Article 8.17. Annexes
The Following Annexes Form Part of this Chapter:
(a)Annex 8-1 (Schedules of Specific Commitments);
(b) Annex 8-2 (MFN Exemptions);
(c) Annex 8-3 (Movement of Natural Persons);
(d) Annex 8-4 (Transport and Auxiliary Services);
(e) Annex 8-5 (Telecommunications Services); and
(f) Annex 8-6 (Financial Services).
Chapter 9. DIGITAL TRADE
Article 9.1. Definitions
For the Purposes of this Chapter:
Authentication means the process or act of verifying the identity of a party to an electronic communication or transaction and ensuring the integrity of an electronic communication;
Consumer means consumer as defined in each Party's legislation;
Digital trade means the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and services by electronic means;
Electronic signature means data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign;
FinTech means the use of technology to improve and automate the delivery and use of financial services;
Measure means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or any other form;
Metadata means structural or descriptive information about data, such as content, format, source, rights, accuracy, provenance, frequency, periodicity, granularity, publisher or responsible party, contact information, method of collection, and context.
Personal data means any information, relating to an identified or identifiable natural person;
Trade administration documents mean forms issued or controlled by a Party that must be
completed by or for an importer or exporter in connection with the import or export of goods; and
Unsolicited commercial electronic message means an electronic message which is sent for commercial or marketing purposes to an electronic address, without the consent of the recipient or despite the explicit rejection of the recipient, through an Internet access service supplier or, to the extent provided for under the laws and regulations of each Party, other telecommunications service.
Article 9.2. Objectives
1. The Parties recognise the economic growth and opportunity that digital trade provides, the importance of avoiding barriers to its use and development, the importance of frameworks that promote consumer confidence in digital trade, and the applicability of the WTO Agreement to measures affecting digital trade.
2. The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) strengthen trade relations between Türkiye and the UAE, in particular in digital trade;
(b) promote sustainable and stable development of digital trade within the territories of the Parties and between the Parties;
(c) support the growth of economic activity between the Parties;
(d) expand the scope of cooperation between the Parties on matters concerning digital trade;
(e) establish new and transparent standards that will support the growth and effective regulation of digital trade;
(f) facilitate greater business-to-business links between the Parties;
(g) foster participation of SMEs in digital trade;
(h) promote the consumer confidence in digital trade; and
(i) foster an environment conducive to the further advancement of digital transformation of the Parties' economy.
Article 9.3. General Provisions
1. This Chapter shall apply to measures adopted or maintained by a Party that affect trade in goods and services by electronic means.
2. This Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) government procurement; and
(b) information held or processed by or on behalf of a Party, or measures related to such information, including measures related to its collection.
3. For greater certainty, the Parties affirm that measures affecting the supply of a service delivered or performed electronically are subject to the relevant provisions of Chapter 8 (Trade in Services) and its Annexes and Chapter 10 (Investment Facilitation), including any exceptions or limitations set out in this Agreement that are applicable to such provisions.
Article 9.4. Customs Duties
1. Acknowledging the ongoing negotiations regarding the customs duties on electronic transmissions within the framework of the WTO Joint Statement(9) Initiative on E- commerce, the Parties agree to incorporate into this Agreement the provisions that will be developed under that Initiative.
2. To this end, the Joint Committee shall take a decision aiming at incorporating those provisions into this Agreement when the agreement resulting from the negotiations within the framework of the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-commerce enters into force, in accordance with each Party's domestic laws.
3. Parties may also bilaterally decide under the Joint Committee to develop disciplines under this Agreement regarding customs duties on electronic transmissions or to incorporate the provisions developed within the framework of the WTO Work Programme on E-commerce.
Article 9.5. Domestic Electronic Transactions Framework
1. Parties shall endeavour to exchange information on their existing domestic laws and regulations and/or proposed domestic laws and regulations before adopting.
2. Parties shall cooperate on analysing the compatibility of their national legislation with:
(a) the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNICITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce (1996); and/or
(b) the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts, done at New York on 23 November 2005.
Article 9.6. Authentication and Electronic Signatures
1. Except in circumstances otherwise provided for under its law, a Party shall not deny the legal validity of a signature solely on the basis that the signature is in digital or electronic form.
2. Neither Party shall adopt or maintain measures regarding authentication that would:
(a) prohibit parties to an electronic transaction from mutually determining the appropriate authentication methods for that transaction; or(10)
(b) prevent parties to an electronic transaction from having the opportunity to establish before judicial or administrative authorities that their transaction complies with any legal requirements with respect to authentication.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, a Party may require that, for a particular category of transactions, the method of authentication meets certain performance standards or is certified by an authority accredited in accordance with its law.
4. The Parties shall encourage the use of interoperable means of authentication.
5. Each Party shall, in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations on electronic signatures and certification services, endeavour to facilitate the procedure of accreditation or recognition of suppliers of certification services that have already obtained accreditation or recognition under the legislation of the other Party.
Article 9.7. Paperless Trading
1. Each Party shall endeavour to make trade administration documents available to the public in digital or electronic form.
2. Each Party shall accept electronic versions of trade administration documents as the legal equivalent of paper documents, except where there is a domestic or international legal requirement to the contrary.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to establish or maintain a seamless, trusted, high availability, and secure interconnection of their respective single windows to facilitate the exchange of data relating to trade administration documents.
4. The type of data and documents referred to in paragraph 3 shall be jointly determined by the Parties under the Joint Committee, and after doing so, the Parties shall provide public access to a list of such documents and make this list of documents available online.
5. The Parties recognise the role of internationally recognised and, if available, open standards in the development and governance of the data exchange systems.
6. The Parties shall cooperate and collaborate on new initiatives that promote and advance the use and adoption of systems that facilitate the data exchange referred to in paragraph 4, including but not limited to, through:
(a) sharing of information, experiences, and best practices in the area of development and governance of the data exchange systems; and
(b) collaboration on pilot projects in the development and governance of data exchange systems.
Article 9.8. Online Consumer Protection
1. The Parties recognise the importance of adopting and maintaining transparent and effective measures to protect consumers from misleading, deceptive, and fraudulent commercial practices when they engage in digital trade.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to adopt or maintain consumer protection laws to proscribe misleading, deceptive, and fraudulent commercial activities that cause harm or potential harm to consumers engaged in digital trade. (11)
3. The Parties recognise the importance of cooperation between their respective national consumer protection agencies or other relevant bodies on activities related to cross- border digital trade in order to enhance consumer welfare.
4. Each Party shall endeavour to provide effective protection for rights of consumers in digital trade that is not lower than the level of protection provided in other forms of trade.
5. Each Party shall endeavour to adopt or maintain laws or regulations that:
(a) require, at the time of delivery, goods or services provided to be of acceptable and satisfactory quality, consistent with the supplier's claims regarding the quality of the goods or services; and
(b) provide consumers with appropriate redress when they are not.
6. Each Party shall make publicly available and easily accessible its consumer protection laws and regulations.
7. Each Party shall endeavour to adopt a comprehensive consumer education and awareness strategy for their natural and legal persons with respect to digital trade transactions.
8. The Parties recognise the importance of improving awareness of, and access to, policies and procedures related to consumer protection, including consumer redress mechanisms, including for consumers from one Party transacting with suppliers from another Party.
9. The Parties shall promote, as appropriate and subject to the respective laws and regulations of each Party, cooperation on matters of mutual interest related to fraudulent, misleading, and deceptive conduct, including in the enforcement of their consumer protection laws, with respect to online commercial activities.
10. The Parties shall endeavour to adopt or maintain measures requiring service suppliers to inform consumers about their rights and obligations for domestic as well as cross- border digital trade.
11. The Parties shall endeavour to create measures of legal protections for consumers of the other Party (foreign consumers) that are affected by the acquisition in the framework of digital trade of low quality and unsafe service, as well as by fraudulent, misleading and deceptive commercial practices, which include, but are not limited to:
(a) establishment of online mechanisms for submission of complaints by foreign consumers and their consideration by the competent authorities of the Party in whose territory is a registered provider of services;
(b) creation and support of multilingual information resources, providing information about the legal basis of consumer protection in the Party;
(c) implementation of alternative mechanisms for dispute settlement arising in the framework of digital trade;
(d) determination of the procedure of joint investigations into specific cases of violation of consumer rights.
Article 9.9. Personal Data Protection
1. The Parties recognise the economic and social benefits of protecting the personal data of users of digital trade and the contribution that this makes to enhancing consumer confidence in digital trade.
2. To this end, each Party shall adopt or maintain a legal framework that provides for the protection of the personal data of the users of digital trade. (12) In the development of any legal framework for the protection of personal data, each Party should endeavour to take into account principles and guidelines of relevant international organisations.
3. Recognising that the Parties may take different legal approaches to protecting personal data, the Parties shall endeavour to exchange information and share experiences on any such mechanisms applied in their jurisdictions.
Article 9.10. Principles on Access to and Use of the Internet for Digital Trade
To support the development and growth of digital trade, each Party recognises that consumers in its territory should be able to:
(a) access and use services and applications of their choice, unless prohibited by the Party's law;
(b) run services and applications of their choice, subject to the Party's law, including the needs of legal and regulatory enforcement activities; and
(c) connect their choice of devices to the Internet, provided that such devices do not harm the network and are not otherwise prohibited by the Party's law.
Article 9.11. Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Messages
1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures regarding unsolicited commercial electronic messages that:
(a) require a supplier of unsolicited commercial electronic messages to facilitate the ability of a recipient to prevent ongoing reception of those messages;
(b) require the consent, as specified in the laws and regulations of each Party, of recipients to receive commercial electronic messages; or
(c) otherwise provide for the minimisation of unsolicited commercial electronic messages.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to provide recourse against a supplier of unsolicited commercial electronic messages that does not comply with a measure adopted or maintained in accordance with paragraph 1.
3. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate in appropriate cases of mutual concern regarding the regulation of unsolicited commercial electronic messages.
Article 9.12. Cross-Border Flow of Information
Parties recognise the importance of flow of information in facilitating trade and acknowledge the importance of protecting personal data.
Article 9.13. Open Government Data
1. This Article applies to measures by a Party with respect to data held by the central government, disclosure of which is not restricted under domestic law, and which a Party makes digitally available for public access and use (government data) (13).
2. Parties recognise the benefit of making data held by a regional or local government digitally available for public access and use in a manner consistent with paragraphs 4 through 7.
3. Parties recognise that facilitating public access to and use of government data fosters economic and social development, competitiveness, and innovation. To this end, Parties are encouraged to expand the coverage of such data, such as through engagement and consultation with interested stakeholders.
4. To the extent that a Party chooses to make government data digitally available for public access and use, a Party shall endeavour, to the extent practicable, to ensure that such data is:
(a) made available in a machine-readable and open format;
(b) searchable and retrievable;
(c) updated, as applicable, in a timely manner; and
(d) accompanied by metadata that is, to the extent possible, based on commonly used formats that allow the user to understand and utilise the data.
5. A Party shall further endeavour to make this data generally available at no or reasonable cost to the user.
6. To the extent that a Party chooses to make government data digitally available for public access and use, it shall endeavour to avoid imposing conditions (14) that unduly (15) prevent or restrict the user of such data from:
(a) reproducing, redistributing, or republishing the data;
(b) regrouping the data; or
(c) using the data for commercial or non-commercial purposes, including in the process of production of a new product or service.
Article 9.14. Digital Government
1. The Parties recognise that technology can enable more efficient and agile government operations, improve the quality and reliability of government services, and enable governments to better serve the needs of their citizens and other stakeholders.
2. To this end, the Parties shall endeavour to develop and implement strategies to digitally transform their respective government operations and services, which may include:
(a) adopting open and inclusive government processes focusing on accessibility, transparency, and accountability in a manner that overcomes digital divides;
(b) promoting cross-sectoral and cross-governmental coordination and collaboration on digital agenda issues;
(c) shaping government processes, services, and policies with digital inclusivity in mind;
(d) providing a unified digital platform and common digital enablers for government service delivery;
(e) leveraging emerging technologies to build capabilities in anticipation of disasters and crises and facilitating proactive responses;
(f) generating public value from government data by applying it in the planning, delivering and monitoring of public policies, and adopting rules and ethical principles for the trustworthy and safe use of data; and
(g) promoting initiatives to raise the level of digital capabilities and skills of both the populace and the government workforce.
3. Recognising that the Parties can benefit by sharing their experiences with digital government initiatives, the Parties shall endeavour to cooperate on activities relating to the digital transformation of government and government services, which may include:
(a) exchanging information and experiences on digital government strategies and policies;
(b) sharing best practices on digital government and the digital delivery of government services;
(c) providing advice or training, including through exchange of officials, to assist the other Party in building digital government capacity;
(d) promoting government platform, technology, application, and service design providers for business uses; and
(e) encouraging academia and non-governmental organisations to develop new approaches, models, and communities.
Article 9.15. Electronic Invoicing (16)
1. The Parties recognise the importance of electronic invoicing to increase the efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of commercial transactions. Each Party also recognises the benefits of ensuring that the systems used for electronic invoicing within its territory are interoperable with the systems used in the other Party's territory.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that the implementation of measures related to electronic invoicing in its territory supports cross-border interoperability between the Parties' electronic invoicing frameworks. To this end, each Party shall endeavour to base its measures relating to electronic invoicing on international frameworks.
3. The Parties recognise the economic importance of promoting the global adoption of digital and electronic invoicing systems, including interoperable international frameworks. To this end, the Parties shall endeavour to:
(a) promote, encourage, support or facilitate the adoption of electronic invoicing by enterprises;
(b) promote the existence of policies, infrastructure, and processes that support electronic invoicing;
(c) generate awareness of, and build capacity for, electronic invoicing; and
(d) share best practices and promote the adoption of interoperable international electronic invoicing systems.
Article 9.16. Electronic Payments (17)
1. Recognising the rapid growth of electronic payments, in particular, those provided by non-bank, non-financial institutions and financial technology enterprises, the Parties shall endeavour to support the development of efficient, safe and secure cross-border electronic payments by: