcome of completed consultation procedures, and when it deems it appropriate, reports about ongoing consultations.
Article 284. Group of Experts
1. Unless the consulting Parties agree otherwise, a consulting Party may, after 90 days of the delivery of a request for consultations, request that a Group of Experts be convened to examine the matter that has not been satisfactorily addressed through governmental consultations under Article 283.
2. The Group of Experts selected according to the procedures set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall determine whether a Party has fulfilled its obligations under this Title.
3. At the entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall submit to the Trade Committee a list of at least 15 persons with expertise on the issues covered by this Title, of which at least five shall not be nationals of any Party and who shall be available to serve as chairperson of the Group of Experts. Such list shall be endorsed at the first meeting of the Trade Committee. The experts shall be independent of, and not take instructions from, any of the Parties.
4. Each Party to a procedure (94) shall select one expert from the list of experts within 30 days of the receipt of the request for the establishment of a Group of Experts. The Parties to the procedure may agree to appoint experts not included in the list to serve in the Group of Experts when they deem it necessary. If a Party to the procedure fails to select its expert within such period, the other Party to the procedure shall select from the list of experts a national of the Party that has failed to select an expert. The two selected experts shall agree on the chairperson, who shall not be a national of either Party to the procedure. In case of disagreement, the chairperson shall be selected by lot. The Group of Experts shall be established within 40 days following the date of receipt of the request for its establishment.
5. The Parties to the procedure may present submissions to the Group of Experts. The Group of Experts may request and receive written submissions or any other information from organisations, institutions, and persons with relevant information or specialised knowledge, including written submissions or information from the relevant international organisations and bodies, on matters concerning the international conventions and agreements referred to in Articles 269 and 270.
6. At the entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall submit to the Trade Committee, for adoption at its first meeting, rules of procedure, for the Group of Experts.
Article 285. Report of the Group of Experts (95)
1. The Group of Experts shall, within 60 days after the last expert is selected, present to the Parties to the procedure an initial report that contains its preliminary conclusions on the matter. The Parties to the procedure may submit written comments to the Group of Experts on the initial report within 15 days following its presentation. After examining the written comments, the Group of Experts may reconsider the initial report. The final report of the Group of Experts shall address any argument presented by the Parties to the procedure in their written comments.
2. The Group of Experts shall present to the Parties to the procedure, its final report, including its recommendations, within 45 days from the date in which the initial report is presented pursuant to paragraph 1. The Parties to the procedure shall release a non-confidential version of the final report to the public within 15 days of its issuance.
3. The Parties to the procedure may agree to extend the time limits in paragraphs 1 and 2.
4. The Party to the procedure concerned shall inform the Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development of its intentions as regards the recommendations of the Group of Experts, including the presentation of an action plan to implement the recommendations. The Sub-committee on Trade and Sustainable Development shall monitor the implementation of the measures that such Party has determined.
5. This Title is not subject to Title XII (Dispute Settlement).
Article 286. Cooperation on Trade and Sustainable Development
Taking into account the cooperative approach of this Title as well as the provisions of Title XIII (Technical Assistance and Trade-Capacity Building), the Parties recognise the importance of cooperation activities that contribute to the implementation and better use of this Title and, in particular, to the improvement of policies and practices related to labour and environmental protection as set out in its provisions. Such cooperation activities should cover activities in areas of mutual interest, such as:
(a) activities related to the evaluation of impacts of this Agreement on environment and labour, including activities aimed at improving the methodologies and indicators for such evaluation;
(b) activities related to the investigation, monitoring and effective implementation of fundamental ILO Conventions and multilateral environmental agreements, including trade-related aspects;
(c) studies related to levels and standards of labour and environment protection and mechanisms to monitor such levels;
(d) activities related to the adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change, including activities related to the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation ("REDD");
(e) activities related to aspects of the international climate change regime with relevance for trade, including trade and investment activities to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the UNFCCC;
(f) activities related to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, as addressed in this Title;
(g) activities related to the determination of the legal origin of forest products, voluntary forestry certification schemes and traceability of different forestry products;
(h) activities to encourage best practices for sustainable forest management;
(i) activities related to trade in fishery products, as addressed in this Title;
(j) exchange of information and experiences related to the promotion and implementation of good practices of corporate social responsibility; and
(k) activities related to trade-related aspects of the ILO Decent Work Agenda, including on the interlinkages between trade and productive employment, core labour standards, social protection and social dialogue.
Title X. Transparency and Administrative Proceedings
Article 287. Cooperation to Promote Transparency
The Parties shall cooperate in relevant bilateral and multilateral fora with a view to increasing transparency in trade-related matters.
Article 288. Publication
1. Each Party shall ensure that its measures of general application, including laws, regulations, judicial decisions, procedures and administrative rulings, relating to any matter covered by this Agreement are promptly published or otherwise made readily available to interested persons in such a manner as to allow them to become acquainted with them.
2. Each Party, to the extent possible, shall provide opportunities for interested persons to comment on any proposed law, regulation, procedure or administrative ruling of general application relating to any matter covered by this Agreement and shall examine such comments, provided they are relevant.
3. The information referred to under paragraph 1 of this Article shall be considered to have been provided by a Party when the information has been made available by appropriate notification to the WTO or when the information has been made available on an official, public and freely accessible website of that Party.
Article 289. Confidential Information
Nothing in this Agreement shall require any Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.
Article 290. Exchange of Information
1. Upon request of another Party, and to the extent legally possible, a Party, through its Agreement Coordinator, shall provide information and reply promptly to any question relating to any matter that might substantially affect this Agreement.
2. Whenever, according to this Agreement, a Party provides information to another Party that it has designated as confidential, such Party shall treat that information as confidential.
3. Upon request of a Party, the Agreement Coordinator of another Party shall indicate the office or official responsible for any matter pertaining to the implementation of this Agreement and provide the required support to facilitate communication with the requesting Party.
Article 291. Administrative Proceedings
Each Party shall administer in a consistent, impartial and reasonable manner all measures of general application referred to in Article 288, paragraph 1. To this end, in applying those measures to particular persons, goods, services or establishments of another Party in specific cases, each Party shall:
(a) provide, whenever possible and in accordance with its domestic law, the persons directly affected by a proceeding, with reasonable notice when a proceeding is initiated, including a description of the nature of the proceeding, a statement of the legal authority under which the proceeding is initiated, and a general description of any issues in controversy;
(b) ensure, such persons are afforded a reasonable opportunity to present facts and arguments in support of their positions prior to any final administrative action, when time, the nature of the proceeding, and the public interest permit; and (c) ensure that its procedures are based on, and in accordance with, its domestic law.
Article 292. Review and Appeal
1. Each Party shall establish or maintain judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative tribunals or procedures for the purpose of the prompt review and, where warranted, correction of final administrative action related to trade-related matters covered by this Agreement. Such tribunals or procedures shall be independent of the office or authority entrusted with administrative enforcement and those responsible for them shall be impartial and shall not have any substantial interest in the outcome of the matter.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, in any such tribunals or procedures, the parties to the proceeding are provided with the right to:
(a) a reasonable opportunity to support or defend their respective positions; and
(b) a decision based on the evidence and submissions of record or, where required by its domestic law, on the record compiled by the administrative authority.
3. Subject to appeal or further review as provided for in its domestic law, each Party shall ensure that any such decision shall be implemented by, and shall govern the practice of, the office or authority competent with respect to the administrative action at issue.
Article 293. Transparency on Subsidies
1. For the purposes of this Agreement, a subsidy related to trade in goods is a measure which falls under the definition set out in Article 1.1 of the Subsidies Agreement and is specific within the meaning of Article 2 of the latter.
2. Each Party shall ensure transparency in the area of subsidies related to trade in goods. Starting two years after the entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall submit a report every two years to the other Parties regarding the legal basis, form, amount or budget and where possible, the recipient of subsidies granted by its government or any public body. Such report is deemed to have been provided if the relevant information is made available by the Party concerned or on its behalf on a publicly accessible website. When exchanging information, the Parties shall take into account the requirements of professional and business secrecy.
3. The Trade Committee shall periodically review the progress made by each Party in implementing this Article.
4. The provisions of this Article are without prejudice to the rights of the Parties to apply trade remedies or to resort to dispute settlement or other appropriate action against a subsidy granted by another Party, in accordance with the relevant WTO provisions.
5. The Parties agree to exchange information upon request of any Party on matters regarding subsidies related to trade in services and to hold the first exchange of views on these issues one year after the entry into force of this Agreement.
6. This Article shall not be subject to Title XII (Dispute Settlement).
Article 294. Specific Rules
The provisions of this Title shall apply without prejudice to any specific rules established in other Titles of this Agreement.
Title XI. General Exceptions
Article 295. Security Exception
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:
(a) to require any Party to furnish or give access to any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests; or
(b) to prevent any Party from taking any measure which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests:
(i) relating to government procurement indispensable for national security or for national defence purposes;
(ii) relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;
(iii) connected with the production of, government procurement of or trade in arms, munitions and war material and related to traffic in other goods and materials and to the supply of services or establishment as are carried out directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment;
(iv) taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations; or
(c) to prevent any Party from taking any measures necessary in pursuance of the obligations it has accepted for the purpose of maintaining or restoring international peace and security.
2. The Trade Committee shall be informed to the extent possible of any measure taken by a Party under subparagraphs 1(b) and 1(c) and its termination.
Article 296. Taxation
1. This Agreement shall only apply to taxation measures to the extent such application is necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Agreement.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of any Party under any tax convention (96) between a Member State of the European Union and a signatory Andean Country. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any such convention, that convention shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency. In the case of tax conventions between a Member State of the European Union and a signatory Andean Country, the competent authorities under that convention shall have sole responsibility for determining whether any inconsistency exists between this Agreement and that convention.
3. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Party from adopting or enforcing any measure which:
(a) aims at ensuring the effective and equitable imposition and collection of direct taxes;
(b) distinguishes in the application of the relevant provisions of domestic fiscal legislation, including those aimed at ensuring the imposition and collection of duties, between tax payers who are not in the same situation, in particular with regard to their place of residence or with regard to the place where their capital is invested;
(c) aims at preventing the avoidance or evasion of taxes pursuant to tax provisions of conventions to avoid double taxation or other tax agreements, or domestic fiscal legislation; or
(d) is incompatible with any MFN obligation established under this Agreement, provided that the difference in treatment results from a tax convention.
4. Tax terms or concepts not defined in this Agreement are determined according to tax definitions and concepts, or equivalent or similar definitions and concepts, under the domestic law of the Party taking the measure.
Article 297. Balance of Payments
1. If a Party experiences serious external financial or balance-of-payments difficulties or threat thereof, that Party may adopt or maintain restrictive measures with regard to trade in goods, trade in services and establishment, including on payments or transfers related to such transactions.
2. Any restrictive measure adopted or maintained pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be non-discriminatory and of limited duration, shall not go beyond what is necessary to remedy the balance- of- payments situation, and shall be in accordance with the conditions established in the WTO Agreement and consistent with the Articles of the Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, as applicable (97).
3. The Parties shall endeavour to avoid the imposition of restrictive measures referred to in paragraph 1. In the event of the introduction or modification by a Party of such measures, such Party, shall promptly notify them to the other Parties and present, as soon as possible, a time schedule for their removal.
4. Consultations shall be held promptly within the Trade Committee. Such consultations shall assess the balance- of- payments situation of the Party adopting or maintaining restrictive measures under this Article, as well as the measures themselves, taking into account, inter alia, factors such as:
(a) the nature and extent of the balance of payments and the external financial difficulties;
(b) the external economic and trading environment; and (c) alternative corrective measures which may be available. Consultations shall address the compliance of any restrictive measure with paragraphs 2 and 3. All statistical findings and other facts presented by the International Monetary Fund relating to foreign exchange, monetary reserves and balance of payments shall be accepted, and conclusions shall be based on the assessment by the International Monetary Fund of the balance-of-payments and the external financial situation of the Party introducing the measures.
Title XII. Dispute Settlement
Chapter 1. Objectives, Scope of Application and Definitions
Article 298. Objective
The objective of this Title is to prevent and settle any dispute between the Parties concerning the interpretation and application of this Agreement and to reach, whenever possible, a mutually satisfactory resolution on any issue that could affect its operation. In case a mutually agreed solution were not possible, the first objective of this Title will be in general to secure the withdrawal of the measures concerned if these are found to be inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 299. Scope of Application
1. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, the provisions of this Title shall apply with respect to any dispute concerning the interpretation and application of this Agreement, in particular when one of the Parties considers that a measure taken by another Party is or could be inconsistent with its obligations under this Agreement.
2. This Title shall not apply to disputes between signatory Andean Countries.