Article 17. Treatment of Workers
1. Subject to the laws, conditions and procedures applicable in the Member States and the EU, treatment accorded to workers who are Ukrainian nationals and who are legally employed in the territory of a Member State shall be free of any discrimination based on nationality as regards working conditions, remuneration or dismissal, compared to the nationals of that Member State.
2. Ukraine shall, subject to the laws, conditions and procedures in Ukraine, accord the treatment referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article to workers who are nationals of a Member State and who are legally employed in its territory.
Article 18. Mobility of Workers
1. Taking into account the labour market situation in the Member States, subject to the legislation and in compliance with the rules in force in the Member States and the EU in the area of mobility of workers:
(a) the existing facilities of access to employment for Ukrainian workers accorded by Member States under bilateral agreements should be preserved and, if possible, improved;
(b) other Member States shall examine the possibility of concluding similar agreements.
2. The Association Council shall examine the granting of other more favourable provisions in additional areas, including facilities for access to professional training, in accordance with laws, conditions and procedures in force in the Member States and in the EU, and taking into account the labour market situation in the Member States and in the EU.
Article 19. Movement of Persons
1. The Parties shall ensure the full implementation of:
(a) the Agreement between the European Community and Ukraine on the Readmission of Persons of 18 June 2007, (through the joint readmission committee set up by its Article 15);
(b) the Agreement between the European Community and Ukraine on the Facilitation of the Issuance of Visas of 18 June 2007, (through the joint committee for management of the agreement set up by its Article 12).
2. The Parties shall also endeavour to enhance the mobility of citizens and to make further progress on the visa dialogue.
3. The Parties shall take gradual steps towards a visa-free regime in due course, provided that the conditions for well-managed and secure mobility, set out in the two-phase Action Plan on Visa Liberalization presented at the EU-Ukraine Summit of 22 November 2010, are in place.
Article 20. Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing
The Parties shall work together in order to prevent and combat money laundering and terrorism financing. To this end the Parties shall enhance bilateral and international cooperation in this field, including at operational level. The Parties shall ensure implementation of relevant international standards, in particular those of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and standards equivalent to those adopted by the Union.
Article 21. Cooperation In the Fight Against Illicit Drugs, and on Precursors and Psychotropic Substances
1. The Parties shall cooperate on issues relating to illicit drugs, on the basis of commonly agreed principles along the lines of the relevant international conventions, and taking into account the Political Declaration and the Special Declaration on the guiding principles of drug demand reduction, approved by the Twentieth United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in June 1998.
2. This cooperation shall aim to combat illicit drugs, reduce the supply of, trafficking in, and demand for, illicit drugs, and cope with the health and social consequences of drug abuse. It shall also aim at a more effective prevention of diversion of chemical precursors used for the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
3. The Parties shall use the necessary methods of cooperation to attain these objectives, ensuring a balanced and integrated approach towards the issues at stake.
Article 22. Fight Against Crime and Corruption
1. The Parties shall cooperate in combating and preventing criminal and illegal activities, organised or otherwise.
2. This cooperation shall address, inter alia:
(a) smuggling of, and trafficking in, human beings as well as firearms and illicit drugs;
(b) trafficking in goods;
(c) economic crimes including in the field of taxation;
(d) corruption, both in the private and public sector;
(e) forgery of documents;
(f) cybercrime.
3. The Parties shall enhance bilateral, regional and international co-operation in this field, including cooperation that involves Europol. The Parties shall further develop their cooperation as regards, inter alia:
(a) the exchange of best practice, including on investigation techniques and crime research;
(b) the exchange of information in line with applicable rules;
(c) capacity-building, including training and, where appropriate, the exchange of staff;
(d) issues relating to the protection of witnesses and victims.
4. The Parties are committed to implementing effectively the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime of 2000 and its three Protocols, the UN Convention against Corruption of 2003 and other relevant international instruments.
Article 23. Cooperation In Fighting Terrorism
1. The Parties agree to cooperate in the prevention and suppression of acts of terrorism in accordance with international law, international human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law, and the respective laws and regulations of the Parties. In particular, the Parties agree to cooperate on the basis of the full implementation of Resolution No. 1373 of the UN Security Council of 2001, the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy of 2006 and other relevant UN instruments, and applicable international conventions and instruments.
2. They shall do so in particular by exchanging:
(a) information on terrorist groups and their support networks;
(b) experience and information on terrorism trends and on the means and methods of combating terrorism, including in technical areas, and training, and
(c) experience in respect of terrorism prevention.
All exchange of information shall take place in accordance with inter- national and national law.
Article 24. Legal Cooperation
1. The Parties agree to further develop judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters, making full use of the relevant international and bilateral instruments and based on the principles of legal certainty and the right to a fair trial.
2. The Parties agree to facilitate further EU-Ukraine judicial cooper- ation in civil matters on the basis of the applicable multilateral legal instruments, especially the Conventions of the Hague Conference on Private International Law in the field of international Legal Cooperation and Litigation as well as the Protection of Children.
3. As regards judicial cooperation in criminal matters, the Parties shall seek to enhance arrangements on mutual legal assistance and extradition. This would include, where appropriate, accession to, and implementation of, the relevant international instruments of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, as well as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court of 1998 as referred to in Article 8 of this Agreement, and closer cooperation with Eurojust.
Title IV. TRADE AND TRADE-RELATED MATTERS
Chapter 1. National Treatment and Market Access for Goods
Section 1. Common Provisions
Article 25. Objective
The Parties shall progressively establish a free trade area over a transitional period of a maximum of 10 years starting from the entry into force of this Agreement (1), in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and in conformity with Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (hereinafter referred to as "GATT 1994").
Article 26. Scope and Coverage
1. The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to trade in goods (2) originating in the territories of the Parties.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, "originating" means qualifying under the rules of origin set out in Protocol I to this Agreement (Concerning the Definition of the Concept "Originating Products" and Methods of Administrative Cooperation).
Section 2. Elimination of Customs Duties, Fees and other Charges
Article 27. Definition of Customs Duties
For the purposes of this Chapter, a "customs duty" includes any duty or charge of any kind imposed on, or in connection with, the import or export of a good, including any form of surtax or surcharge imposed on, or in connection with, such import or export. A "customs duty" does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with Article 32 of this Agreement;
(b) duties imposed consistently with Chapter 2 (Trade Remedies) of Title IV of this Agreement;
(c) fees or other charges imposed consistently with Article 33 of this Agreement.
Article 28. 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 System of the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System of 1983 (hereinafter referred to as the "HS") and subsequent amendments thereto.
Article 29. Elimination of Customs Duties on Imports
1. Each Party shall reduce or eliminate customs duties on originating goods of the other Party in accordance with the Schedules set out in Annex I-A to this Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Schedules").
Without prejudice to the first subparagraph, for worn clothing and other worn articles falling within the Ukrainian customs code 6309 00 00, Ukraine will eliminate customs duties on imports in accordance with the conditions set out in Annex I-B to this Agreement.
2. For each good, the base rate of customs duties to which the successive reductions are to be applied under paragraph 1 of this Article shall be that specified in Annex I to this Agreement.
3. If, at any moment following the date of entry into force of this Agreement, a Party reduces its applied most-favoured-nation (hereinafter referred to as "MFN") customs duty rate, such duty rate shall apply as base rate if and for as long as it is lower than the customs duty rate calculated in accordance with that Party's Schedule.
4. Five years after the entry into force of this Agreement, at the request of either Party, the Parties shall consult one another in order to consider accelerating and broadening the scope of the elimination of customs duties on trade between themselves. A decision of the Associ- ation Committee meeting in Trade configuration as set out in Article 465 of this Agreement (hereinafter referred to also as the "Trade Committee") on the acceleration or elimination of a customs duty on a good shall supersede any duty rate or staging category determined pursuant to their Schedules for that good.
Article 30. Standstill Neither Party May Increase Any Existing Customs Duty, or Adopt Any New
customs duty, on a good originating in the territory of the other Party. This shall not preclude that either Party may:
(a) raise a customs duty to the level established in its Schedule following a unilateral reduction; or
(b) maintain or increase a customs duty as authorised by the Dispute Settlement Body (hereinafter referred to as the "DSB") of the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the "WTO").
Article 31. Customs Duties on Exports
1. Parties shall not institute or maintain any customs duties, taxes or other measures having an equivalent effect imposed on, or in connection with, the exportation of goods to the territory of each other.
2. Existing customs duties or measures having equivalent effect applied by Ukraine, as listed in Annex I-C to this Agreement, shall be phased out over a transitional period in accordance with the Schedule included in Annex I-C to this Agreement. In the case of an update to the Ukrainian customs code, commitments made under the Schedule in Annex I-C to this Agreement shall remain in force based on correspondence of description of the goods. Ukraine may introduce safeguard measures for export duties as set out in Annex J-D to this Agreement. Such safeguard measures shall expire at the end of the period specified for that good in Annex I-D to this Agreement.
Article 32. Export Subsidies and Measures of Equivalent Effect
1. Upon entry into force of this Agreement, no Party shall maintain, introduce or reintroduce export subsidies or other measures with equivalent effect on agricultural goods destined for the territory of the other Party.
2. For the purposes of this Article, "export subsidies" shall have the meaning assigned to that term in Article 1(e) of the Agreement on Agriculture, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement on Agriculture"), including any amendment of that Article of that Agreement on Agriculture.
Article 33. Fees and other Charges
Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article VII of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, that all fees and charges of whatever nature other than customs duties or other measures referred to in Article 27 of this Agreement, imposed on, or in connection with, the import or export of goods are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and do not represent an indirect protection of domestic goods or taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
Section 3. Non-Tariff Measures
Article 34. National Treatment
Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article II of GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes. To this end, Article II of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and made an integral part of this Agreement.
Article 35. Import and Export Restrictions
No Party shall adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction or any measure having an equivalent effect on the import of any good of the other Party or on the export or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement or in accordance with Article XI of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes. To this end, Article XI of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into, and made an integral part of, this Agreement.
Section 4. Specific Provisions Related to Goods
Article 36. General Exceptions
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed in such a way as to prevent the adoption or enforcement by any Party of measures in accordance with Articles XX and XXI of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, which are hereby incorporated into and made an integral part of this Agreement.
Section 5. Administrative Cooperation and Coordination with other Countries
Article 37. Special Provisions on Administrative Cooperation
1. The Parties agree that administrative cooperation is essential for the implementation and control of the preferential treatment granted under this Chapter and underline their commitment to combating irregularities and fraud in customs matters related to the import, export, and transit of goods and their placement under any other customs regime or procedure, including measures of prohibition, restriction and control.
2. Where a Party, on the basis of objective documented information, experiences a failure by the other Party to provide administrative co-operation and/or verify the existence of irregularities or fraud under this Chapter, the Party concerned may temporarily suspend the relevant preferential treatment of the product(s) concerned in accordance with this Article.
3. For the purposes of this Article, failure to provide administrative cooperation in investigating customs irregularities or fraud shall mean, inter alia:
(a) a repeated failure to respect the obligations to verify the originating status of the product(s) concerned;
(b) a repeated refusal or undue delay in carrying out and/or communicating the results of subsequent verification of the proof of origin;
(c) a repeated refusal or undue delay in obtaining authorisation to conduct administrative cooperation missions to verify the authenticity of documents or accuracy of information relevant to the granting of the preferential treatment in question.
For the purposes of this Article, a finding of irregularities or fraud may be made, inter alia, where there is a rapid increase, without satisfactory explanation, in imports of goods exceeding the usual level of production and export capacity of the other Party that is linked to objective information concerning irregularities or fraud.
4. The application of a temporary suspension shall be subject to the following conditions:
(a) The Party which has, on the basis of objective information, made a finding of failure to provide administrative cooperation and/or of irregularities or fraud stemming from the other Party shall, without undue delay, notify the Trade Committee of its finding together with the objective information and enter into consultations within the Trade Committee, on the basis of all relevant information and objective findings, with a view to reaching a solution which is acceptable to both Parties. During the period of consultations referred to above, the product(s) concerned shall enjoy the preferential treatment.
(b) Where the Parties have entered into consultations within the Trade Committee as referred to in point (a) and have failed to agree on an acceptable solution within three months of the first meeting of the Trade Committee, the Party concerned may temporarily suspend the relevant preferential treatment of the product(s) concerned. Such temporary suspension shall be notified to the Trade Committee without undue delay.
(c) Temporary suspensions under this Article shall be limited to what is necessary to protect the financial interests of the Party concerned. Each temporary suspension shall not exceed six months. However, a temporary suspension may be renewed. Temporary suspensions shall be notified immediately after their adoption to the Trade Committee. They shall be subject to periodic consultations within the Trade Committee, in particular with a view to their termination as soon as the conditions for their application cease to exist.
5. At the same time as the notification to the Trade Committee under paragraph 4(a) of this Article, the Party concerned should publish a notice to importers in its sources of official information. The notice to importers should indicate for the product concerned that there is a finding, on the basis of objective information, of a failure to provide administrative cooperation and/or of irregularities or fraud.
Article 38. Management of Administrative Errors
In the event of error by the competent authorities in the proper management of the preferential system at export, and in particular in the application of the provisions of the Protocol to this Agreement concerning the definition of originating products and methods of administrative cooperation, where this error leads to consequences in terms of import duties, the Party facing such consequences may request that the Trade Committee examine the possibility of adopting any appropriate measure with a view to resolving the situation.
Article 39. Agreements with other Countries
1. This Agreement shall not preclude the maintenance or establishment of customs unions, free trade areas or arrangements for frontier traffic except insofar as they conflict with trade arrangements provided for in this Agreement.
2. Consultations between the Parties shall take place within the Trade Committee concerning agreements establishing customs unions, free trade areas or arrangements for frontier traffic and, where requested, on other major issues relating to their respective trade policies with third countries. In particular, in the event of a third country acceding to the European Union, such consultations shall take place in order to ensure that account will be taken of the mutual interests of the EU Party and Ukraine as stated in this Agreement.
Chapter 2. Trade Remedies
Section 1. Global Safeguard Measures
Article 40. General Provisions
1. The Parties confirm their rights and obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement on Safeguards"). The EU Party retains its rights and obligations under Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement on Agriculture"), except for agricultural trade subject to preferential treatment under this Agreement.
2. The preferential rules of origin established under Chapter 1 (National Treatment and Market Access for Goods) of Title IV of this Agreement shall not apply to this Section.
Article 41. Transparency
1. The Party initiating a safeguard investigation shall notify the other Party of such initiation by sending an official notification to the other Party, if the latter has a substantial economic interest.
2. For the purposes of this Article, a Party shall be considered as having a substantial economic interest when it is among the five largest suppliers of the imported product during the most recent three-year period of time, measured in terms of either absolute volume or value.
3. Notwithstanding Article 40 of this Agreement and without prejudice to Article 3.2 of the Agreement on Safeguards, at the request of the other Party, the Party initiating a safeguard investigation and intending to apply safeguard measures shall provide immediately ad hoe written notification of all the pertinent information leading to the initiation of a safeguard investigation and imposition of safeguard measures, including where relevant, on the provisional findings and on the final findings of the investigation as well as offer the possibility for consultations to the other Party.
Article 42. Application of Measures
1. When imposing safeguard measures, the Parties shall endeavour to impose them in a way that least affects their bilateral trade.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, if one Party considers that the legal requirements for the imposition of definitive safeguard measures are met, the Party intending to apply such measures shall notify the other Party and give the possibility to hold bilateral consultations. If no satisfactory solution is reached within 30 days of the notification, the importing Party may adopt the appropriate measures to remedy the problem.
Article 43. Developing Country
To the extent that Ukraine qualifies as a developing country (1) for the purposes of Article 9 of the Agreement on Safeguards, it will not be subject to any safeguard measures applied by the EU Party, in so far as the conditions set out in Article 9 of that Agreement are fulfilled.
Section 2. Safeguard Measures on Passenger Cars
Article 44. Safeguard Measures on Passenger Cars
1. Ukraine may apply a safeguard measure in the form of a higher import duty on passenger cars originating (1) in the EU Party under tariff heading 8703 (hereinafter referred to as the "product"), as defined in Article 45 of this Agreement, in accordance with the provisions of this Section, if each of the following conditions is met:
(a) if, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, the product is being imported into the territory of Ukraine in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause serious injury to a domestic industry producing a like product;
(b) if the aggregate volume (in units) (2) of imports of the product in any year exceeds the trigger level set out in its Schedule included in Annex II to this Agreement; and
(c) if the aggregate volume of imports of the product into Ukraine (in units) (3) for the last 12-month period ending not earlier than the penultimate month before Ukraine invites the EU Party for consultations in line with paragraph 5 of this Article exceeds the trigger percentage set out in the Schedule of Ukraine in Annex II of all new registrations (4) of passenger cars in Ukraine for the same period.
2. The duty under paragraph 1 of this Article shall not exceed the lesser of the prevailing MFN applied rate, or the MFN applied rate of duty in effect on the day immediately preceding the date this Agreement enters into force, or the tariff rate set out in the Schedule of Ukraine in Annex II to this Agreement. The duty can only be applied for the remainder of that year, as defined in Annex II to this Agreement.
3. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, the duties Ukraine applies under paragraph 1 of this Article shall be set according to the Schedule of Ukraine in Annex II to this Agreement.
4. Any supplies of the product in question which were en route on the basis of a contract entered into before the additional duty is imposed under paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article shall be exempt from any such additional duty. However, such supplies will be counted in the volume of imports of the product in question during the following year for the purpose of meeting the conditions set out in paragraph 1 of this Article for that year.
5. Ukraine shall apply any safeguard measure in a transparent manner. To this end, Ukraine shall, as soon as possible, provide written notification to the EU Party of its intention to apply such a measure and provide all the pertinent information, including the volume (in units) of imports of the product, the total volume (in units) of imports of passenger cars of any source and the new registrations of passenger cars in Ukraine for the period referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Ukraine shall invite the EU Party for consultations as far in advance of taking such measure as practicable in order to discuss this information. No measure shall be adopted for 30 days following the invitation for consultations.
6. Ukraine may apply a safeguard measure only following an investigation by its competent authorities in accordance with Articles 3 and 4(2)(c) of the Agreement on Safeguards and to this end, Articles 3 and 4(2)(c) of the Agreement on Safeguards are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis. Such investigation must prove that as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, the product is being imported into the territory of Ukraine in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause serious injury to a domestic industry producing a like product.
7. Ukraine shall immediately notify the EU Party in writing of the initiation of an investigation as described in paragraph 6 of this Article.
8. During the investigation Ukraine shall comply with the requirements of Article 4.2(a) and (b) of the Agreement on Safeguards and to this end, Article 4.2(a) and (b) of the Agreement on Safeguards is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
9. The relevant factors relating to the injury determination in Article 4.2(a) of the Agreement on Safeguards shall be evaluated for at least three consecutive periods of 12 months, i.e. a minimum of three years in total.
10. The investigation shall also evaluate all known factors, other than increased preferential imports under this Agreement, that at the same time may be causing injury to the domestic industry. Increased imports of a product originating in the EU Party shall not be considered to be the result of the elimination or reduction of a customs duty, if imports of the same product from other sources have increased to a comparable extent.
11. Ukraine shall inform the EU Party and all other interested parties in writing of the findings and reasoned conclusions of the investigation well in advance of the consultations referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article with a view to reviewing the information arising from the investigation and exchanging views on the proposed measures during the consultations.
12. Ukraine shall ensure that the statistics on passenger cars that are used as evidence for such measures are reliable, adequate and publicly accessible in a timely manner. Ukraine shall provide without delay monthly statistics on the volume (in units) of imports of the product, the total volume (in units) of imports of passenger cars of any source and the new registrations of passenger cars in Ukraine.
13. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article during the transition period, the provisions of paragraphs 1(a) and 6 to 11 of this Article shall not apply.
14. Ukraine shall not apply a safeguard measure under this Section during year one. Ukraine shall not apply or maintain any safeguard measure under this Section or continue any investigation to that effect after year 15.
15. The implementation and operation of this Article may be the subject of discussion and review in the Trade Committee.
Article 45. Definitions
For the purposes of this Section and Annex II to this Agreement: