(a) the purchase, payment, or use of a service;
(b) the access to and use of, in connection with the supply of a service, services which are required by a Party to be offered to the public generally; and
(c) the presence, including commercial presence, of persons of a Party for the supply of a service in the territory of the other Party;
monopoly supplier of a service means any person, public or private, which in the relevant market of the territory of a Party is authorised or established formally or in effect by that Party as the sole supplier of that service;
natural person of the other Party means a national or a permanent resident (1) of the UAE or Colombia;
person means either a natural person or a juridical person;
sector of a service means:
(a) with reference to a specific commitment, one or more, or all, subsectors of that service, as specified in a Party's Schedule; or
(b) otherwise, the whole of that service sector, including all of its subsectors;
selling and marketing of air transport services mean opportunities for the air carrier concerned to sell and market freely its air transport services including all aspects of marketing such as market research, advertising, and distribution. These activities do not include the pricing of air transport services nor the applicable conditions;
service consumer means any person that receives or uses a service;
service of the other Party means a service which is supplied:
(a) from or in the territory of that other Party, or in the case of maritime transport, by a vessel registered under the laws of that other Party, or by a person of that other Party which supplies the service through the operation of a vessel and/or its use in whole or in part; or
(b) in the case of the supply of a service through commercial presence or through the presence of natural persons, by a service supplier of that other Party;
a service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority means any service which is supplied neither on a commercial basis, nor in competition with one or more service suppliers;
service supplier of a Party means any natural or juridical person of a Party that seeks to supply or supplies a service; (2)
services include any service in any sector except services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority;
supply of a service includes the production, distribution, marketing, sale and delivery of a service;
trade in services is defined as the supply of a service:
(a) from the territory of a Party into the territory of the other Party;
(b) in the territory of a Party to the service consumer of the other Party;
(c) by a service supplier of a Party, through commercial presence in the territory of the other Party;
(d) by a service supplier of a Party, through presence of natural persons of a Party in the territory of the other Party; and
traffic rights mean the right for scheduled and non-scheduled services to operate and/or to carry passengers, cargo, and mail for remuneration or hire from, to, within, or over the territory of a Party, including points to be served, routes to be operated, types of traffic to be carried, capacity to be provided, tariffs to be charged and their conditions, and criteria for designation of airlines, including such criteria as number, ownership, and control.
Article 10.2. Scope
1. This Chapter applies to measures adopted or maintained by a Party affecting trade in services.
2. This Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) government procurement;
(b) services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority;
(c) subsidies or grants provided by a Party, including government-supported loans, guarantees, and insurance;
(d) measures affecting natural persons of a Party seeking access to the employment market of the other Party, or measures regarding citizenship, residence, or employment on a permanent basis.
Nothing in this Chapter or its Annexes shall prevent a Party from applying measures to regulate the entry of natural persons into, or their temporary stay in, its territory, including those measures necessary to protect the integrity of, and to ensure the orderly movement of natural persons across, its borders, provided that such measures are not applied in such a manner as to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to any Party under the terms of a specific commitment; (3) or
(e) measures affecting air traffic rights or measures affecting services directly related to the exercise of air traffic rights, other than measures affecting:
(i) aircraft repair and maintenance services;
(ii) the selling and marketing of air transport services; or
(iii) computer reservation system services.
Article 10.3. Schedules of Specific Commitments
1. Each Party shall set out in a schedule, called its Schedule of Specific Commitments, the specific commitments it undertakes in accordance with Articles 10.5, 10.6, and 10.7.
2. With respect to sectors where such commitments are undertaken, each Schedule of Specific Commitments shall specify:
(a) terms, limitations, and conditions on market access;
(b) conditions and qualifications on national treatment;
(c) undertakings relating to additional commitments;
(d) where appropriate, the time-frame for implementation of such commitments; and
(e) the date of entry into force of such commitments.
3. Measures inconsistent with both Articles 10.5 and 10.6 shall be inscribed in the column relating to Article 10.5. In this case the inscription will be considered to provide a condition or qualification to Article 10.6 as well.
4. The Parties' Schedules of Specific Commitments are set forth in Annex 10F (Offer of Specific Commitments of Colombia) and Annex 10G (Offer of Specific Commitments of UAE).
Article 10.4. Most-Favoured Nation Treatment
1. Except as provided for in its List of MFN Exemptions contained in Annex 10A (List of MFN Exemptions of Colombia) and Annex 10B (List of MFN Exemptions of UAE), a Party shall accord immediately and unconditionally, in respect of all measures affecting the supply of services, to services and service suppliers of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that it accords to like services and service suppliers of any non-Party.
2. The obligations of paragraph 1 shall not apply to:
(a) treatment granted under other existing or future agreements concluded by a Party and notified under Article V or V bis of the GATS as well as treatment granted in accordance with Article VII of the GATS or prudential measures in accordance with the GATS Annex on Financial Services;
(b) treatment granted by the UAE to services and service suppliers of the GCC Member States under the GCC Economic Agreement and treatment granted by the UAE under the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA); or
(c) treatment granted by Colombia to services and service suppliers from Members of the Andean Community (CAN) and other Latin American Integration Agreements.
3. The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of advantages accorded to adjacent countries shall be governed by Article II:3 of the GATS, which is hereby incorporated into and made part of this Agreement.
4. If, after the entry into force of this Agreement, a Party enters into any agreement on trade in services with a non-Party, it shall negotiate, upon request by the other Party, the incorporation into this Agreement of a treatment no less favourable than that provided under the agreement with the non-Party. The Parties shall take into consideration the circumstances under which a Party enters into any agreement on trade in services with a non-Party.
Article 10.5. Market Access
1. With respect to market access through the modes of supply identified in the definition of "trade in services"contained in Article 10.1 each Party shall accord services and service suppliers of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that provided for under the terms, limitations, and conditions agreed and specified in its Schedule of Specific Commitments. (4)
2. In sectors where market access commitments are undertaken, the measures which a Party shall not maintain or adopt, either on the basis of a regional subdivision or on the basis of its entire territory, unless otherwise specified in its Schedule of Specific Commitments, are defined as:
(a) limitations on the number of service suppliers whether in the form of numerical quotas, monopolies, exclusive service suppliers, or the requirements of an economic needs test;
(b) limitations on the total value of service transactions or assets in the form of numerical quotas or the requirement of an economic needs test;
(c) limitations on the total number of service operations or on the total quantity of service output expressed in terms of designated numerical units in the form of quotas or the requirement of an economic needs test; (5)
(d) limitations on the total number of natural persons that may be employed in a particular service sector or that a service supplier may employ and who are necessary for, and directly related to, the supply of a specific service in the form of numerical quotas or the requirement of an economic needs test;
(e) measures which restrict or require specific types of legal entity or joint venture through which a service supplier may supply a service; and
(f) limitations on the participation of foreign capital in terms of maximum percentage limit on foreign shareholding or the total value of individual or aggregate foreign investment.
Article 10.6. National Treatment
1. With respect to the services sectors inscribed in its Schedule of Specific Commitments, and subject to any conditions and qualifications set out therein, each Party shall accord to services and service suppliers of the other Party, in respect of all measures affecting the supply of services, treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its own like services and service suppliers. (6)
2. A Party may meet the requirement in paragraph 1 by according to services and service suppliers of the other Party either formally identical treatment or formally different treatment to that it accords to its own like services and service suppliers.
3. Formally identical or formally different treatment by a Party shall be considered to be less favourable if it modifies the conditions of competition in favour of services or service suppliers of that Party compared to the like service or service suppliers of the other Party.
Article 10.7. Additional Commitments
The Parties may negotiate commitments with respect to measures affecting trade in services not subject to scheduling under Articles 10.5 and 10.6, including those regarding qualifications, standards, or licensing matters.
Such commitments shall be inscribed in that Party?s Schedule of Specific Commitments.
Article 10.8. Modification of Schedules
The Parties shall, at any time after three years have elapsed from the date on which that commitment entered into force upon written request by a Party, hold consultations to consider any modification or withdrawal of a specific commitment in the requesting Party's Schedule of Specific Commitments. The consultations shall be held within three months after the requesting Party made its request. In the consultations, the Parties shall aim to ensure that a general level of mutually advantageous commitments no less favourable to trade than that provided for in the Schedule of Specific Commitments prior to such consultations is maintained. Modifications of Schedules are subject to the procedures set out under the Joint Committee framework as established in Article 16.3 (Joint Committee).
Article 10.9. Domestic Regulation
1. In sectors where specific commitments are undertaken, each Party shall ensure that all measures of general application affecting trade in services are administered in a reasonable, objective, and impartial manner.
2. (a) Each Party shall maintain or institute as soon as practicable judicial, arbitral, or administrative tribunals or procedures which provide, on request of an affected service supplier, for the prompt review of, and where justified, appropriate remedies for, administrative decisions affecting trade in services. Where such procedures are not independent of the agency entrusted with the administrative decision concerned, the Party shall ensure that the procedures in fact provide for an objective and impartial review; and
(b) The provisions of subparagraph (a) shall not be construed to require a Party to institute such tribunals or procedures where this would be inconsistent with its constitutional structure or the nature of its legal system.
3. Where authorisation is required for the supply of a service on which a specific commitment under this Agreement has been made, the competent authorities of each Party shall:
(a) within a reasonable period of time after the submission of an application considered complete under domestic laws and regulations, inform the applicant of the decision concerning the application;
(b) in the case of an incomplete application, on request of the applicant, identify all the additional information that is required to complete the application and provide the opportunity to remedy deficiencies within a reasonable timeframe;
(c) on request of the applicant, provide without undue delay information concerning the status of the application; and
(d) if an application is terminated or denied, to the maximum extent possible, inform the applicant in writing and without delay the reasons for such action. The applicant will have the possibility of resubmitting, at its discretion, a new application.
4. With a view to ensuring that measures relating to qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards and licensing requirements do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in services, in sectors where specific commitments are undertaken, the Parties shall aim to ensure that such requirements are:
(a) based on objective and transparent criteria, such as competence and the ability to supply the service;
(b) not more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service; and
(c) in the case of licensing procedures, not in themselves a restriction on the supply of the service.
5. In determining whether a Party is in conformity with is obligations under paragraph 4, account shall be taken of international standards of relevant international organisations applied by that Party. (7)
6. In sectors where specific commitments regarding professional services are undertaken, each Party shall provide for adequate procedures to verify the competence of professionals of the other Party.
7. The Parties shall jointly review the results of the negotiations on disciplines on domestic regulation, pursuant to Article VI:4 of the GATS, with a view of incorporating them into this Chapter.
Article 10.10. Recognition
1. For the purposes of the fulfilment, in whole or in part, of its standards or criteria for the authorisation, licensing or certification of service suppliers, and subject to paragraph 3, a Party may recognise, or encourage its relevant competent bodies to recognise, the education or experience obtained, requirements met, or licences or certifications granted in the other Party. Such recognition, which may be achieved through harmonisation or otherwise, may be based upon an agreement or arrangement between the Parties or their relevant competent bodies, or may be accorded autonomously.
2. Where a Party recognises, by agreement or arrangement, the education or experience obtained, requirements met, or licenses or certifications granted in the territory of a non-Party, that Party shall afford the other Party adequate opportunity to negotiate its accession to such an agreement or arrangement, whether existing or future, or to negotiate a comparable agreement or arrangement with it.
Where a Party accords recognition autonomously, it shall afford adequate opportunity for the other Party to demonstrate that the education, experience, licences or certifications obtained or requirements met in that other Party's territory should also be recognised.
3. A Party shall not accord recognition in a manner which would constitute a means of discrimination between the other Party and non-parties in the application of its standards or criteria for the authorisation, licensing or certification of service suppliers, or a disguised restriction on trade in services.
4. The Parties agree to encourage, where possible, the relevant bodies in their respective territories responsible for issuance and recognition of professional and vocational qualifications to:
(a) strengthen cooperation and to explore possibilities for mutual recognition of respective professional and vocational qualifications; and
(b) pursue mutually acceptable standards and criteria for licensing and certification with respect to service sectors of mutual importance to the Parties.
5. The Parties or their relevant professional bodies, as appropriate, may negotiate agreements for mutual recognition of education, or experience obtained, requirements met or licences or certifications granted. Upon a request being made in writing by a Party to the other Party, the receiving Party shall transmit the request to its relevant professional body. The Parties shall report periodically to the Joint Committee on progress and on impediments experienced. Any delay or failure by the Parties or their relevant professional bodies to negotiate or to reach and conclude an agreement on the details of such arrangements shall not be regarded as a breach of a Party?s obligations under this paragraph and shall not be subject to Chapter 17 (Dispute Settlement).
Article 10.11. Payments and Transfers
1. Except under the circumstances envisaged in Article 17.4, a Party shall not apply restrictions on international transfers and payments for current transactions relating to its specific commitments.
2. Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the rights and obligations of the Parties as members of the International Monetary Fund under the Articles of Agreement of the Fund, including the use of exchange actions which are in conformity with the Articles of Agreement, provided that a Party shall not impose restrictions on any capital transactions inconsistently with its specific commitments regarding such transactions, except under Article 17.4 or at the request of the International Monetary Fund.
Article 10.12. Monopolies and Exclusive Service Suppliers
The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of monopolies and exclusive service suppliers shall be governed by Article VIII:1, VIII:2, and VIII:5 of the GATS, which is hereby incorporated into and made part of this Agreement.
Article 10.13. Business Practices
The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of business practices shall be governed by Article IX of the GATS, which is hereby incorporated into and made part of this Agreement.
Article 10.14. Review
1. With the objective of further liberalising trade in services between them, the Parties agree to jointly review, at least every two years, their Schedules of Specific Commitments, and their Lists of MFN Exemptions taking into account any services liberalisation developments as a result of on-going work under the auspices of the WTO.
2. The first such review shall take place no later than two years after the entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 10.15. Annexes
The following Annexes form part of this Chapter:
- Annex 10A List of MFN Exceptions of Colombia
- Annex 10B List of MFN Exceptions of UAE
- Annex 10C Financial Services
- Annex 10D Movement of Persons
- Annex 10E Telecommunications Services
- Annex 10F Offer of Specific Commitments of Colombia
- Annex 10G Offer of Specific Commitments of EAU
Chapter 11. DIGITAL TRADE
Article 11.1. 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;
customs duty refers to any duty or charge of any kind imposed in connection with the importation of a product, including any form of surtax or surcharge in connection with such importation, but does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed in conformity with Article III of the GATT 1994;
(b) anti-dumping or countervailing duty that is applied consistently with the provisions of Article VI of the GATT 1994, the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994, and the SCM Agreement; or
(c) fee or other charge in connection with importation commensurate with the cost of services rendered and which does not represent a direct or indirect protection for domestic goods or a taxation of imports for fiscal purposes;
digital or electronic signature means data in digital or electronic form that is in, affixed to, or logically or cryptographically associated with, a digital or electronic document, and that may be used to identify or verify the signatory in relation to the digital or electronic document and indicate the signatory?s approval of the information contained in the digital or electronic document;
electronic transmission or transmitted electronically means a transmission made using any electromagnetic means, including by photonic means;
identity based information encompasses any data or facts that are collected, stored, processed, or transmitted in any form or medium. This can include digital files, physical documents, verbal conversations, or any other means of communication. The parties acknowledge that information can be both tangible and intangible and may exist in various forms, such as text, images, audio recordings, video footage, or any other format that contains identifiable data about an individual;
measure means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or any other form;
open government data means non-proprietary information, including data, made freely available to the public by the central level of government;
personal data means any identity-based information or data that pertains to an identified or identifiable natural person. An identifiable person is someone whose identity may be determined, either directly or indirectly, with the help of an identifier such as a name, identification or telephone number, location data, an online identifier, or one or more elements of the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that 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 11.2. Objectives
1. The Parties recognise the economic growth and opportunity that digital trade provides, the importance of avoiding unnecessary 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 Parties seek to foster an environment conducive to the further advancement of digital trade, including electronic commerce and the digital transformation of the global economy, by strengthening their bilateral relations on these matters.
3. The Parties agree that the administration and development of digital trade must be subject to their respective laws and compatible with the international standards of data protection and consumer protection, in order to ensure the confidence of users of digital trade.
Article 11.3. General Provisions
1. This Chapter shall apply to measures adopted or maintained by a Party that affect trade by electronic means.
2. This Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) government procurement; or
(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 10 (Trade in Services) and its Annexes, including any exceptions or limitations set out in this Agreement that are applicable to such provisions.