Title
COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (CECPA) BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS AND THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA
Preamble
PREAMBLE
The Republic of Mauritius (hereinafter referred to as "Mauritius") and the Republic of India (hereinafter referred to as "India"), and hereinafter referred to jointly as "Parties" and individually as "Party",
RECOGNISING the friendly ties that exist between the Government and Peoples of the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of India;
FURTHER RECOGNISING their long-standing relationship in the economic and commercial fields and their close cultural links;
SEEKING to achieve the objectives of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement in a manner consistent with the protection of health, safety and the environment;
REAFFIRMING their willingness to reinforce and enhance their special relationship through the implementation of a comprehensive and integrated partnership based on development cooperation and economic and trade relations;
DETERMINED to minimise and, where ever possible, eliminate barriers to trade and deepen economic linkages between them;
AWARE that regional trade arrangements can contribute towards accelerating regional and global liberalisation and as building blocks in the framework of the multilateral trading system;
CONSCIOUS of their rights, obligations and undertakings under multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements and arrangements;
DESIRING to promote mutually beneficial economic relations, taking into account the asymmetry in their economies;
RECOGNISING that each Party has, in accordance with the general principles of international law, the right to pursue economic philosophies suited to their development goals and the right to regulate activities to realise their national policy objectives;
ASSERTING their resolve to make through their cooperation, a_ significant contribution to their economic and social development and to the greater well-being of their population, helping them to face the challenges of globalisation; and
DESIRING to consolidate and further enhance their partnership,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Body
Chapter 1. PRELIMINARY
Article 1.1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
The Parties hereby establish between themselves a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement ("CECPA").
Article 1.2. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the CEPCA are to:
(a) strengthen and enhance the trade and economic cooperation between the Parties;
(b) liberalise and promote trade in goods in accordance with Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs;
(c) liberalise and promote trade in services in accordance with Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, including promotion of mutual recognition of professions;
(d) improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the Partiesâ manufacturing and services sectors and expand trade and investment between them, including joint exploitation of commercial and economic opportunities in non-Parties;
(e) explore new areas of economic cooperation and develop appropriate measures for closer economic cooperation between the Parties;
(f) revitalise, enhance and reinforce the economic and social cooperation between the parties;
(g) build upon the Parties' commitments at the World Trade Organization.
Article 1.3. SCOPE
1. (a) The CECPA shall cover -
(i) Trade In Goods;
(ii) Trade In Services;
(iii) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures; and
(iv) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Trade Remedies
(b) Nothing in this Agreement shall apply to any direct taxation measure. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of either Party under any tax convention. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any such convention, the convention shall prevail over this agreement.
(c) The Chapter on General Economic Cooperation, which is currently under negotiation, shall also be completed within two years of signing the CECPA, in consultation with the line Ministries/Departments.
(d) The Parties may mutually agree to extend this Agreement with the aim of broadening and supplementing its scope in accordance with their respective legislation, by concluding agreements on specific sectors or activities in the light of the experience gained during its implementation.
(e) The Parties recognize the importance of the movement of skilled labour and ied professionals between their territories to attain the objectives of the CECPA. To this end, the Parties shall agree on the modalities to facilitate this movement. The modalities shall, subject to the national laws of the Parties, include, but not be limited to, identifying the following:
(a) scarcity areas where skilled labour and qualified professionals are required;
(b) the type and quantity of skilled labour and qualified professionals required;
(c) the entry and stay requirements for the skilled labour and qualified professionals required; and
(d) such other matters as the Parties may deem necessary for attaining the objectives of the CECPA.
3. In developing and giving effect to the modalities under paragraph 3, the Parties shall ensure that -
(a) based on market needs, scarcity areas are reviewed regularly;
(b) skilled labour and qualified professionals identified possess the requisite knowledge, ability and training to meet the labour demand in scarcity areas; and
(c) entry into the territory of the Parties is allowed immediately and fairly upon labour or professional shortages arising in scarcity areas.
Article 1.4. DEFINITIONS
In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:
“CECPA” means Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement;
“direct taxes” comprise all taxes on total income, on total capital or on elements of income or of capital, including taxes on gains from the alienation of property, taxes on estates, inheritances and gifts, and taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises, as well as taxes on capital appreciation;
“High-Powered Joint Trade Committee” means the High-Powered Joint Trade Committee established under Article 8.4;
“manufacture” means working or processing;
“material” means any ingredient, raw material, component, part, or goods that are used in the production of another good and physically incorporated into another good;
“preferential treatment” means any concession or privilege granted under this Agreement by one Party to the other Party through the reduction and/or elimination of tariffs on the movement of goods;
“products" or "goods” means products originating in the territory of Parties as per Chapter 3 of the Agreement including manufactures and commodities in their raw, semi-processed or processed forms;
“tariffs” means any customs duty, import duty or a charge of any kind imposed in connection with the importation of a good, but does not include any:
(a) internal tax or other internal charge imposed consistent with Article III:2 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, in respect of like, directly competitive, or substitutable goods of a Party, or in respect of goods from which the imported good has been manufactured or produced in whole or in part;
(b) anti-dumping or countervailing duty in accordance with Articles VI and XVI of GATT 1994, the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures; and
(c) other duty or charge imposed consistent with Article VIII of GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article II:1 (b) of the GATT 1994;
“territory” means
(a) in the case of the Republic of Mauritius -
(i) all the territories and islands which, in accordance with the laws of Mauritius, constitute the State of Mauritius;
(ii) the territorial sea of Mauritius; and
(iii) any area outside the territorial sea of Mauritius which in accordance with international law has been or may hereafter be designated, under the laws of Mauritius, as an area, including the Continental Shelf, within which the rights of Mauritius with respect to the sea, the seabed and sub-soil and their natural resources may be exercised;
(b) in the case of India, the territory of the Republic of India including its territorial waters and the airspace above it and other maritime zones including the Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf over which the Republic of India has sovereignty, sovereign rights or exclusive jurisdiction in accordance with its laws in force, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and International Law.
Chapter 2. TRADE IN GOODS
Article 2.1. SCOPE
1. This Chapter applies to trade between the Parties relating to products classified in Annex 1 and Annex 2, respectively, at the time of the signature of the CECPA.
2. The Parties recognise that, at the time of the signature of the CECPA, negotiations on additional market access are still ongoing in respect of products set out at Annex 1A (for Mauritius) and Annex 2A (for India).
3. After the Parties have completed the negotiations referred at paragraph 2, the outcome of these negotiations shall be incorporated in Annexes 1 and 2, and any such incorporation shall form an integral part of the CECPA after the Parties have completed their necessary internal procedures for the coming into force of the modified Annexes 1 and 2.
4. The negotiations referred at paragraph 2 shall be completed within 2 years of signing of CECPA.
Article 2.2. CLASSIFICATION OF GOODS
The classification of goods in trade between the Parties shall be that set out in each Party's respective tariff nomenclature in conformity with the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (âHSâ) and amendments thereof.
Article 2.3. TARIFF LIBERALISATION
Except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement, each Party shall eliminate or reduce its customs duties on originating goods of the other Party designated for such purposes in its Schedule in Annexes 1 and 2, in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in such Schedule.
Article 2.4. MARGIN OF PREFERENCE ON MFN DUTY
Where a Party reduces MFN duty on a product on which a margin of preference has been provided to the other Party, it shall adjust the margin of preference and review the tariff schedule accordingly.
Article 2.5. NON-TARIFF MEASURES
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement or the covered Agreements of the WTO, the Parties shall not apply non-tariff barriers to the products included in the Annexes 1 and 2 to this Agreement.
2. Non-tariff barriers shall refer to any administrative, financial, exchange- related or other measure whereby a Party prevents or hinders mutual trade by a unilateral decision.
Article 2.6. GENERAL AND SECURITY EXCEPTIONS
Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent a Party from taking action and adopting measures, which it considers necessary for the protection of its national security, the protection of public morals, the protection of human, animal or plant life and health, those relating to importation or exportation of gold and silver, the conservation of exhaustible natural resources and the protection of national treasures of artistic, historic and archaeological value in conformity with Articles XX and XXI of GATT 1994 which are incorporated into and/or as provided in this Agreement mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.7. NATIONAL TREATMENT
The Parties agree to accord to each other's products imported into their territory, treatment no less favourable than that accorded to like domestic products in respect of internal taxation and in respect of all other domestic laws and regulations affecting their sale, purchase, transportation, distribution or use.
Article 2.8. STATE TRADING ENTERPRISES
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent a Party from maintaining or establishing a state trading enterprise as provided in Article XVII of GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XVII of GATT 1994.
2. Each Party shall ensure that its state trading enterprise acts in a manner consistent with its obligations under this Agreement and accords non-discriminatory treatment in the import from and export to the other Party.
Article 2.9. IMPORT AND EXPORT RESTRICTIONS
Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement and in accordance with provisions of Article Xl of GATT 1994, which is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis; neither Party may adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of the other Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party.
Article 2.10. RULES OF ORIGIN
The products included in Annexes 1 and 2 to this Agreement shall meet the Rules of Origin as set out in Chapter 3 to this Agreement in order to qualify for tariff preferences.
Article 2.11. CUSTOMS VALUATION
On matters relating to customs valuation, the Parties shall be governed by Article VIl of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of GATT 1994.
Article 2.12. SAFEGUARD MEASURES
1. The Parties shall retain their rights and obligations to apply safeguard measures consistent with Article XIX of GATT 1994, the WTO Agreement on Safeguards and Article V of the Agreement on Agriculture.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the application of preferential bilateral safeguard measures shall be in accordance with Annex 3 to this Agreement.
Article 2.13. ANTI-DUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
In applying anti-dumping and countervailing measures, the Parties shall be governed by their respective legislation, which shall be consistent with Articles VI and XVI of GATT 1994, the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
Article 2.14. BALANCE-OF-PAYMENTS DIFFICULTIES
1. The Parties shall endeavour to avoid the imposition of restrictions to safeguard the balance-of-payments.
2. The rights and obligations of the Parties with regard to restrictions to safeguard the balance-of-payments shall be governed by Article XII of the GATT 1994.
Article 2.15. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
1. The Parties shall act in accordance with their rights and obligations set out in the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
2. The Parties shall co-operate in the area of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures with the objective of facilitating trade in accordance with the Chapter on Technical Barriers to Trade.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to conclude mutual equivalence agreements.
Article 2.16. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
1. The Parties shall act in accordance with their rights and obligations set out in the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
2. The Parties agree to co-operate in the areas of animal health and plant protection, food safety and mutual recognition of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, through their respective competent authorities, including, inter-alia, by entering into equivalence agreements and/or mutual recognition agreements taking into account relevant international criteria in accordance with Chapter 4 of this Agreement.
Article 2.17. CUSTOMS COOPERATION AND TRADE FACILITATION
To facilitate trade between Mauritius and India, the Parties shall:
(a) simplify, to the greatest extent possible, procedures for trade in goods;
(b) promote multilateral cooperation of the Parties in order to enhance their participation in the development and implementation of international conventions and recommendations on trade facilitation; and
(c) cooperate on trade facilitation within the framework of the High-Powered Joint Trade Committee, including on the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Article 2.18. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The Parties agree to cooperate with each other with a view to ensuring adequate protection of intellectual property rights.
Article 2.19. SUB-COMMITTEE ON TRADE IN GOODS
1. A Sub-Committee of the High-Powered Joint Trade Committee (hereinafter referred to as "Sub-Committee") is hereby established, consisting of representatives of the Parties.
2. The functions of the Sub-Committee shall include:
(a) the monitoring and review of measures taken and implementation of commitments;
(b) the exchange of information and review of developments;
(c) the preparation of technical amendments, including HS updating, and assisting the High-Powered Joint Trade Committee;
(d) any other matter referred to it by the High-Powered Joint Trade Committee; and
(e) the preparation of recommendations and report to the High-Powered Joint Trade Committee as necessary.
The Sub-Committee shall establish such subsidiary bodies as may be necessary under this Agreement, inter alia on Customs Procedures, Trade Facilitation and Technical Barriers to Trade, and Sanitary. All the subsidiary bodies shall report to the Sub-Committee.
3. Each Party has the right to be represented in the Sub-Committee. The Sub- Committee shall act by consensus.
4. The Sub-Committee shall meet at least every two years or more frequently if so agreed by the Parties. The meetings of the Sub-Committee shall be chaired jointly by Mauritius and India.
5. The Parties shall examine any difficulties that might arise in their trade and shall endeavour to seek appropriate solutions through dialogue and consultations.
Chapter 3. RULES OF ORIGIN
Article 3.1. DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this Chapter:
(a) “competent authority” means:
(i) for India, the Department of Commerce or the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) or any other agency notified from time to time;
(ii) for Mauritius, the Mauritius Revenue Authority, Customs Department;
(b) “customs value” means the value as determined in accordance with Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, (also known as GATT) including its notes and supplementary provision thereof; and the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of GATT (also known as WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation);
(c) “carrier” means any vehicle for air, sea, and land transport;
(d) “Change in Tariff Classification” or “CTC” refers to the change in the relevant tariff classification of the non-originating materials used in the manufacture
of the export product. CTC would cover the following cases:
(i) Change in Chapter or CC which implies the change in chapter at the two-digit level of the Harmonized System for all non-originating materials used in the manufacture of the export product;
(ii) Change in Tariff Heading or CTH which implies the change in tariff heading at the four-digit level of the Harmonized System for all non-originating materials used in the manufacture of the export product;
(iii) Change in Tariff Sub-Heading or CTSH which implies the change in tariff sub-heading at the six-digit level of the Harmonized System for all non-originating materials used in the manufacture of the export product;
(e) “CIF value” means the price actually paid or payable to the exporter for a good when the good is loaded out of the carrier, at the port of importation, including the cost of the good, insurance, and freight necessary to deliver the good to the named port of destination. The valuation shall be made in accordance with the Customs Valuation Agreement;
(f) “FOB value” or free-on-board value means the price actually paid or payable to the exporter for a product when loaded onto the carrier at the named port of exportation, including the cost of the product and all costs necessary to bring the product onto the carrier;
(g) “Harmonized System” or “HS” means the Harmonized System or HS set out in the Annex to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including any amendments adopted and implemented by the parties in their respective laws;
(h) “manufacture” means working or processing;
(i) “material” means any ingredient, raw material, component or part and goods that are used in the production of another good and physically incorporated into another good;
(j) “non-originating materials used in production” means any materials whose country of origin is a country other than the Parties (imported non-originating) and any materials whose origin cannot be determined (undetermined origin);
(k) “originating materials” means materials that qualify as originating under this Chapter;
(l) “product” means the product being manufactured, even if it is intended for later use in another manufacturing operation;