1. Each Party shall ensure that its measures of general application, including laws, regulations, judicial decisions, procedures and administrative rulings relating to any trade-related matter covered by Part IV of this Agreement are promptly published or made readily available to interested persons in such a manner as to allow interested persons of a Party, as well as any other Party, to become acquainted with them. Upon request, each Party shall provide an explanation of the objective of and rationale for such measure and allow for adequate time between publication and entry into force of such measure, unless specific legal or practical circumstances dictate otherwise.
2. Each Party shall endeavour to provide opportunities for interested persons of the other Party to comment on any proposed law, regulation, procedure or administrative ruling of general application and to take into account relevant comments received.
3. The measures of general application referred to under paragraph 1 shall be considered to have been made readily available when the measure has been made available by appropriate notification to the WTO or when the measure has been made available on an official, publicly and fee-free accessible website of the Party concerned.
4. Nothing in Part IV of this Agreement shall be construed to require any Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, be it public or private.
Article 340. Contact Points and Exchange of Information
1. In order to facilitate communication and to ensure the effective implementation of this Agreement, the EU Party, the CA Party (52) and each Republic of the CA Party shall designate a contact point by the entry into force of this Agreement (53). The designation of contact points is without prejudice to the specific designation of competent authorities under specific provisions of this Agreement.
2. Upon request of a Party, the contact point of the other Party shall indicate the office or official responsible for any matter pertaining to the implementation of Part IV of this Agreement and provide the required support to facilitate communication with the requesting Party.
3. Upon request of a Party, and to the extent legally possible, each relevant Party shall provide information and reply promptly to any question relating to an actual or proposed measure that might substantially affect Part IV of this Agreement.
Article 341. Administrative Proceedings
Each Party shall administer all measures of general application referred to in Article 339 in a consistent, impartial and reasonable manner. More specifically, when applying those measures to specific persons, goods, services or establishments of a Party in specific cases, each Party shall:
(a) endeavour to provide persons directly affected by a proceeding with reasonable notice when a proceeding is initiated, including a description of the nature of the proceeding, a statement of the legal authority under which the proceeding is initiated, and a general description of any issues in controversy;
(b) afford such interested persons a reasonable opportunity to present facts and arguments in support of their positions prior to any final administrative action, when time, the nature of the proceeding, and the public interest permit; and
(c) ensure that its procedures are based on law.
Article 342. Review and Appeal
1. Each Party shall establish or maintain judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative tribunals or procedures for the purpose of prompt review and, where warranted, correction of final administrative action affecting trade-related matters covered by Part IV of this Agreement. Such tribunals or procedures shall be independent of the office or authority entrusted with administrative enforcement and those responsible for them shall be impartial and not have any substantial interest in the outcome of the matter.
2. Each Party shall ensure that, in any such tribunals or procedures, the parties to the proceeding are provided with the right to:
(a) a reasonable opportunity to support or defend their respective positions; and
(b) a decision based on the evidence and submissions of record or, where required by its law, the record compiled by the administrative authority.
3. Each Party shall ensure, subject to appeal or further review as provided for in its law, that any such decision shall be implemented by, and shall govern the practice of, the office or authority competent for the administrative action at issue.
Article 343. Specific Rules
The provisions of this Title are without prejudice to any specific rules established in other provisions of this Agreement.
Article 344. Transparency In Subsidies
1. For the purposes of this Agreement, a subsidy is a measure related to trade in goods, which fulfils the conditions set out in Article 1.1 of the SCM Agreement and is specific within the meaning of Article 2 of the latter. This provision covers subsidies as defined in the Agriculture Agreement.
2. Each Party shall ensure transparency in the area of subsidies related to trade in goods. Starting from the entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall report every two years to the other Party on the legal basis, form, amount or budget and where possible, the recipient of the subsidy granted by its government or any public body. Such report is deemed to have been provided if the relevant information is made available by the Parties or on their behalf on a publicly accessible website. When exchanging information the Parties shall take into account the requirements of professional and business secrecy.
3. The Parties may exchange information upon request of a Party on matters related to the topic of subsidies in services.
4. The Association Committee shall periodically review the progress made by the Parties in implementing this Article.
5. The provisions of this Article are without any prejudice to the rights of the Parties to apply trade remedies or to take dispute settlement or other appropriate action against a subsidy granted by the other Party in accordance with the relevant WTO provisions.
6. The Parties shall not have recourse to dispute settlement procedures under Title X (Dispute Settlement) of Part IV of this Agreement for matters arising under this Article.
Title XIII. SPECIFIC TASKS IN TRADE MATTERS OF THE BODIES ESTABLISHED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT
Article 345. Specific Tasks of the Association Council
1. When the Association Council performs any of the tasks conferred upon it in Part IV of this Agreement, it shall be composed, at ministerial level, of representatives of the EU Party, on the one side, and of the Ministers of each of the Republics of the CA Party, with responsibility for trade-related matters on the other, in accordance with the Parties' respective legal frames, or by their designees.
2. The Association Council may, when it relates to trade-related matters:
(a) modify, in fulfilment of the objectives of Part IV of this Agreement:
(i) the lists of goods contained in Annex I (Elimination of Customs Duties), with the object of incorporating one or more goods into the tariff reduction schedule;
(ii) the Schedules attached to Annex I (Elimination of Customs Duties) in order to accelerate tariff dismantling;
(iii) Appendix 1, Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 to Annex I (Elimination of Customs Duties);
(iv) Appendixes 1, 2, 2A, 3, 4, 5 and 6 to Annex II (Concerning the Definition of the Concept of "Originating Products" and Methods of Administrative Cooperation);
(v) Annex XVI (Government Procurement);
(vi) Annex XVIII (Protected Geographical Indications);
(vii) Annex XIX (Lists of Products Referred to in paragraph 4 of Article 306);
(viii) Annex XXI (Sub-Committees);
(b) issue interpretations of the provisions of Part IV of this Agreement; and
(c) take such other action in the exercise of its functions as the Parties may agree.
3. Each Party shall implement, in accordance with its applicable legal procedures, any modification referred to in subparagraph 2(a) within such period as the Parties may agree (54).
Article 346. Specific Tasks of the Association Committee
1. When the Association Committee performs any of the tasks conferred upon it in Part IV of this Agreement, it shall be composed of representatives of the European Commission, on the one side, and of representatives of each of the Republics of the CA Party, on the other, at senior official level and with responsibility for trade-related matters, or their designees.
2. The Association Committee shall have, in particular, the following functions when dealing with trade-related matters:
(a) assist the Association Council in the performance of its functions regarding trade-related matters;
(b) be responsible for the proper implementation and application of the provisions of Part IV of this Agreement. In this respect, and without prejudice to the rights established in Title X (Dispute Settlement) and Title XI (Mediation Mechanism for Non-Tariff Measures) of Part IV of this Agreement, any Party may refer for discussion within the Association Committee any issue relating to the application or interpretation of Part IV of this Agreement;
(c) oversee the further elaboration of the provisions of Part IV of this Agreement as necessary and evaluate the results obtained from its application;
(d) seek appropriate ways of preventing and solving problems which might otherwise arise in areas covered by Part IV of this Agreement; and
(e) approve the rules of procedures of all Sub-Committees under Part IV of this Agreement and supervise their work.
3. In the performance of its duties under paragraph 2, the Association Committee may:
(a) establish additional Sub-Committees from those established in Part IV of this Agreement, composed of representatives of the European Commission and of each of the Republics of the CA Party, and assign them responsibilities within its competence. It may also decide to modify the functions that are assigned to the Sub-Committees it establishes, as well as dissolve them;
(b) recommend the adoption of decisions in compliance with the specific objectives of Part IV of this Agreement, to the Association Council; and
(c) take any other action in the exercise of its functions as the Parties may agree or as instructed by the Association Council.
Article 347. Coordinators of Part IV of this Agreement
1. The European Commission and each of the Republics of the CA Party shall appoint a Coordinator for Part IV of this Agreement, within sixty days after the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. The coordinators shall work jointly to develop agendas and make all other necessary preparations for the meetings of the Association Council and the Association Committee according to the above provisions, and shall follow-up on the decisions of such bodies, as appropriate.
Article 348. Sub-committees
1. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 8 of Title II (Institutional Framework) of Part I of this Agreement, this Article shall be applied to all Sub-Committees established in Part IV of this Agreement.
2. Sub-Committees shall be composed of representatives of the European Commission, on the one side, and of representatives of each of the Republics of the CA Party, on the other.
3. The Sub-Committees shall meet once per year or at the request of either Party or of the Association Committee, at an appropriate level. When in person, meetings shall be held alternately in Brussels or Central America. Meetings may also be held by any technological mean available to the Parties.
4. The Sub-Committee shall be chaired alternately by a representative of the EU Party on one hand and by a representative of one Republic of the CA Party on the other, for a period of one year.
Title XIV. EXCEPTIONS
Article 349. Balance of Payments
1. Where any Party experiences serious balance of payments and external financial difficulties, or is under threat thereof, it may adopt or maintain restrictive measures with regard to trade in goods, services and with regard to current payments.
2. The Parties shall endeavour to avoid the application of the restrictive measures referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Any restrictive measures adopted or maintained under this Article shall be non discriminatory, temporary and shall not go beyond what is necessary to remedy the balance of payments and external financial situation. They shall be in accordance with the relevant conditions established in the WTO Agreements and consistent with the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund.
4. Any Party maintaining or having adopted restrictive measures, or any changes thereto, shall promptly notify them to the other Party and present, as soon as possible, a time schedule for their removal.
5. If a Party considers that the restrictive measure adopted or maintained affects the bilateral trade relation, it may request consultations to the other Party that shall promptly take place within the Association Committee. Such consultations shall assess the balance of payments situation of the Party concerned and the restrictions adopted or maintained under this Article, taking into account, inter alia, factors such as:
(a) the nature and extent of the balance of payments and the external financial difficulties;
(b) the external economic and trading environment; or
(c) alternative corrective measures which may be available. The consultations shall address the compliance of any restrictive measures with paragraphs 3 and 4. All findings of statistical and other facts presented by the International Monetary Fund relating to foreign exchange, monetary reserves and balance of payments shall be accepted as such and conclusions shall be based on the assessment by the International Monetary Fund of the balance of payments and the external financial situation of the Party concerned.
Article 350. Taxation
1. Nothing in Part IV of this Agreement or in any arrangement adopted under this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the Parties from distinguishing, in the application of the relevant provisions of their respective tax law, between taxpayers who are not in the same situation, in particular with regard to their place of residence or with regard to the place where their capital is invested.
2. Nothing in Part IV of this Agreement or in any arrangement adopted under Part IV shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement of any measure aimed at preventing the avoidance or evasion of taxes pursuant to the tax provisions of agreements to avoid double taxation or other tax arrangements or domestic tax law.
3. Nothing in Part IV of this Agreement shall affect the respective rights and obligations of the Parties under any tax agreement. In the event of any inconsistency between Part IV of this Agreement and any such agreement, that latter agreement shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
Article 351. Regional Preference
1. Nothing in Part IV of this Agreement shall oblige a Party to extend to the other Party any more favourable treatment which is applied within each of the Parties as part of its respective regional economic integration process.
2. Nothing in Part IV of this Agreement shall prevent the maintenance, modification or establishment of customs unions, free trade zones or other agreements between the Parties, or between the Parties and third countries or regions.
Part V. Final Provisions
Article 352. Definition of the Parties
1. The Parties to this Agreement are the Republics of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, referred to as the "Republics of the CA Party" on the one hand, and the European Union or its Member States or the European Union and its Member States, within their respective areas of competence, referred to as the "EU Party" on the other.
2. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "Party" shall refer to each Republic of the CA Party, without prejudice to the obligation of acting collectively under the provisions set out in paragraph 3, or the EU Party respectively.
3. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Republics of the CA Party agree and commit to act collectively in the following provisions:
(a) in the decision making through the bodies referred to in Title II (Institutional Framework) of Part I of this Agreement;
(b) in the implementation of the obligations provided in Title IX (Regional Economic Integration) of Part IV of this Agreement;
(c) in the implementation of the obligation of establishing a Central American Competition Regulation and competition authority, according to Articles 277 and 279, paragraph 2 of Title VII (Trade and Competition) of Part IV of this Agreement; and
(d) in the implementation of the obligation of establishing a single point of access at a regional level, according to Article 212, paragraph 2 of Title V (Government Procurement) of Part IV of this Agreement. When acting collectively in accordance with this paragraph, the Republics of the CA Party shall be referred to as the "CA Party".
4. For any other provision under this Agreement, the Republics of the CA Party shall assume obligations and act individually.
5. Notwithstanding the provision of paragraph 3, and consistent with the further development of Central American regional integration, the Republics of the CA Party commit to seek progressively to increase the scope of areas in which they will act collectively and will notify the EU Party accordingly. The Association Council shall adopt a decision indicating precisely the scope of those areas.
Article 353. Entry Into Force
1. This Agreement shall be approved by the Parties in accordance with their own internal legal procedures.
2. This Agreement shall enter into force the first day of the month following that in which the Parties have notified each other of the completion of the internal legal procedures referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Notifications shall be sent, in the case of the EU Party, to the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union and, in the case of the Republics of the CA Party, to the Secretaría General del Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SG-SICA), who shall be the depositories of this Agreement.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, Part IV of this Agreement may be applied by the European Union and each of the Republics of the CA Party from the first day of the month following the date on which they have notified each other of the completion of the internal legal procedures necessary for this purpose. In this case, the institutional bodies necessary for the functioning of this Agreement shall exercise their functions.
5. By the date of entry into force as provided in paragraph 2, or by the date of application of this Agreement, if applied pursuant to paragraph 4, each Party shall have fulfilled the requirements established in Article 244 and Article 245, paragraph 1(a) and (b) of Title VI (Intellectual Property) of Part IV of this Agreement. If a Republic of the CA Party has not fulfilled such requirements, this Agreement shall not enter into force in accordance with paragraph 2 or shall not be applied in accordance with paragraph 4 between the EU Party and such non-compliant Republic of the CA Party, until those requirements have been fulfilled.
6. Where a provision of this Agreement is applied in accordance with paragraph 4, any reference in such provision to the date of entry into force of this Agreement shall be understood to refer to the date from which the Parties agree to apply that provision in accordance with paragraph 4.
7. The Parties for which Part IV of this Agreement has entered into force in accordance with paragraph 2 or 4 may also use materials originating in the Republics of the CA Party for which this Agreement is not in force.
8. From the date of its entry into force in accordance with paragraph 2, this Agreement shall replace the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreements that are in force between the Republics of the CA Party and the EU Party.
Article 354. Duration
1. This Agreement shall be of indefinite duration and validity.
2. Any Party shall give written notification to the respective depositary of its intention to denounce this Agreement.
3. In case of denunciation by any Party, the other Parties shall examine in the context of the Association Committee the effect of such denunciation on this Agreement. The Association Council shall decide on any necessary adjustment or transition measures.
4. Denunciation shall take effect six months after notification to the respective depositary.
Article 355. Fulfilment of the Obligations
1. The Parties shall adopt any general or specific measures required for them to fulfil their obligations under this Agreement, and shall ensure that they comply with the objectives laid down in this Agreement.
2. If a Party considers that another Party has failed to fulfil an obligation under this Agreement, it may have recourse to appropriate measures. Before doing so, except in cases of special urgency, it shall submit to the Association Council within thirty days all relevant information required for a thorough examination of the situation with a view to seeking a solution acceptable to the Parties. In selecting which measures to adopt, priority shall be given to those which are least disruptive to the implementation of this Agreement. Such measures shall be notified immediately to the Association Committee and shall be the subject of consultations in the Committee if a Party so requests.
3. The Parties agree that the term "cases of special urgency" in paragraph 2 means a case of material breach of this Agreement by one of the Parties. The Parties further agree that the term "appropriate measures" referred to in paragraph 2 means measures taken in accordance with international law. It is understood that suspension would be a measure of last resort.
4. A material breach of this Agreement consists in:
(a) repudiation of this Agreement not sanctioned by general rules of international law;
(b) violation of the essential elements of this Agreement.
5. If a Party has recourse to a measure in case of special urgency, the other Party may request that an urgent meeting be called to convene the Parties within fifteen days.
6. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, if one Party considers that another Party has failed to fulfil one or more obligations under Part IV of this Agreement, it shall exclusively have recourse to, and abide by, the dispute settlement procedures established under Title X (Dispute Settlement) and the mediation mechanism, established under Title XI (Mediation Mechanism for Non-Tariff Measures) of Part IV of this Agreement or other alternative mechanisms foreseen for specific obligations in Part IV of this Agreement.
Article 356. Rights and Obligations Under this Agreement
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as conferring rights or imposing obligations on persons, other than those rights or obligations created by this Agreement nor as obliging a Party to permit that this Agreement be directly invoked in its domestic legal system, unless otherwise provided in that Party's domestic legislation.
Article 357. Exceptions
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:
(a) to require any Party to furnish or allow access to any information, the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests; or
(b) to prevent any Party from taking any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests: (i) relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived; (ii) relating to economic activities carried on directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment;
(iii) connected with the production of or trade in arms, munitions, or war materials;
(iv) relating to government procurement indispensable for national security or for national defence purposes;
(v) taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations;
(c) to prevent any Party from taking any action in pursuance of obligations it has accepted for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security; or
(d) to prevent any Party from independently deciding on budgetary priorities or to require any Party to increase budgetary resources towards implementing the obligations and commitments contained in this Agreement.
2. The Association Council shall be informed to the fullest extent possible of measures taken under paragraphs 1(a) and (b) and of their termination.
Article 358. Future Developments
1. The Parties may agree to broaden and supplement this Agreement by amending it or by concluding agreements on specific sectors or activities, including in the light of the experience gained during the implementation of this Agreement.
2. The Parties may also agree on any other amendment of this Agreement.
3. All the above mentioned amendments and agreements shall be approved in accordance with each Party's internal legal procedures.
Article 359. Accession of New Members
1. The Association Committee shall be informed of any request made by a third State to become a member of the European Union and of any request made by a third State to join the political and economic integration processes in Central America.
2. During the negotiations between the European Union and the applicant State, the EU Party shall provide the CA Party with any relevant information and in its turn, the CA Party shall convey its views (if any) to the EU Party so that it can take them fully into account. The CA Party shall be notified by the EU Party of any accession to the European Union.
3. Equally, during the negotiations between the CA Party and the State applying to join the political and economic integration processes in Central America, the CA Party shall provide the EU Party with any relevant information and in its turn, the EU Party shall convey its views (if any) to the CA Party so that it can take them fully into account. The EU Party shall be notified by the CA Party of any accession to the political and economic integration processes in Central America.
4. The Parties shall examine in the context of the Association Committee the effect of such accession on this Agreement. The Association Council shall decide on any necessary adjustment or transition measures which shall be approved in accordance with each Party's internal legal procedures.
5. If the act of joining the political and economic integration processes in Central America does not provide for an automatic accession to this Agreement, the State concerned shall accede by depositing an act of accession with the respective depository bodies of the Parties.
6. The instrument of accession shall be deposited with the depositaries.
Article 360. Territorial Application
1. For the EU Party, this Agreement shall apply to the territories in which the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union are applied and under the conditions laid down in those Treaties.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, to the extent that the European Union customs territory includes areas not covered by the preceding territorial definition, this Agreement shall likewise apply to the European Union customs territory.
3. For Central America, this Agreement shall apply to the territories of the Republics of the CA Party, in accordance with their respective domestic legislation and international law.
Article 361. Reservations and Interpretative Declarations
This Agreement does not allow unilateral reservations or interpretative declarations.
Article 362. Annexes, Appendices, Protocols and Notes, Footnotes and Joint Declarations
The Annexes, Appendices, Protocols and Notes, Footnotes and Joint Declarations to this Agreement shall form an integral part thereof.