4. Each Party shall ensure that goods are released within a time period no longer than that required to ensure compliance with its customs laws.
Article 51. Perishable Goods
1. With a view to preventing avoidable loss or deterioration of perishable goods, and provided all regulatory requirements have been met, each Party shall:
(a) provide for the release of perishable goods under normal circumstances within the shortest possible time; and
(b) provide for the release of perishable goods, in exceptional circumstances where it would be appropriate to do so, outside the business hours of its customs administration.
2. Each Party shall give appropriate priority to perishable goods when scheduling any examinations that may be required.
Article 52. Single Window
1. The Parties shall endeavor to establish or maintain a single window, enabling traders to submit documentation and/or data requirements for importation, exportation, or transit of goods through a single entry point to the participating authorities or agencies. After the examination by the participating authorities or agencies of the documentation and/or data, the results shall be notified to the applicants through the single window in a timely manner.
2. In cases where documentation and/or data requirements have already been received through the single window, the same documentation and/or data requirements shall not be requested by participating authorities or agencies except in urgent circumstances and other limited exceptions which are made public.
3. The Parties shall, to the extent possible and practicable, use information technology to support the single window.
Article 53. Consultation
1. The customs administration of each Party may at any time request consultations with the customs administration of the other Party, on any matter arising from the implementation or operation of this Chapter, in cases where there are reasonable grounds or truth provided by the requesting Party. Such consultations shall be conducted through the relevant contact points, and shall take place within 60 days of the request, or any other possible time period that the Parties may mutually determine.
2. In the event that such consultations fail to resolve any such matter, the requesting Party may refer the matter to the Committee on Customs referred to in Article 54 for further consideration.
3. Each customs administration shall designate one or more contact points for the purposes of this Chapter. Information on the contact points shall be provided to the other Party and any amendment of the said information shall be notified promptly.
Article 54. Committee on Customs
1. With the view to the effective implementation and operation of Chapters 4 (Rules of Origin and Origin Implementation Procedures) and 5 (Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation), a Committee on Customs is hereby established, under the FTA Joint Commission.
2. The function of the Committee on Customs shall be as follows:
(a) ensure the proper function of these two Chapters and attempt to resolve all issues arising from their application;
(b) keep Annex 2 updated on the basis of the transposition of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of the World Customs Organization;
(c) ensure the effective, uniform and consistent administration of these two Chapters, and enhance the cooperation in this regard;
(d) identify areas related to these two Chapters to be improved for facilitating trade between the Parties;
(e) address technical issues related to the implementation of Annex 2, such as change in tariff classification, regional value content calculation, etc.;
(f) review the interpretation and implementation of these two Chapters, and propose revisions to these two chapters as appropriate;
(g) exchange information on customs strategic development of each Party to strengthen the cooperation between the Parties; and
(h) make recommendations and report to the FTA Joint Commission.
3. The Committee on Customs shall consist of representatives from Customs administrations of the Parties. When deemed necessary and appropriate, as well as agreed by the Parties, representatives from other relevant government agencies or relevant non-government organizations may be invited to the Committee meetings. One or more contact points shall be designated for this purpose.
4. The Committee shall be convened annually, or at other times as the Parties may mutually agree, in a format or method agreeable to the Parties.
Chapter 6. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE AND SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Article 55. Scope and Definitions
1. This Chapter shall apply to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures, standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures that may affect trade in goods between the Parties.
2. This Chapter shall not apply to purchasing specifications prepared by governmental bodies for production or consumption requirements of such bodies.
3. For the purposes of this Chapter,
SPS Agreement means the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which is part of the WTO Agreement; and
TBT Agreement means the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, which is part of the WTO Agreement.
4. For the purposes of this Chapter, the definitions in the SPS Agreement and the TBT Agreement shall apply.
Article 56. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) facilitate bilateral trade and access to respective markets within the scope of this Chapter and further the implementation of the TBT Agreement and the SPS Agreement between the Parties;
(b) facilitate information exchange and technical cooperation between the Parties, and enhance mutual understanding of each Party’s regulatory system; and
(c) strengthen cooperation between the Parties in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures.
Article 57. Affirmation
1. The Parties affirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the TBT Agreement and the SPS Agreement.
2. Except as otherwise provided for in this Chapter, the TBT Agreement and the SPS Agreement shall apply between the Parties, and both Agreements are hereby incorporated into and made part of this Chapter, mutatis mutandis.
Article 58. Transparency
1. Each Party shall make available the full text of its sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures which are notified to the WTO, in available languages, to the requesting Party within 30 working days after receiving a written request. Upon request by competent authorities of a Party, the other Party shall provide summaries of the above documents in English.
2. Each Party shall allow at least 60 days for the other Party to present comments, except in circumstances where risks to health, safety and the environment have arisen or is threatening to arise and warrant urgent action.
3. Each Party shall take the comments of the other Party into due consideration and shall endeavor to provide responses to these comments, within a reasonable time, upon request.
Article 59. Measures at the Border
Where a Party detains, at a port of entry, goods exported from the other Party due to a perceived failure to comply with a sanitary and phytosanitary measure, technical regulation or conformity assessment procedures, the reasons for the detention shall be promptly notified to the importer or his or her representative.
Article 60. Article 60: Cooperation
The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in the areas of mutual interest relating to technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures in the following areas, including but not limited to:
(a) communication between each other’s competent authorities, exchange of information in respect of technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures and sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
(b) reinforcing the role of international standards as a basis for technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures and sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
(c) cooperation between the standardizing body or bodies of the Parties, where such cooperation shall include, but is not limited to, exchange of information and experience on standards; and
(d) any other areas agreed by the Parties.
Article 61. Contact Points
1. Without prejudice to Article 15, each Party shall establish a contact point which shall have the general responsibility of coordinating and implementation of this Chapter. The contact points will be:
(a) for China, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine or its successor; and
(b) for Maldives, Ministry of Economic Development or its successor.
2. Each Party shall provide the other Party with the name of the designated contact point and the contact details of the relevant official in that organization, including telephone, facsimile, email and any other relevant details.
3. Each Party shall notify the other Party promptly of any change in its contact point or any amendments to the details of the relevant official.
Article 62. Consultation and Dispute Settlement
1. Without prejudice to Article 15, each Party may at any time request consultations with the other Party on any matter arising from the operation or implementation of this Chapter. Such consultations shall be coordinated by the contact points of the Parties, and shall take place within 60 days from the request, unless the Parties otherwise determine. Consultation may be conducted via teleconference, videoconference, or through any other means mutually agreed by the Parties.
2. In the event that such consultations fail to reach a mutually satisfactory solution, the requesting Party may refer the matter to the Committee on Trade in Goods for consideration.
3. Any issues under this Chapter shall not be subject to Chapter 13 (Dispute Settlement).
Chapter 7. TRADE REMEDIES
Section A. General Trade Remedies
Article 63. Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures
1. Except as otherwise provided for in this Agreement, each Party retains its rights and obligations under 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.
2. No Party shall use a methodology based on surrogate value of a third country or region for the purpose of determining normal value when calculating dumping margin in an anti-dumping investigation.
Article 64. Global Safeguard Measures
Each Party retains its rights and obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
Section B. Bilateral Safeguard Measures
Article 65. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
competent authority means,
for China, the Ministry of Commerce, or its successor; and
for Maldives, the Ministry of Economic Development, or its successor;
domestic industry means, with respect to an imported good, the producer as a whole of the like or directly competitive product operating within the territory of a Party, or those whose collective output of the like or directly competitive product constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of those products;
Safeguards Agreement means the Agreement on Safeguards, which is part of the WTO Agreement;
safeguard measure means a measure described in Article 66;
serious injury means a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry;
threat of serious injury means serious injury that, on the basis of facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture, or remote possibility, is clearly imminent; and
transition period means in relation to a particular product, the 5 year period from the entry into force of this Agreement, except that for any product for which the date on which the customs duty on that product is to be eliminated in accordance with Annex 1 is more than 5 years, transition period shall mean the tariff elimination period for that good.
Article 66. Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure
1. During the transition period only, if as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty provided for in this Agreement, an originating product benefiting from preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement is being imported into the territory of a 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 domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive product, the importing Party may apply a safeguard measure described in paragraph 2.
2. If the conditions in paragraph 1 are met, a Party may:
(a) suspend the further reduction of any rate of customs duty on the product provided for in this Agreement; or
(b) increase the rate of customs duty on the product to a level not exceeding the lesser of:
(i) the MFN applied rate of duty in effect on the product on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement; or
(ii) the MFN applied rate of customs duty in effect on the product on the date on which the safeguard measure is applied.
Article 67. Scope and Duration of Bilateral Safeguard Measures
1. No Party may apply or maintain a safeguard measure:
(a) except to the extent and for such time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury, and to facilitate adjustment; or
(b) for a period exceeding 2 years; except that the period may be extended by up to 1 year, if the competent authorities determine, in conformity with the procedures set out in this Chapter, that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting. Regardless of its duration, such measure shall terminate at the end of the transition period.
2. In order to facilitate adjustment in a situation where the expected duration of a safeguard measure is over 1 year, the Party applying the measure shall progressively liberalize it at regular intervals during the period of application.
3. No bilateral safeguard measure may be applied more than once on the same product.
4. No Party may apply a safeguard measure on a product that is subject to a measure that the Party has applied pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement, and no Party may maintain a safeguard measure on a product that becomes subject to a measure that the Party imposed pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
5. On the termination of a safeguard measure, the Party that applied the safeguard measure shall apply the rate of customs duty set out in its schedule to Annex 1 on the date of termination as if the safeguard measure has never been applied.
Article 68. Investigation Procedures and Transparency Requirements
1. A Party shall apply a safeguard measure only following an investigation by the Party’s competent authorities in accordance with the same procedures as those provided for in Articles 3 and 4.2 of the Safeguards Agreement; and to this end, Articles 3 and 4.2 of the Safeguards Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities complete any such investigation within 1 year after its initiation.
Article 69. Provisional Measures
1. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which would be difficult to repair, a Party may take a provisional safeguard measure pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury to a domestic industry.
2. Before taking a provisional measure, the applying Party shall notify the other Party and shall, on request of the other Party, initiate consultations after applying such a measure.
3. The duration of a provisional safeguard measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which period the pertinent requirements of Articles 66 through 68 shall be met. Such a provisional safeguard measure shall take the form of a suspension of the further reduction of any rate of duty provided for in this Agreement on the product or an increase in the customs duties not exceeding the lesser of the rates in Article 66.2(b). Any additional customs duties or guarantees collected shall be promptly refunded if the subsequent investigation referred to in Article 68.1 determines that increased imports have not caused or threatened to cause serious injury to a domestic industry.
4. The duration of any such provisional safeguard measure shall be counted as part of the initial period and any extension of a safeguard measures.
Article 70. Notification and Consultation
1. A Party shall immediately notify the other Party, in writing on:
(a) initiating a safeguard investigation;
(b) making a finding of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports;
(c) taking a decision to apply or extend a safeguard measure; and
(d) taking a decision to liberalize a safeguard measure previously applied, in accordance with Article 67.2.
2. In making the notification referred to in paragraphs 1(b) and 1(c), the Party applying a safeguard measure shall provide the other Party with all pertinent information, which shall include evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports, a precise description of the product involved, the proposed safeguard measure, the grounds for introducing such a safeguard measure, the proposed date of introduction and its expected duration and timetable for progressive liberalization. In the case of an extension of a safeguard measure, the written results of the determination required by Article 68, including evidence that the continued application of the measure is necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and that the industry is adjusting shall also be provided.
3. A Party proposing to apply or extend a safeguard measure shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations with the other Party, with a view to, inter alia, reviewing the information provided under paragraph 2, exchanging views on the safeguard measure and reaching an agreement on compensation as set forth in Article 71.1.
4. A party shall provide to the other Party a copy of the public version of the report of its competent authorities required under Article 68 as soon as it is available.
Article 71. Compensation
1. A party applying a safeguard measure shall, in consultation with the other Party, provide to the other Party 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 measure. Such consultations shall begin within 30 days of the application of the safeguard measure.
2. If the Parties are unable to reach an agreement on compensation within 30 days after the consultation commences, the exporting Party shall be free to suspend the application of substantially equivalent concessions to the trade of the Party applying the safeguard measure.
3. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing at least 30 days before suspending concession under paragraph 2.
4. The obligation to provide compensation under paragraph 1 and right to suspend concessions under paragraph 2 shall terminate on the date of the termination of the safeguard measure.
Chapter 8. TRADE IN SERVICES
Article 72. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
commercial presence means any type of business or professional establishment, including through:
(a) the constitution, acquisition or maintenance of a juridical person; or
(b) the creation or maintenance of a branch or a representative office; within the territory of a Party for the purpose of supplying a service;
direct taxes comprise all taxes on total income, on total capital or on elements of income or of capital, including taxes on gains from the alienation of property, taxes on estates, inheritances and gifts, and taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises, as well as taxes on capital appreciation;
measure means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or any other form;
measures by Parties affecting trade in services include measures in respect of:
(a) the purchase, payment or use of a service;
(b) the access to and use of, in connection with the supply of a service, services which are required by the Parties to be offered to the public generally;
(c) the presence, including commercial presence, of persons of a Party for the supply of a service in the territory of the other Party;
monopoly supplier of a service means any person, public or private, which in the relevant market of the territory of a Party is authorized or established formally or in effect by that Party as the sole supplier of that service;
person means either a natural person or a juridical person;
natural person of a Party means:
(a) for China, a natural person who resides in the territory of either Party, and who under Chinese law is a national of China;
(b) for Maldives, a natural person who resides in the territory of either Party, and who under Maldivian law is a national of Maldives;
juridical person means any legal entity duly constituted or otherwise organized under applicable law, whether for profit or otherwise, and whether privately-owned or governmentally-owned, including any corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship or association;
juridical person of the other Party means a juridical person which is either:
(a) constituted or otherwise organized under the law of the other Party, and is engaged in substantive business operations in the territory of the other Party; or
(b) in the case of the supply of a service through commercial presence, owned or controlled by:
(i) natural persons of the other Party; or
(ii) juridical persons of the other Party identified under subparagraph (a);
a juridical person is:
(a) “owned” by persons of a Party if more than 50 per cent of the equity interest in it is beneficially owned by persons of that Party;
(b) “controlled” by persons of a Party if such persons have the power to name a majority of its directors or otherwise to legally direct its actions;
(c) “affiliated” with another person when it controls, or is controlled by, that other person; or when it and the other person are both controlled by the same person;
sector of a service means:
(a) with reference to a specific commitment, one or more, or all, subsectors of that service, as specified in a Party’s Schedule;