Title
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF PERU AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
Preamble
PREAMBLE
The Government of the Republic of Peru and the Government of the Republic of Singapore, hereinafter in this Agreement referred to as “the Parties”;
Recognising the friendship and growing economic ties between them;
Aware of the increasing importance of trade and investment for the future prosperity of the economies of the AsiaPacific region;
Conscious that open, transparent and competitive markets are the key drivers of economic efficiency, innovation, wealth creation and consumer welfare;
Desiring to strengthen their economic partnership to bring economic and social benefits to their people and improve living standards;
Determined to create a legal framework for an economic partnership between the Parties;
Reaffirming their willingness to strengthen and reinforce the multilateral trading system as reflected in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements and arrangements to which they are both Parties;
Mindful of their commitment to the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) goals of free and open trade and investment;
Have agreed as follows
Body
Chapter I. INITIAL PROVISIONS AND GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Section A. INITIAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.1. ESTABLISHMENT OF A FREE TRADE AREA
The Parties to this Agreement, consistent with Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and Article V of GATS, hereby establish a free trade area in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 1.2. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS UNDER OTHER AGREEMENTS
1. The Parties reaffirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the WTO Agreement and other existing Agreements to which both Parties are party.
2. Unless otherwise provided for in any Chapter of this Agreement, this Agreement shall not be construed to derogate from any international legal obligation between the Parties that entitles goods or services, or suppliers of goods or services, to treatment more favorable than that accorded by this Agreement.
Section B. GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Article 1.3. DEFINITIONS OF GENERAL APPLICATION
For purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise specified: Agreement means the Peru-Singapore Free Trade Agreement; APEC means Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; central level of government means:
(a) for Peru, the national level of government; and
(b) for Singapore, the national level of government;
Commission means the Free Trade Commission established under Article 16.1 (The Free Trade Commission);
customs authority means the competent authority that is responsible under the law of a Party for the administration of customs laws and regulations
Customs Valuation Agreement means the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994;
days means calendar days including weekends and holidays, but for the calculation of time periods, where the last day falls on a non-working day, the last day will be extended to the next working day;
enterprise means an entity constituted or organized under applicable law, whether or not for profit, and whether privately or governmentally owned or controlled, including a corporation, trust, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, association, or similar organization, and a branch of an enterprise;
GATS means the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services;
GATT 1994 means the WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994; goods of a Party means domestic products as these are understood in the GATT 1994 or such goods as the Parties may agree and includes originating
goods of that Party;
Harmonized System means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including all legal notes and amendments thereto;
identical goods means goods that are the same in all respects relevant to the particular rule of origin that qualifies the goods as originating;
local level of government means: (a) for Peru, the provincial and local municipalities; and (b) for Singapore, entities with sub-national legislative or executive powers under domestic law, including Town Councils and Community Development Councils; measure means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or any other form,
and includes measures taken by:
(a) central, regional or local governments and authorities; and
(b) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities;
national of a Party means a natural person who resides in the territory of the Party or elsewhere and who under the law of that Party:
(a) is a natural person who has the nationality of that Party according to Article 1.4 (Country-Specific Definitions); or
(b) has the right of permanent residence in that Party; person means a natural person or an enterprise; person of a Party means a national ofa Party or an enterprise ofa Party;
preferential tariff treatment means the duty rate applicable under this Agreement to an originating good
territory means for a Party the territory of that Party as set out in Article 1.4 (Country-Specific Definitions);
WTO means the World Trade Organization; and
WTO Agreement means the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization; and
WTO Agreement on Safeguards means the Agreement on Safeguards 1994, which is part of the WTO Agreement.
Article 1.4. COUNTRY-SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise specified: natural person who has the nationality of a Party means:
(a) with respect to Peru, Peruvians by birth, naturalization or by option as stated in articles 52 and 53 of its Constitution; and
(b) with respect to Singapore, any person who is a citizen within the meaning of its Constitution and domestic laws;
territory means:
(a) with respect to Peru, the continental territory, the islands, the maritime area and the airspace above them, in which Peru exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction or sovereign rights in accordance with its domestic law and international law;
(b) with respect to Singapore, its land territory, internal waters and territorial sea as well as the maritime zones beyond the territorial sea, including the seabed and subsoil, over which the Republic of Singapore exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction under its national laws and international law for the purpose of exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of such areas.
Chapter 2. TRADE IN GOODS
Article 2.1. SCOPE AND COVERAGE
Except as otherwise provided, this Chapter applies to the trade in goods between the Parties.
Article 2.2. DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this Chapter:
1. AD Agreement refers to the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, which is part of the WTO Agreement;
2. advertising films and recordings means recorded visual media or audio materials, consisting essentially of images and/or sound, designed to advertise or promote goods or services by any company, firm or person, having an established business or resident in the territory of a Party, excluding such media for broadcast to the general public;
3. commercial samples of negligible value means commercial samples having a value, individually or in the aggregate as shipped, of not more than one U.S. dollar, or the equivalent amount in the currency of another Party, or so marked, torn, perforated, or otherwise treated that they are unsuitable for sale or for use except as commercial samples;
4. consular transactions: means requirements that goods of a Party intended for export to the territory of another Party must first be submitted to the supervision of the consul of the importing Party in the territory of the exporting Party for the purpose of obtaining consular invoices or consular visas for commercial invoices, certificates of origin, manifests, shippers' export declarations, or any other customs documentation required on or in connection with importation;
5. customs duties includes any customs or import duty and a charge of any kind imposed in connection with the import of a good, including any form of surtax or surcharge in connection with such import, but does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with Article III (2) of GATT 1994, including excise duties and goods and services tax or sales tax;
(b) anti-dumping or countervailing duty applied consistently with the provisions of GATT 1994, the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures; and
(c) fee or other charge in connection with importing commensurate with the cost of services rendered and do not represent a direct or indirect protection for domestic goods or a taxation of imports for fiscal purposes;
6. duty-free means free of customs duty;
7. goods intended for display or demonstration includes their component parts, ancillary apparatus, and accessories;
8. goods temporarily admitted for sports purposes means sports equipment for use in sports contests, events, or training in the territory of the Party into whose territory such goods are admitted;
9. performance requirement means a requirement that:
(a) a given level or percentage of goods or services be exported;
(b) domestic goods or services of the Party granting a waiver of customs duties or an import license be substituted for imported goods or services;
(c) a person benefiting from a waiver of customs duties or an import license purchase other goods or services in the territory of the Party granting the waiver of customs duties or the import license, or accord a preference to domestically produced goods;
(d) a person benefiting from a waiver of customs duties or an import license produce goods or supply services, in the territory of the Party granting the waiver of customs duties or the import license, with a given level or percentage of domestic content; or
(e) relates in any way the volume or value of imports to the volume or value of exports or to the amount of foreign exchange inflows;
but performance requirement does not include a requirement that an imported good be:
(a) subsequently exported;
(b) used as a material in the production of another good that is subsequently exported;
(c) substituted by an identical good or similar good used as a material in the production of another good that is subsequently exported; or
(d) substituted by an identical or similar good that is subsequently exported;
10. printed advertising materials: means those goods classified in Chapter 49 of the Harmonized System, including brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, trade catalogues, yearbooks of trade associations, tourist promotional materials, and posters, that are used to promote, publicize, or advertise a good or service, are essentially intended to advertise a good or service, and are supplied free of charge; and
11. SCM Agreement refers to the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, which is part of the WTO Agreement.
Article 2.3. NATIONAL TREATMENT
1. Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of the GATT 1994.
2. To this end, Article II] of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.4. ELIMINATION OF CUSTOMS DUTIES
1. The provisions of this Chapter concerning the elimination of customs duties on imports shall apply to goods originating in the territories of the Parties.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, each Party shall progressively eliminate its customs duties on originating goods in accordance with Annex 2A (Peru Tariff Schedule) and Annex 2B (Singapore Tariff Schedule).
3. Peru shall maintain the application of its Price Band System as established in Supreme Decrees 115-2001-EF and 197-2002-EF and its subsequent legal modifications or succeeding system, for the products covered by that Decrees.
4. During the customs duties elimination process, the Parties agree to apply to originating goods traded between them, the lesser of the customs duties resulting from a comparison between the rate established in accordance with Annex 2A (Peru Tariff Schedule) and Annex 2B (Singapore Tariff Schedule) and the existing rate pursuant to Article II of the GATT 1994.
5. Each Party shall not increase an existing customs duty, introduce a new customs duty or impose an additional customs duty to that determined under paragraph 2, on the importation of originating goods.
6. Each Party shall refrain from applying any measure that reduces or nullifies the commitment of this Chapter.
7. The tariff classification of trade in goods between the Parties shall be governed by national nomenclature of each Party, which will be consistent with the Harmonized System and its amendments.
8. The Tariff Elimination Program shall not be applicable to used goods.
9. Remanufactured goods identified in Annex 4B (Remanufactured Goods) will not be affected by paragraph 8.
Article 2.5. ACCELERATED TARIFF ELIMINATION
1. On the request of a Party, the Parties shall consult to consider accelerating the elimination of customs duties on originating goods as set out in Annex 2A (Peru Tariff Schedule) and Annex 2B (Singapore Tariff Schedule) or incorporating into the Partyâs schedule, goods that are not subject to the elimination schedule.
2. An agreement by the Parties to accelerate the elimination of customs duties on originating goods shall enter into force after the Parties have exchanged written notification advising that they have completed necessary internal legal procedures and on such date or dates as may be agreed between them.
3. A Party may at any time accelerate unilaterally the elimination of customs duties on originating goods of the other Party set out in its Schedule in Annex 2A (Peru Tariff Schedule) and Annex 2B (Singapore Tariff Schedule). A Party considering doing so shall inform the other Party as early as practicable.
Article 2.6. EXPORT DUTIES
A Party shall not adopt or maintain any duty, tax or other charge on the exportation of goods to the territory of the other Party, unless such duty, tax or charge is adopted or maintained on any such good when destined for domestic consumption.
Article 2.7. CUSTOMS VALUATION
The Parties shall determine the customs value of goods traded between them in accordance with the provisions of Article VII of the GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994.
Article 2.8. ADMINISTRATIVE FEES AND FORMALITIES
Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article VIII (1) of GATT 1994, 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 III (2) of GATT 1994, and antidumping and countervailing duties) imposed on or in connection with import or export are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and do not represent an indirect protection to domestic goods or a taxation on imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
Article 2.9. CONSULAR FEES
1. No Party may require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of any good of another Party.
2. 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.
Article 2.10. TEMPORARY ADMISSION OF GOODS
1. With the exception of liquor and tobacco products, each Party shall grant duty-free temporary admission for the following goods, regardless of their origin, imported by or for the use of a national or resident of the other Party:
(a) professional equipment, including equipment for the press or television, software, and broadcasting and cinematographic equipment, necessary for carrying out the business activity, trade, or profession of a person who qualifies for temporary entry pursuant to the laws of the importing Party;
(b) goods intended for display or demonstration;
(c) commercial samples and advertising films and recordings; and
(d) goods admitted for sports purposes.
2. Each Party, at the request of the person concemed and for reasons its customs authority considers valid, shall extend the time limit for temporary admission beyond the period initially fixed.
3. No Party shall condition the duty-free temporary admission of a good referred to in paragraph 1, other than to require that such good:
(a) be used solely by or under the personal supervision of a national or resident of the other Party in the exercise of the business activity, trade, profession, or sport of that person;
(b) not be sold or leased or consumed while in its territory;
(c) be accompanied by a security in an amount no greater than the charges that would otherwise be owed on entry or final importation, releasable upon exportation of the good;
(d) be capable of identification when admitted and exported;
(e) be exported on the departure of the person referenced in subparagraph (a), or within such other period that is reasonably related to the purpose of the temporary admission, as the Party may establish, or within one year, unless extended;
(f) be admitted in no greater quantity than is reasonable for its intended use; and
(g) be otherwise admissible into the Party's territory under its law.
4. If any condition that a Party imposes under paragraph 3 has not been fulfilled, the Party may apply the customs duty and any other charge that would normally be owed on the final importation of the good plus any other charges or penalties provided for under its law.
5. Each Party, through its customs authority, shall adopt procedures providing for the expeditious release of goods admitted under this Article. To the extent possible, such procedures shall provide that when such a good accompanies a national or resident of the other Party who is seeking temporary entry, the good shall be released simultaneously with the entry of that national or resident.
6. Each Party shall permit a good temporarily admitted under this Article to be exported through a customs port other than that through which it was admitted.
7. Each Party shall provide that its customs authority or other competent authority relieve the importer or other person responsible for a good admitted under this Article from any liability for failure to export the good on presentation of satisfactory proof to the importing Partyâs customs authority that the good has been destroyed within the original period fixed for temporary admission or any lawful extension.
Article 2.11. GOODS RE-ENTERED AFTER REPAIR OR ALTERATION
1. No Party shall 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 the other 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. A Party shall not apply a customs duty to a good regardless of its origin, imported temporarily from the territory of the other 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 2.12. DUTY-FREE ENTRY OF COMMERCIAL SAMPLES OF NEGLIGIBLE VALUE AND PRINTED ADVERTISING MATERIALS
With the exception of liquor and tobacco products, 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.
Article 2.13. NON-TARIFF MEASURES
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, no Party shall maintain or adopt non-tariff measures that prohibit or restrict the importation of any good of the other Party or on the export or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party, except in accordance with Article XI of GATT 1994 including its interpretative notes, and to this end Article XI of GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes, is incorporated into and made a part of this Agreement. (2-1)
2. Each Party shall ensure the transparency of its non-tariff measures permitted in paragraph 1 and shall ensure that any such measures are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.
3. The Parties understand that the GATT 1994 rights and obligations incorporated in 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 fulfilment of a performance requirement; 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.
4. Paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article shall not be applied to measures established in Annex 2C (Restrictions on Import and Export).
5. No Party shall require, as a condition for engaging in importation or for the import of a good, a person of another Party to establish or maintain a contractual or other relationship with a distributor in its territory.
6. Nothing in paragraph 5 prevents a Party from requiring the designation of an agent for the purpose of facilitating communications between regulatory authorities of the Party and a person of the other Party.