2. Notwithstanding Article 158 of this Agreement, at the request of the other Party, the Party initiating a safeguard investigation and intending to apply safeguard measures shall provide immediately ad hoc written notification of all the pertinent information leading to the initiation of a safeguard investigation and the imposition of safeguard measures, including, where relevant, information on the initiation of a safeguard investigation, on the provisional findings and on the final findings of the investigation, as well as offer the possibility for consultations to the other Party.
3. For the purposes of this Article, a Party shall be considered as having a substantial economic interest when it is among the five largest suppliers of the imported product during the most recent three-year period, measured in terms of either absolute volume or value.
Article 160. Application of Measures
1. When imposing safeguard measures, the Parties shall endeavour to impose them in a way that affects their bilateral trade the least.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, if a Party considers that the legal requirements for the imposition of definitive safeguard measures are met and intends to apply such measures, that Party shall notify the other Party and give the latter the possibility to hold bilateral consultations. If no satisfactory solution has been reached within 30 days of the notification, the importing Party may take the appropriate measures to remedy the problem.
Section 2. Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures
Article 161. General Provisions
1. The Parties confirm their rights and obligations under Article VI of GATT 1994, the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement ("Anti-Dumping Agreement"), and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement ("SCM Agreement").
2. The preferential rules of origin established under Chapter 1 (National Treatment and Market Access for Goods) of Title V (Trade and Trade-related Matters) of this Agreement shall not apply to this Section.
3. The provisions of this Section shall not be subject to Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) of Title V (Trade and Trade- related Matters) of this Agreement.
Article 162. Transparency
1. The Parties agree that antidumping and countervailing measures should be used in full compliance with the requirements of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the SCM Agreement, respectively, and should be based on a fair and transparent system.
2. The Parties shall ensure, immediately after the imposition of provisional measures and before the final determin- ation is made, full and meaningful disclosure of all essential facts and considerations which form the basis for the deci- sion to apply measures, without prejudice to Article 6(5) of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 12(4) of the SCM Agreement. Disclosures shall be made in writing and allow interested parties sufficient time to make their comments.
3. Provided it does not unnecessarily delay the conduct of the investigation, each interested party shall be granted the possibility to be heard in order to express its views during anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations.
Article 163. Consideration of Public Interest
Anti-dumping or countervailing measures may not be applied by a Party where, on the basis of the information made available during the investigation, it can clearly be concluded that it is not in the public interest to apply such measures. The public interest determination shall be based on an appreciation of all the various interests taken as a whole, including the interests of the domestic industry, users, consumers and importers to the extent that they have provided relevant information to the investigating authorities.
Article 164. Lesser Duty Rule
Should a Party decide to impose a provisional or a definitive anti-dumping or countervailing duty, the amount of such duty shall not exceed the margin of dumping or the total amount of countervailable subsidies, but it should be less than the margin of dumping or the total amount of countervailable subsidies if such a lesser duty would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry.
Section 3. Bilateral Safeguard Measures
Article 165. Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure
1. If, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, goods originating in a Party are being imported into the territory of the other Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive goods, the importing Party may adopt the measures provided for in paragraph 2 in accordance with the conditions and procedures laid down in this Section.
2. The importing Party may take a bilateral safeguard measure which:
(a) suspends further reduction of the rate of customs duty on the good concerned provided for under this Agreement; or
(b) increases the rate of customs duty on the good to a level which does not exceed the lesser of:
(i) the MFN applied rate of customs duty on the good in effect at the time the measure is taken; or
(ii) the base rate of customs duty specified in the Schedules included in Annex XV pursuant to Article 147 of this Agreement.
Article 166. Conditions and Limitations
1. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing of the initiation of an investigation described in paragraph 2 and consult with the other Party, as far in advance of applying a bilateral safeguard measure as practicable, with a view to reviewing the information arising from the investigation and exchanging views on the measure.
2. A Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure only following an investigation by its competent authorities in accordance with Articles 3 and 4.2(c) of the Agreement on Safeguards. To that end, Articles 3 and 4.2(c) of the Agreement on Safeguards are incorporated into this Agreement and made part thereof, mutatis mutandis.
3. When conducting the investigation described in paragraph 2 of this Article, the Party shall comply with the requirements of Article 4.2(a) of the Agreement on Safeguards. To that end, Article 4.2(a) of the Agreement on Safeguards is incorporated into this Agreement and made part thereof, mutatis mutandis.
4. Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities complete any investigation described in paragraph 2 within one year of the date of its initiation.
5. Neither Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure:
(a) except to the extent, and for such time, as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate the adjustment of the domestic industry;
(b) for a period exceeding two years. However, that period may be extended by up to two years if the competent authorities of the importing Party determine, in accordance with the procedures specified in this Article, that the measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate the adjustment of the domestic industry and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting, provided that the total period of application of a safeguard measure, including the period of initial application and any extension thereof, shall not exceed four years;
(c) beyond the expiration of the transitional period; or
(d) with respect to the same product, at the same time as a measure under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards is applied.
6. When a Party terminates a bilateral safeguard measure, the rate of customs duty shall be the rate that, according to its Schedule included in Annex XV to this Agreement, would have been in effect but for the measure.
Article 167. Provisional Measures
In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage that would be difficult to repair, a Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure on a provisional basis pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that the imports of a good originating in the other Party have increased as the result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, and such imports cause serious injury, or a threat thereof, to the domestic industry. The duration of any provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which time the Party shall comply with the requirements of Articles 166(2) and 166(3) of this Agreement. The Party shall promptly refund any duty paid in excess of the customs duty set out in Annex XV to this Agreement if the investigation described in Article 166(2) of this Agreement does not result in a finding that the requirements of Article 165 of this Agreement have been met. The duration of any provisional measure shall be counted as part of the period prescribed in Article 166(5)(b) of this Agreement.
Article 168. Compensation
1. A Party applying a bilateral safeguard measure shall consult with the other Party in order to arrive at a mutually agreed appropriate trade-liberalising 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 safeguard measure. The Party shall provide an opportunity for such consultations no later than 30 days after the application of the bilateral safeguard measure.
2. If the consultations under paragraph 1 do not result in an agreement on trade-liberalising compensation within 30 days after the consultations begin, the Party whose goods are subject to the safeguard measure may suspend the application of substantially equivalent concessions to the Party applying the safeguard measure.
3. The right of suspension referred to in paragraph 2 shall not be exercised for the first 24 months during which a bilateral safeguard measure is in effect, provided that the safeguard measure conforms to the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 169. Definitions
For the purposes of this Section:
(a) "serious injury" and "threat of serious injury" shall be understood in accordance with Article 4.1(a) and (b) of the Agreement on Safeguards. To that end, Article 4.1(a) and (b) of the Agreement on Safeguards is incorporated into this Agreement and made part thereof, mutatis mutandis; and
(b) transitional period means a period of 10 years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Chapter 3. Technical Barriers to Trade, Standardisation, Metrology, Accreditation and Conformity Assessment
Article 170. Scope and Definitions
1. This Chapter applies to the preparation, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures as defined in the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement ("TBT Agreement"), that may affect trade in goods between the Parties.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, this Chapter does not apply to sanitary and phytosanitary measures as defined in Annex A to the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement ("SPS Agreement", nor to purchasing specifications prepared by public authorities for their own production or consumption requirements.
3. For the purposes of this Chapter, the definitions of Annex 1 to the TBT Agreement shall apply.
Article 171. Affirmation of the TBT Agreement
The Parties affirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the TBT Agreement which is hereby incorporated into this Agreement and made part thereof.
Article 172. Technical Cooperation
1. The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in the field of standards, technical regulations, metrology, market surveillance, accreditation and conformity assessment systems with a view to increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems and facilitating access to their respective markets. To that end, they may establish regulatory dialogues at both horizontal and sectoral levels.
2. In their cooperation, the Parties shall seek to identify, develop and promote trade facilitating initiatives which may include, but are not limited to:
(a) reinforcing regulatory cooperation through the exchange of data and experience and through scientific and technical cooperation, with a view to improving the quality of their technical regulations, standards, market surveillance, con- formity assessment and accreditation, and making efficient use of regulatory resources;
(b) promoting and encouraging cooperation between their respective organisations, public or private, responsible for metrology, standardisation, market surveillance, conformity assessment and accreditation;
(c) fostering the development of the quality infrastructure for standardisation, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment and the market surveillance system in the Republic of Moldova;
(d) promoting the participation of the Republic of Moldova in the work of related European organisations;
(e) seeking solutions to technical barriers to trade that may arise; and
(f) coordinating their positions in international trade and regulatory organisations such as the WTO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
Article 173. Approximation of Technical Regulations, Standards, and Conformity Assessment
1. The Republic of Moldova shall take the necessary measures in order to gradually achieve conformity with the Union's technical regulations, standards, metrology, accreditation, conformity assessment, corresponding systems and market surveillance system, and undertakes to follow the principles and the practice laid down in the relevant Union acquis.
2. With a view to reaching the objectives set out in paragraph 1, the Republic of Moldova shall:
(a) progressively incorporate the relevant Union acquis into its legislation in accordance with the provisions of Annex XVI to this Agreement; and
(b) carry out the administrative and institutional reforms that are necessary to provide the effective and transparent system that is required for the implementation of this Chapter.
3. The Republic of Moldova shall refrain from amending its horizontal and sectoral legislation, except for aligning such legislation progressively with the corresponding Union acquis and for maintaining such alignment, and it shall notify the Union of changes to its domestic legislation.
4. The Republic of Moldova shall ensure the participation of its relevant national bodies in European and international organisations for standardisation, legal and fundamental metrology, and conformity assessment, including accreditation, in accordance with the respective areas of activity of those bodies and the membership status available to them.
5. With a view to integrating its standardisation system, the Republic of Moldova shall:
(a) progressively transpose the corpus of European Standards (EN) as national standards, including the harmonised European standards, the voluntary use of which shall give a presumption of conformity with Union legislation transposed into the legislation of the Republic of Moldova;
(b) simultaneously with such transposition, withdraw conflicting national standards; and
(c) progressively fulfil the conditions for full membership of the European Standards Organisations.
6. After the entry into force of this Agreement, the Republic of Moldova shall provide the Union with reports on the measures taken in accordance with Annex XVI to this Agreement once a year. Where actions listed in Annex XVI to this Agreement have not been executed by the time set therein, the Republic of Moldova shall indicate a new schedule for the completion of such actions. Annex XVI to this Agreement may be adapted by the Parties.
Article 174. Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA)
1. The Parties shall ultimately agree to add an Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA) as a Protocol to this Agreement, covering sectors from the list in Annex XVI to this Agreement that are considered to be aligned after they have been agreed upon, following verification by the Union, that the relevant sectoral and horizontal legislation, institutions and standards of the Republic of Moldova have been fully aligned with those of the Union. It is intended to ultimately extend the ACAA to cover all the sectors listed in Annex XVI to this Agreement.
2. The ACAA will provide that trade between the Parties in products in the sectors that it covers shall take place under the same conditions as those applying to trade in such products between the Member States.
Article 175. Marking and Labelling
1. Without prejudice to Articles 173 and 174 of this Agreement, and with respect to technical regulations relating to labelling or marking requirements, the Parties reaffirm the principles of Chapter 2.2 of the TBT Agreement that such requirements are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade. For that purpose, such labelling or marking requirements shall not be more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective, taking account of the risks that non-fulfilment would create.
2. Regarding obligatory marking or labelling in particular, the Parties agree that:
(a) they will endeavour to minimise their needs for marking or labelling, except as required for the adoption of the Union acquis in this area and for the protection of health, safety or the environment, or for other reasonable public policy purposes; and
(b) they retain the right to require the information on the label or marking to be in a specified language.
Chapter 4. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Article 176. Objective
1. The objective of this Chapter is to facilitate trade in commodities covered by sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS measures) between the Parties, whilst safeguarding human, animal or plant life or health, by:
(a) ensuring full transparency as regards measures applicable to trade, listed in Annex XVII to this Agreement;
(b) approximating the regulatory system of the Republic of Moldova to that of the Union;
(c) recognising the animal and plant health status of the Parties and applying the principle of regionalisation;
(d) establishing a mechanism for the recognition of equivalence of measures, maintained by a Party and listed in Annex XVII to this Agreement;
(e) continuing to implement the SPS Agreement;
(f) establishing mechanisms and procedures for trade facilitation; and
(g) improving communication and cooperation between the Parties on measures listed in Annex XVII to this Agreement.
2. This Chapter aims at reaching a common understanding between the Parties concerning animal welfare standards.
Article 177. Multilateral Obligations
The Parties re-affirm their rights and obligations under the WTO Agreements, and in particular the SPS Agreement.
Article 178. Scope
This Chapter shall apply to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures of a Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties, including all measures listed in Annex XVII to this Agreement.
Article 179. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "sanitary and phytosanitary measures" (SPS measures) means measures, as defined in paragraph 1 of Annex A to the SPS Agreement;
(2) "animals" means animals, as defined in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code or the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE);
(3) "animal products" means products of animal origin, including aquatic animal products, as defined in the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the OIE;
(4) "animal by-products not intended for human consumption" means animal products as listed in Part 2 (II) of Annex XVII-A to this Agreement;
(5) "plants" means living plants and specified living parts thereof, including seeds:
(a) fruit, in the botanical sense, other than those preserved by deep freezing;
(b) vegetables, other than those preserved by deep freezing;
(c) tubers, corms, bulbs, rhizomes;
(d) cut flowers;
(e) branches with foliage;
(f) cut trees retaining foliage;
(g) plant tissue cultures;
(h) leaves, foliage;
(i) live pollen; and
(j) bud-wood, cuttings, scions;
(6) "plant products" means products of plant origin, unprocessed or having undergone simple preparation insofar as they are not plants, set out in Part 3 of Annex XVII-A to this Agreement;
(7) "seeds" means seeds in the botanical sense, intended for planting;
(8) "pests" or "harmful organisms" means any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products;
(9) "protected zone" for a specified regulated harmful organism means an officially defined geographical area in the Union in which that organism is not established in spite of favourable conditions and its presence in other parts of the Union;
(10) "animal disease" means a clinical or pathological manifestation in animals of an infection;
(11) "aquaculture disease" means clinical or non-clinical infection with one or more of the aetiological agents of the diseases referred to in the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the OIE;
(12) "infection in animals" means the situation where animals maintain an infectious agent with or without the presence of clinical or pathological manifestation of an infection;
(13) "animal welfare standards" means standards for the protection of animals, developed and applied by the Parties and, as appropriate, in line with the OIE standards;
(14) "appropriate level" of sanitary and phytosanitary protection means the appropriate level of sanitary and phytosani- tary protection as defined in paragraph 5 of Annex A to the SPS Agreement;
(15) "region" means, with regard to animal health, a zone or a region as defined in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the OIE and, with regard, to aquaculture a zone as defined in the Aquatic Animal Health Code of the OIE. For the Union the term "territory" or "country" means the territory of the Union;
(16) "pest free area" (PFA) means an area in which a specific pest does not occur as demonstrated by scientific evidence and in which, where appropriate, that condition is being officially maintained;
(17) "regionalisation" means the concept of regionalisation as described in Article 6 of the SPS Agreement;
(18) "consignment" means a number of live animals or quantity of animal products of the same type, covered by the same certificate or document, conveyed by the same means of transport, consigned by a single consignor and originating in the same exporting Party or region(s) of the Party. A consignment of animals may be composed of one or more lots. A consignment of animal products may be composed of one or more commodities or lots;
(19) "consignment of plants or plant products" means a quantity of plants, plant products and/or other objects being moved from a Party to another Party and covered, when required, by a single phytosanitary certificate. A consignment may be composed of one or more commodities or lots;
(20) "lot" means a number or units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, and forming part of a consignment;
(21) "equivalence for trade purposes" (equivalence) means the situation where the importing Party shall accept the measures listed in Annex XVII to this Agreement of the exporting Party as equivalent, even if those measures differ from its own, if the exporting party objectively demonstrates to the importing Party that its measures achieve the importing Party's appropriate level of sanitary and phytosanitary protection or acceptable level of risk;
(22) "sector" means the production and trade structure for a product or category of products in a Party;
(23) "sub-sector" means a well-defined and controlled part of a sector;
(24) "commodity" means the products or objects being moved for trade purpose, including those referred to in points 2 to 7;
(25) "specific import authorisation" means a formal prior authorisation by the competent authorities of the importing Party addressed to an individual importer as a condition for import of a single consignment or multiple consignments of a commodity from the exporting Party, within the scope of this Chapter;
(26) "working days" means week days except Sunday, Saturday and public holidays in one of the Parties;
(27) "inspection" means the examination of any aspect of feed, food, animal health and animal welfare in order to verify that such aspect(s) comply with the legal requirements of feed and food law and animal health and animal welfare rules;
(28) "plant health inspection" means official visual examination of plants, plant products or other regulated objects to determine if pests are present and/or to determine compliance with phytosanitary regulations;
(29) "verification" means checking, by examination and consideration of objective evidence, whether specified requirements have been fulfilled.
Article 180. Competent Authorities
The Parties shall inform each other about the structure, organisation and division of competences of their competent authorities during the first meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Sub-Committee (SPS Sub-Committee) referred to in Article 191 of this Agreement. The Parties shall inform each other of any change of the structure, organisation and division of competences, including of the contact points, concerning such competent authorities.
Article 181. Gradual Approximation
1. The Republic of Moldova shall gradually approximate its sanitary and phytosanitary and animal welfare law to that of the Union as set out in Annex XXIV to this Agreement.
2. The Parties shall cooperate on gradual approximation and capacity-building.
3. The SPS Sub-Committee shall regularly monitor the implementation of the approximation process set out in Annex XXIV to this Agreement in order to provide necessary recommendations on approximation.
4. No later than three months after the entry into force of this Agreement, the Republic of Moldova shall submit a list of the EU sanitary and phytosanitary, animal welfare and other legislative measures which the Republic of Moldova will approximate. The list shall be divided into priority areas that relate to the measures, defined in Annex XVII to this Agreement, specifying the commodity or the group of commodities covered by the approximated measures. That approximation list shall serve as a reference document for the implementation of this Chapter.
5. The approximation list and the principles for the evaluation of the progress in the approximation process will be added to Annex XXIV to this Agreement and will be based on the technical and financial resources of the Republic of Moldova.
Article 182. Recognition for Trade Purposes of Animal Health and Pest Status and Regional Conditions Recognition of Status for Animal Diseases, Infections In Animals or Pests
1. As regards animal diseases and infections in animals (including zoonosis), the following shall apply:
(a) the importing Party shall recognise for trade purposes the animal health status of the exporting Party or its regions determined in accordance with the procedure set out in Annex XIX Part A to this Agreement, with respect to animal diseases specified in Annex XVIII-A to this Agreement;