(c) no Party may condition the release of any obligation, including any bond, that it imposes in respect of the entry of a vehicle or container into its territory on its exit through any particular port of departure; and
(d) no Party may require that the vehicle or carrier bringing a container from the territory of another Party into its territory be the same vehicle or carrier that takes such container to the territory of another Party.
9. For purposes of paragraph 8, vehicle means a truck, a truck tractor, tractor, trailer unit or trailer, a locomotive, or a railway car or other railroad equipment.
Article 3.6. Goods Re-entered after Repair or Alteration
1. No Party may apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, that re-enters its territory after that good has been temporarily exported from its territory to the territory of another Party for repair or alteration, regardless of whether such repair or alteration could be performed in the territory of the Party from which the good was exported for repair or alteration.
2. No Party may apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, admitted temporarily from the territory of another Party for repair or alteration.
3. For purposes of this Article, repair or alteration does not include an operation or process that:
(a) destroys a good's essential characteristics or creates a new or commercially different good; or
(b) transforms an unfinished good into a finished good.
Article 3.7. Duty-Free Entry of Commercial Samples of Negligible Value and Printed Advertising Materials
Each Party shall grant duty-free entry to commercial samples of negligible value and to printed advertising materials, imported from the territory of another Party, regardless of their origin, but may require that:
(a) such samples be imported solely for the solicitation of orders for goods, or services provided from the territory, of another Party or a non-Party; or
(b) such advertising materials be imported in packets that each contain no more than one copy of each such material and that neither such materials nor packets form part of a larger consignment.
Section D. Non-Tariff Measures
Article 3.8. Import and Export Restrictions
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, no Party may adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of another Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of another Party, except in accordance with Article XI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, and to this end Article XI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and made a part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis. (2)
2. The Parties understand that the GATT 1994 rights and obligations incorporated by paragraph 1 prohibit, in any circumstances in which any other form of restriction is prohibited, a Party from adopting or maintaining:
(a) export and import price requirements, except as permitted in enforcement of countervailing and antidumping duty orders and undertakings;
(b) import licensing conditioned on the fulfillment of a performance requirement, except as provided in a Party's Schedule to Annex 3.3; or
(c) voluntary export restraints inconsistent with Article VI of the GATT 1994, as implemented under Article 18 of the SCM Agreement and Article 8.1 of the AD Agreement.
3. In the event that a Party adopts or maintains a prohibition or restriction on the importation from or exportation to a non-Party of a good, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the Party from:
(a) limiting or prohibiting the importation from the territory of another Party of such good of that non-Party; or
(b) requiring as a condition of export of such good of the Party to the territory of another Party, that the good not be re-exported to the non-Party, directly or indirectly, without being consumed in the territory of the other Party.
4. In the event that a Party adopts or maintains a prohibition or restriction on the importation of a good from a non-Party, the Parties, on the request of any Party, shall consult with a view to avoiding undue interference with or distortion of pricing, marketing, or distribution arrangements in another Party.
5. Paragraphs 1 through 4 shall not apply to the measures set out in Annex 3.2.
6. Neither a Central American Party nor the Dominican Republic may, as a condition for engaging in importation or for the import of a good, require a person of another Party to establish or maintain a contractual or other relationship with a dealer in its territory.
7. Neither a Central American Party nor the Dominican Republic may remedy a violation or alleged violation of any law, regulation, or other measure regulating or otherwise relating to the relationship between any dealer in its territory and any person of another Party, by prohibiting or restricting the importation of any good of another Party.
8. For purposes of this Article:
dealer means a person of a Party who is responsible for the distribution, agency, concession, or representation in the territory of that Party of goods of another Party; and
remedy means to obtain redress or impose a penalty, including through a provisional, precautionary, or permanent measure.
Article 3.9. Import Licensing
1. No Party may adopt or maintain a measure that is inconsistent with the Import Licensing Agreement.
2. Promptly after entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall notify the other Parties of any existing import licensing procedures, and thereafter shall notify the other Parties of any new import licensing procedure and any modification to its existing import licensing procedures, within 60 days before it takes effect. A notification provided under this Article shall:
(a) include the information specified in Article 5 of the Import Licensing Agreement; and
(b) be without prejudice as to whether the import licensing procedure is consistent with this Agreement.
3. No Party may apply an import licensing procedure to a good of another Party unless it has provided notification in accordance with paragraph 2.
Article 3.10. Administrative Fees and Formalities
1. Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article VII:1 of the GATT 1994 and its interpretive notes, that all fees and charges of whatever character (other than customs duties, charges equivalent to an internal tax or other internal charge applied consistently with Article 1:2 of the GATT 1994, and antidumping and countervailing duties) imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and do not represent an indirect protection to domestic products or a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
2. No Party may require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of any good of another Party.
3. Each Party shall make available and maintain through the Internet a current list of the fees and charges it imposes in connection with importation or exportation.
4. The United States shall eliminate its merchandise processing fee on originating goods.
Article 3.11. Export Taxes
Except as provided in Annex 3.11, no Party may adopt or maintain any duty, tax, or other charge on the export of any good to the territory of another Party, unless such duty, tax, or charge is adopted or maintained on any such good:
(a) when exported to the territories of all other Parties; and
(b) when destined for domestic consumption.
Section E. Other Measures
Article 3.12. Distinctive Products
1. Each Central American Party and the Dominican Republic shall recognize Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey, which is a straight Bourbon Whiskey authorized to be produced only in the State of Tennessee, as distinctive products of the United States. Accordingly, those Parties shall not permit the sale of any product as Bourbon Whiskey or Tennessee Whiskey, unless it has been manufactured in the United States in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United States governing the manufacture of Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey.
2. At the request of a Party, the Committee on Trade in Goods shall consider whether to recommend that the Parties amend the Agreement to designate a good as a distinctive product for purposes of this Article.
Section F. Agriculture
Article 3.13. Administration and Implementation of Tariff-Rate Quotas
1. Each Party shall implement and administer the tariff-rate quotas for agricultural goods set out in Appendix I or, if applicable, Appendix II or III to its Schedule to Annex 3.3 (hereafter “TRQs”) in accordance with Article XIII of the GATT 1994, including its interpretive notes, and the Import Licensing Agreement.
2. Each Party shall ensure that:
(a) its procedures for administering its TRQs are transparent, made available to the public, timely, nondiscriminatory, responsive to market conditions, minimally burdensome to trade, and reflect end user preferences;
(b) any person of a Party that fulfills the Party's legal and administrative requirements shall be eligible to apply and to be considered for an import license or quota allocation under the Party's TRQs;
(c) it does not allocate any portion of a quota to an industry association or non- y Ps q y governmental organization, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement;
(d) solely government authorities administer its TRQs, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement; and
(e) it allocates quotas under its TRQs in commercially viable shipping quantities and, to the maximum extent possible, in the amounts that importers request.
3. Each Party shall strive to administer its TRQs in a manner that allows importers to fully utilize import quotas.
4. No Party may condition application for, or utilization of, import licenses or quota allocations under its TRQs on the re-export of an agricultural good.
5. No Party may count food aid or other non-commercial shipments in determining whether an import quota under its TRQs has been filled.
6. On request of any Party, an importing Party shall consult with the requesting Party regarding the administration of its TRQs.
Article 3.14. Agricultural Export Subsidies
1. The Parties share the objective of the multilateral elimination of export subsidies for agricultural goods and shall work together toward an agreement in the WTO to eliminate those subsidies and prevent their reintroduction in any form.
2. Except as provided in paragraph 3, no Party may introduce or maintain any export subsidy on any agricultural good destined for the territory of another Party.
3. Where an exporting Party considers that a non-Party is exporting an agricultural good to the territory of another Party with the benefit of export subsidies, the importing Party shall, on written request of the exporting Party, consult with the exporting Party with a view to agreeing on specific measures that the importing Party may adopt to counter the effect of such subsidized imports. If the importing Party adopts the agreed-on measures, the exporting Party shall refrain from applying any subsidy to its exports of the good to the territory of the importing Party. If the importing Party does not adopt the agreed-on measures, the exporting Party may apply an export subsidy on its exports of the good to the territory of the importing Party only to the extent necessary to counter the trade-distorting effect of subsidized exports of the good from the non- Party to the importing Party's territory.
Article 3.15. Agricultural Safeguard Measures
1. Notwithstanding Article 3.3, each Party may apply a measure in the form of an additional import duty on an agricultural good listed in that Party's Schedule to Annex 3.15, provided that the conditions in paragraphs 2 through 7 are met. The sum of any such additional import duty and any other customs duty on such good shall not exceed the lesser of:
(a) the prevailing most-favored-nation (MFN) applied rate of duty; or
(b) the MFN applied rate of duty in effect on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. A Party may apply an agricultural safeguard measure during any calendar year if the quantity of imports of the good during such year exceeds the trigger level for that good set out in its Schedule to Annex 3.15.
3. The additional duty under paragraph 1 shall be set according to each Partyâs Schedule to Annex 3.15.
4. No Party may apply an agricultural safeguard measure and at the same time apply or maintain:
(a) a safeguard measure under Chapter Eight (Trade Remedies); or
(b) a measure under Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement; with respect to the same good. 5. No Party may apply or maintain an agricultural safeguard measure:
(a) on or after the date that a good is subject to duty-free treatment under the Partyâs Schedule to Annex 3.3; or
(b) that increases the in-quota duty on a good subject to a TRQ.
6. Each Party shall implement an agricultural safeguard measure in a transparent manner. Within 60 days after applying a measure, a Party shall notify any Party whose good is subject to the measure, in writing, and shall provide it relevant data concerning the measure. On request, the Party applying the measure shall consult with any Party whose good is subject to the measure regarding application of the measure.
7. A Party may maintain an agricultural safeguard measure only until the end of the calendar year in which the Party applies the measure.
8. The Commission and the Committee on Agricultural Trade may review the implementation and operation of this Article.
9. For purposes of this Article and Annex 3.15, agricultural safeguard measure means a measure described in paragraph 1.
Article 3.16. Sugar Compensation Mechanism
1. In any year, the United States may, at its option, apply a mechanism that results in compensation to a Partyâs exporters of sugar goods in lieu of according duty-free treatment to some or all of the duty-free quantity of sugar goods established for that Party in Appendix I to the Schedule of the United States to Annex 3.3. Such compensation shall be equivalent to the estimated economic rents that the Partyâs exporters would have obtained on exports to the United States of any such amounts of sugar goods and shall be provided within 30 days after the United States exercises this option. The United States shall notify the Party at least 90 days before it exercises this option and, on request, shall enter into consultations with the Party regarding application of the mechanism.
2. For purposes of this Article, sugar good means a good provided for in the subheadings listed in subparagraph 3(c) of Appendix I to the Schedule of the United States to Annex 3.3.
Article 3.17. Consultations on Trade In Chicken
The Parties shall consult on, and review the implementation and operation of the Agreement as it relates to, trade in chicken in the ninth year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 3.18. Agriculture Review Commission
The Parties shall establish an Agriculture Review Commission in the 14th year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement to review the implementation and operation of the Agreement as it relates to trade in agricultural goods. The Agriculture Review Commission shall evaluate the effects of trade liberalization under the Agreement, the operation of Article 3.15 and possible extension of agricultural safeguard measures under that Article, progress toward global agricultural trade reform in the WTO, and developments in world agricultural markets. The Agriculture Review Commission shall report its findings and any recommendations to the Commission.
Article 3.19. Committee on Agricultural Trade
1. Not later than 90 days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall establish a Committee on Agricultural Trade, comprising representatives of each Party.
2. The Committee shall provide a forum for:
(a) monitoring and promoting cooperation on the implementation and administration of this Section;
(b) consultation between the Parties on matters related to this Section in coordination with other committees, subcommittees, working groups, or other bodies established under this Agreement; and
(c) undertaking any additional work that the Commission may assign.
3. The Committee shall meet at least once a year unless it decides otherwise. Meetings of the Committee shall be chaired by the representatives of the Party hosting the meeting.
4. All decisions of the Committee shall be taken by consensus, unless the Committee otherwise decides.
Section G. Textiles and Apparel
Article 3.20. Refund of Customs Duties
1. On request of an importer, a Party shall refund any excess customs duties paid in connection with the importation into its territory of an originating textile or apparel good between January 1, 2004 and the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party. For purposes of applying this Article, the importing Party shall consider a good to be originating if the Party would have considered the good to be originating had it been imported into its territory on the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply with respect to textile or apparel goods imported into, or imported from, the territory of a Party if it provides written notice to the other Parties by no later than 90 days before the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party that it will not comply with paragraph 1.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, paragraph 1 shall apply with respect to textile or apparel goods imported from the territory of a Party if it provides written notice to the other Parties by no later than 90 days before the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party that it shall provide a benefit for textile or apparel goods imported into its territory that the importing and exporting Parties have agreed is equivalent to the benefit provided in paragraph 1.
4. This Article shall not apply to a textile or apparel good that qualifies for preferential tariff treatment under Article 3.21, 3.27, or 3.28.
Article 3.21. Duty-Free Treatment for Certain Goods
1. An importing and an exporting Party may identify at any time particular textile or apparel goods of the exporting Party that they mutually agree fall within:
(a) hand-loomed fabrics of a cottage industry;
(b) hand-made cottage industry goods made of such hand-loomed fabrics; or
(c) traditional folklore handicraft goods.
2. The importing Party shall grant duty-free treatment to goods so identified, if certified by the competent authority of the exporting Party.
Article 3.22. Elimination of Existing Quantitative Restrictions
Not later than the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the United States shall eliminate the existing quantitative restrictions it maintains under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing as set out in Annex 3.22.
Article 3.23. Textile Safeguard Measures
1. Subject to the following paragraphs, and during the transition period only, if, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty provided for in this Agreement, a textile or apparel good of another Party is being imported into the territory of a Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to the domestic market for that good, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive good, the importing Party may, to the extent necessary to prevent or remedy such damage and to facilitate adjustment, apply a textile safeguard measure to that good, consisting of an increase in the rate of duty on the good to a level not to exceed the lesser of:
(a) the most-favored-nation (MFN) applied rate of duty in effect at the time the measure is applied; and
(b) the MFN applied rate of duty in effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. In determining serious damage, or actual threat thereof, the importing Party: 3-13
(a) shall examine the effect of increased imports of the good of the other Party on the particular industry, as reflected in changes in such relevant economic variables as output, productivity, utilization of capacity, inventories, market share, exports, wages, employment, domestic prices, profits, and investment, none of which, either alone or combined with other factors, shall necessarily be decisive; and
(b) shall not consider changes in technology or consumer preference as factors supporting a determination of serious damage or actual threat thereof.
3. The importing Party may apply a textile safeguard measure only following an investigation by its competent authority.
4. If, on the basis of the results of the investigation under paragraph 3, the importing Party intends to apply a textile safeguard measure, the importing Party shall promptly provide written notice to the exporting Party of its intent to apply a textile safeguard measure, and on request shall enter into consultations with that Party. The importing Party and the exporting Party shall begin the consultations without delay and shall complete them within 60 days of the date of receipt of the request. The importing Party shall make a decision on whether to apply a safeguard measure within 30 days of completion of the consultations.
5. The following conditions and limitations apply to any textile safeguard measure:
(a) no Party may maintain a textile safeguard measure for a period exceeding three years;
(b) no Party may apply a textile safeguard measure to the same good of another Party more than once;
(c) on termination of the textile safeguard measure, the Party applying the measure shall apply the rate of duty set out in its Schedule to Annex 3.3, as if the measure had never been applied; and
(d) no Party may maintain a textile safeguard measure beyond the transition period.
6. The Party applying a textile safeguard measure shall provide to the Party against whose good the measure is taken mutually agreed trade liberalizing compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the textile safeguard measure. Such concessions shall be limited to textile or apparel goods, unless the consulting Parties otherwise agree. If the consulting Parties are unable to agree on compensation within 30 days of application of a textile safeguard measure, the Party against whose good the measure is taken may take tariff action having trade effects substantially equivalent to the trade effects of the textile safeguard measure. Such tariff action may be taken against any goods of the Party applying the measure. The Party taking the tariff action shall apply such action only for the minimum period necessary to achieve the substantially equivalent trade effects. The importing Party's obligation to provide trade compensation and the exporting Partyâs right to take tariff action shall terminate when the textile safeguard measure terminates.
7. (a) Each Party retains its rights and obligations under Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
(b) No Party may apply, with respect to the same good at the same time, a textile safeguard measure and:
(i) a safeguard measure under Chapter Eight (Trade Remedies); or
(ii) a measure under Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
Article 3.24. Customs Cooperation (3)
1. The Customs Authorities of the Parties shall cooperate for purposes of:
(a) enforcing or assisting in the enforcement of their respective laws, regulations, and procedures affecting trade in textile or apparel goods;
(b) ensuring the accuracy of claims of origin for textile or apparel goods; and
(c) deterring circumvention of laws, regulations, and procedures of any Party or international agreements affecting trade in textile or apparel goods.
2. (a) On the written request of an importing Party, an exporting Party shall conduct a verification for purposes of enabling the importing Party to determine:
(i) that a claim of origin for a textile or apparel good is accurate, or
(ii) that the exporter or producer is complying with applicable customs laws, regulations, and procedures regarding trade in textile or apparel goods, including:
(A) laws, regulations, and procedures that the exporting Party adopts and maintains pursuant to this Agreement; and
(B) laws, regulations, and procedures of the importing Party and the exporting Party implementing other international agreements regarding trade in textile or apparel goods.
(b) A request under subparagraph (a) shall include specific information regarding the reason the importing Party is requesting the verification and the determination the importing Party is seeking to make.
(c) The exporting Party shall conduct a verification under subparagraph (a)(i), regardless of whether an importer claims preferential tariff treatment for the textile or apparel good for which a claim of origin has been made.
3. The importing Party, through its competent authority, may assist in a verification conducted under paragraph 2(a), or, at the request of the exporting Party, undertake such a verification, including by conducting, along with the competent authority of the exporting Party, visits in the territory of the exporting Party to the premises of an exporter, producer, or any other enterprise involved in the movement of textile or apparel goods from the territory of the exporting Party to the territory of the importing Party.
4. (a) The competent authority of the importing Party shall provide a written request to the competent authority of the exporting Party 20 days before the proposed date of a visit under paragraph 3. The request shall identify the competent authority making the request, the names and titles of the authorized personnel that will conduct the visit, the reason for the visit, including a description of the type of goods that are the subject of the verification, and the proposed dates of the visit.
(b) The competent authority of the exporting Party shall respond within 10 days of receipt of the request, and shall indicate the date on which authorized personnel of the importing Party may perform the visit. The exporting Party shall seek, in accordance with its laws, regulations, and procedures, permission from the enterprise to conduct the visit. If consent is not provided, the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to the type of goods of the enterprise that would have been the subject of the verification, except that the importing Party may not deny preferential tariff treatment to such goods based solely on a postponement of the visit, if there is adequate reason for such postponement.
(c) Authorized personnel of the importing and exporting Parties shall conduct the visit in accordance with the laws, regulations, and procedures of the exporting Party.
(d) On completion of a visit, the importing Party shall provide the exporting Party with an oral summary of the results of the visit and provide it with a written report of the results of the visit within approximately 45 days of the visit. The written report shall include:
(i) the name of the enterprise visited;
(ii) particulars of the shipments that were checked;