13. regional level means
(a) for the United States, the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and
(b) Singapore has no government at the regional level; for Singapore, "local government level" means entities with sub-national legislative or executive powers under domestic law, including Town Councils and Community Development Councils.
14. self-regulatory organization means any non-governmental body, including any securities or futures exchange or market, clearing agency, other organization or association, that exercises regulatory or supervisory authority over financial service suppliers or financial institutions, by statute or delegation from central, regional or local governments or authorities; for greater certainty, a self-regulatory organization shall not be considered a designated monopoly for purposes of Chapter 12 (Anticompetitive Business Conduct, Designated Monopolies and Government Enterprises).
Chapter 11. TEMPORARY ENTRY OF BUSINESS PERSONS
Article 11.1. DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Chapter:
business person means a national of a Party who is engaged in trade in goods, the provision of services or the conduct of investment activities;
immigration measure means any law, regulation, or procedure affecting the entry and sojourn of aliens, including the issuance of immigration documents authorizing employment to an alien; and
temporary entry means entry into the territory of a Party by a business person of the other Party without the intent to establish permanent residence.
Article 11.2. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1. This Chapter reflects the preferential trading relationship between the Parties, the Parties' mutual desire to facilitate temporary entry on a comparable basis and of establishing transparent criteria and procedures for temporary entry, and the need to ensure border security and to protect the domestic labor force and permanent employment in their respective territories.
2. This Chapter shall not apply to measures regarding citizenship, permanent residence, or employment on a permanent basis.
Article 11.3. GENERAL OBLIGATIONS
1. Each Party shall apply its measures relating to the provisions of this Chapter in accordance with Article 11.2 and, in particular, shall apply expeditiously those measures so as to avoid unduly impairing or delaying trade in goods or services or conduct of investment activities under this Agreement.
2. For greater certainty, nothing in this Chapter shall prevent a Party from applying measures to regulate the entry of natural persons into, or their temporary stay in, its territory, including those measures necessary to protect the integrity of, and to ensure the orderly movement of natural persons across its borders, provided that such measures are not applied in such a manner as to unduly impair or delay trade in goods or services or conduct of investment activities under this Agreement. The sole fact of requiring a visa, or other document authorizing employment to a business person, for natural persons shall not be regarded as unduly impairing or delaying trade in goods or services or conduct of investment activities under this Agreement.
Article 11.4. GRANT OF TEMPORARY ENTRY
1. Each Party shall grant temporary entry to business persons listed in Annex 11A who are otherwise qualified for entry under applicable measures relating to public health and safety and national security, in accordance with this Chapter.
2. A Party may refuse to issue an immigration document authorizing employment to a business person where the temporary entry of that person might affect adversely:
(a) the settlement of any labor dispute that is in progress at the place or intended place of employment; or
(b) the employment of any person who is involved in such dispute.
3. When a Party refuses pursuant to paragraph 2 to issue an immigration document authorizing employment, it shall:
(a) take measures to allow the business person to be informed in writing; and (b) promptly notify the other Party in writing of the reasons for the refusal.
4. Each Party shall set any fees for processing applications for temporary entry of business persons in a manner consistent with Article 11.3.1.
Article 11.5. REGULATORY TRANSPARENCY
1. Each Party shall maintain or establish contact points or other mechanisms to respond to inquiries from interested persons regarding regulations affecting the temporary entry of business persons.
2. If a Party receives comments regarding a proposed regulation from interested persons, it should publish a concise statement addressing those comments at the time that it adopts the final regulations.
3. To the extent possible, each Party shall allow reasonable time between publication of final regulations affecting the temporary entry of business persons and their effective date.
4. Each Party shall, within a reasonable period of time after an application requesting temporary entry is considered complete under its domestic laws and regulations, inform the applicant of the decision concerning the application. At the request of the applicant, the Party shall provide, without undue delay, information concerning the status of the application.
5. Prior to the entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall exchange information on current procedures relating to the processing of applications for temporary entry, including processing goals that apply to business persons of the other Party. Each Party shall endeavor to achieve these goals and make available upon request to the other Party, in accordance with its domestic law, data respecting the attainment of these processing goals.
6. For purposes of this Article, regulation means a measure of general application other than a law, and includes a measure that establishes or applies to licensing authorization or criteria.
Article 11.6. PROVISION OF INFORMATION
Further to Article 19.3 (Publication), each Party shall:
(a) provide to the other Party such materials as will enable it to become acquainted with its measures relating to this Chapter; and
(b) no later than six months after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, prepare, publish, and make available in its own territory, and in the territory of the other Party, explanatory material in a consolidated document regarding the requirements for temporary entry under this Chapter in such a manner as will enable business persons of the other Party to become acquainted with them.
Article 11.7. TEMPORARY ENTRY COORDINATORS
1. Each Party shall establish a Temporary Entry Coordinator, which shall include officials responsible for immigration measures.
2. The Temporary Entry Coordinators of the Parties shall:
(a) establish their own schedule of meetings;
(b) exchange information on measures that affect the temporary entry of business persons under this Chapter;
(c) consider the development of measures to facilitate the temporary entry of business persons on a comparable basis;
(d) consider the implementation and administration of this Chapter; and
(e) make available, upon request, to the other Party in accordance with its domestic law, data respecting the granting of temporary entry under this Chapter to business persons of the other Party who have been issued immigration documents.
Article 11.8. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
1. A Party may not initiate proceedings under Article 20.4 (Additional Dispute Settlement Procedures) regarding a refusal to grant temporary entry under this Chapter or a particular case arising under Article 11.3.1 unless:
(a) the matter involves a pattern of practice; and
(b) the business person has exhausted the available administrative remedies regarding the particular matter.
2. The remedies referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall be deemed to be exhausted if a final determination in the matter has not been issued by the competent authority within one year of the institution of an administrative proceeding, and the failure to issue a determination is not attributable to delay caused by the business person.
Article 11.9. RELATION TO OTHER CHAPTERS
Except for this Chapter, Chapters 1 (Establishment of a Free Trade Area and Definitions), 20 (Administration and Dispute Settlement), and 21 (General Provisions), and Articles 19.2 (Contact Points), 19.3 (Publication), 19.4 (Notification and Provision of Information), and 19.5 (Administrative Proceedings) of Chapter 19 (Transparency), no provision of this Agreement shall impose any obligation on a Party regarding its immigration measures.
Annex 11A.
Section I. BUSINESS VISITORS
1. Each Party shall grant temporary entry for up to 90 days to a business person seeking to engage in a business activity set out in Appendix 11A.1, without requiring that person to obtain an employment authorization, provided that the business person otherwise complies with immigration measures applicable to temporary entry, and on presentation of:
(a) proof of nationality of a Party;
(b) documentation demonstrating that the business person will be so engaged and describing the purpose of entry; and
(c) evidence demonstrating that the proposed business activity is international in scope and that the business person is not seeking to enter the local labor market.
2. Each Party may provide that a business person satisfy the requirements of paragraph 1 by demonstrating that:
(a) the primary source of remuneration for the proposed business activity is outside the territory of the Party granting temporary entry; and
(b) the business person's principal place of business and the actual place of accrual of profits, at least predominantly, remain outside such territory.
3. A Party shall normally accept an oral declaration as to the principal place of business and the actual place of accrual of profits. Where the Party requires further proof, it shall normally consider a letter from the employer attesting to these matters as sufficient proof.
4. Neither Party may: (a) as a condition for temporary entry under paragraph 1, require prior approval procedures, petitions, labor certification tests, or other procedures of similar effect; or
(b) impose or maintain any numerical restriction relating to temporary entry under paragraph 1.
Section II. TRADERS AND INVESTORS
1. Each Party shall grant temporary entry and provide confirming documentation to a business person seeking to:
(a) carry on substantial trade in goods or services principally between the territory of the Party of which the business person is a national and the territory of the other Party into which entry is sought, or
(b) establish, develop, administer, or provide advice or key technical services to the operation of an investment to which the business person or the business person's enterprise has committed, or is in the process of committing, a substantial amount of capital,
in a capacity that is supervisory, executive, or involves essential skills, provided that the business person otherwise complies with immigration measures applicable to temporary entry.
2. Neither Party may:
(a) as a condition for temporary entry under paragraph 1, require labor certification tests or other procedures of similar effect; or
(b) impose or maintain any numerical restriction relating to temporary entry under paragraph 1.
Section III. INTRA-COMPANY TRANSFEREES
1. Each Party shall grant temporary entry and provide confirming documentation to a business person employed by an enterprise who seeks to render services to that enterprise or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof, in a capacity that is managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge, provided that the business person otherwise complies with existing immigration measures applicable to temporary entry. A Party may require the business person to have been employed continuously by the enterprise for one year within the three-year period immediately preceding the date of the application for admission. The Parties understand that, as used in this paragraph, "a business person employed by an enterprise who seeks to render services to that enterprise or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof, in a capacity that is managerial, executive or involves special knowledge" has the same meaning as "managers, executives and specialists" as defined in relation to intra-corporate transferees in a Party's Schedule of Specific Commitments to the GATS.
2. A Party shall not:
(a) as a condition for temporary entry under paragraph 1, require labor certification tests or other procedures of similar effect; or
(b) impose or maintain any numerical restriction relating to temporary entry under paragraph 1.
Section IV. PROFESSIONALS
1. Each Party shall grant temporary entry and provide confirming documentation to a business person seeking to engage in a business activity as a professional, or to perform training functions related to a particular profession, including conducting seminars, if the business person otherwise complies with immigration measures applicable to temporary entry, on presentation of:
(a) proof of nationality of a Party;
(b) documentation demonstrating that the business person will be so engaged and describing the purpose of entry; and
(c) documentation demonstrating the attainment of the relevant minimum educational requirements or alternative credentials.
2. For purposes of this Chapter, professional means a national of a Party who is engaged in a specialty occupation requiring:
(a) theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge; and
(b) attainment of a post-secondary degree in the specialty requiring four or more years of study (or the equivalent of such a degree) as a minimum for entry into the occupation. Such degrees include the Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, and the Doctoral Degree conferred by institutions in the United States and Singapore.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, each Party shall grant temporary entry to business persons seeking to engage in a business activity as a professional in one of the professions listed in Appendix 11A.2, provided that the business person possesses the credentials specified and otherwise complies with the requirements in paragraph 1 of this Section.
4. To assist in the implementation of this Chapter, the Parties shall exchange illustrative lists of professions that meet the definition of professional by the date of entry into force of this Agreement. The Parties shall also exchange information on post-secondary education, in order to facilitate the evaluation of applications for temporary entry.
5. A Party shall not:
(a) as a condition for temporary entry under paragraph 1, require prior approval procedures, petitions, labor certification tests, or other procedures of similar effect; or
(b) impose or maintain any numerical restriction relating to temporary entry under paragraph 1.
6. Notwithstanding paragraph 5(a), a Party may require a business person seeking temporary entry under this Section to comply with procedures applicable to temporary entry of professionals, such as an attestation of compliance with the Party's labor and immigration laws or a requirement that the business person meet certain salary criteria.
7. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 5, a Party may establish an annual numerical limit, which shall be set out in Appendix 11A.3, regarding temporary entry of business persons of the other Party seeking to engage in business activities as a professional.
8. A Party establishing a numerical limit pursuant to paragraph 7, unless the Parties agree otherwise, may, in consultation with the other Party, grant temporary entry under paragraph 1 to a business person who practices in a profession where accreditation, licensing, and certification requirements are mutually recognized by the Parties.
9. Nothing in paragraph 7 or 8 shall be construed to limit the ability of a business person to seek temporary entry under a Party's applicable immigration measures relating to the entry of professionals other than those adopted or maintained pursuant to paragraph 1.
Chapter 12. ANTICOMPETITIVE BUSINESS CONDUCT, DESIGNATED MONOPOLIES, AND GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES
Article 12.1. OBJECTIVES
Recognizing that the conduct subject to this Chapter has the potential to restrict bilateral trade and investment, the Parties believe proscribing such conduct, implementing economically sound competition policies, and engaging in cooperation will help secure the benefits of this Agreement.
Article 12.2. ANTICOMPETITIVE BUSINESS CONDUCT
1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures to proscribe anticompetitive business conduct (12-1) with the objective of promoting economic efficiency and consumer welfare, and shall take appropriate action with respect to such conduct.
2. Each Party shall establish or maintain an authority responsible for the enforcement of its measures to proscribe anticompetitive business conduct. The enforcement policy of the Parties' national authorities responsible for the enforcement of such measures includes not discriminating on the basis of the nationality of the subjects of their proceedings. Each Party shall ensure that a person subject to the imposition of a sanction or remedy for violation of such measures is provided with the opportunity to be heard and to present evidence, and to seek review of such sanction or remedy in a domestic court or independent tribunal.
Article 12.3. DESIGNATED MONOPOLIES AND GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES
1. Designated Monopolies
(a) Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent a Party from designating a monopoly.
(b) Where a Party designates a monopoly and the designation may affect the interests of persons of the other Party, the Party shall:
(i) at the time of the designation endeavor to introduce such conditions on the operation of the monopoly as will minimize or eliminate any nullification or impairment of benefits in the sense of Article 20.4. 1(c) (Additional Dispute Settlement Procedures); and
(ii) provide written notification, in advance wherever possible, to the other Party of the designation and any such conditions.
(c) Each Party shall ensure that any privately-owned monopoly that it designates after the date of entry into force of this Agreement and any government monopoly that it designates or has designated:
(i) acts in a manner that is not inconsistent with the Party's obligations under this Agreement wherever such a monopoly exercises any regulatory, administrative, or other governmental authority that the Party has delegated to it in connection with the monopoly good or service, such as the power to grant import or export licenses, approve commercial transactions, or impose quotas, fees or other charges;
(ii) acts solely in accordance with commercial considerations in its purchase or sale of the monopoly good or service in the relevant market, including with regard to price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation, and other terms and conditions of purchase or sale, except to comply with any terms of its designation that are not inconsistent with subparagraph (iii) or (iv);
(iii) provides non-discriminatory treatment to covered investments, to goods of the other Party, and to service suppliers of the other Party in its purchase or sale of the monopoly good or service in the relevant market; and
(iv) does not use its monopoly position to engage, either directly or indirectly, including through its dealings with its parent, subsidiaries, or other enterprises with common ownership, in anticompetitive practices in a non- monopolized market in its territory that adversely affect covered investments.
Government Enterprises
(a) Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Party from establishing or maintaining a government enterprise.
(b) Each Party shall ensure that any government enterprise that it establishes or maintains acts in a manner that is not inconsistent with the Party's obligations under this Agreement wherever such enterprise exercises any regulatory, administrative, or other governmental authority that the Party has delegated to it, such as the power to expropriate, grant licenses, approve commercial transactions, or impose quotas, fees, or other charges.
(c) The United States shall ensure that any government enterprise that it establishes or maintains accords non-discriminatory treatment in the sale of its goods or services to covered investments.
(d) Singapore shall ensure that any government enterprise:
(i) acts solely in accordance with commercial considerations in its purchase or sale of goods or services, such as with regard to price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation, and other terms and conditions of purchase or sale, and provides non-discriminatory treatment to covered investments, to goods of the United States, and to service suppliers of the United States, including with respect to its purchases or sales; (12-2) and
(ii) does not, either directly or indirectly, including through its dealings with its parent, subsidiaries, or other enterprises with common ownership:
(A) enter into agreements among competitors that restrain competition on price or output or allocate customers for which there is no plausible efficiency justification, or
(B) engage in exclusionary practices that substantially lessen competition in a market in Singapore to the detriment of consumers.
(e) Singapore shall take no action or attempt in any way, directly or indirectly, to influence or direct decisions of its government enterprises, including through the exercise of any rights or interests conferring effective influence over such enterprises, except in a manner consistent with this Agreement. However, Singapore may exercise its voting rights in government enterprises in a manner that is not inconsistent with this Agreement.
(f) Singapore shall continue reducing, with a goal of substantially eliminating, its aggregate ownership and other interests that confer effective influence in entities organized under the laws of Singapore, taking into account, in the timing of individual divestments, the state of relevant capital markets.
(g) Singapore shall:
(i) at least annually, make public a consolidated report that details for each covered entity:
(A) the percentage of shares and the percentage of voting rights that Singapore and its government enterprises cumulatively own;
(B) a description of any special shares or special voting or other rights that Singapore or its government enterprises hold, to the extent different from the rights attached to the general common shares of such entity;
(C) the name and government title(s) of any government official serving as an officer or member of the board of directors; and
(D) its annual revenue or total assets, or both, depending on the basis on which the enterprise qualifies as a covered entity.
(ii) on receipt from the United States of a request regarding a specific enterprise, provide to the United States the information listed in clause (i), for any enterprise that is not a covered entity or an enterprise excluded under Article 12.8.1 (d) and 12.8.1(e), with the understanding that the information may be made public.
3. The charging of different prices in different markets, or within the same market, where such differences are based on normal commercial considerations, such as taking account of supply and demand conditions, is not in itself inconsistent with this Article.
4. This Article does not apply to government procurement.
Article 12.4. COOPERATION
The Parties recognize the importance of cooperation and coordination to further effective competition law and policy development in the free trade area and agree to cooperate on these matters.
Article 12.5. TRANSPARENCY AND INFORMATION REQUESTS
1. The Parties recognize the value of transparency of their competition policies.
2. Each Party, at the request of the other Party, shall make available public information concerning the enforcement of its measures proscribing anticompetitive business conduct.
3. Each Party, at the request of the other Party, shall make available public information concerning government enterprises, and designated monopolies, public or private. Requests for such information shall indicate the entities involved, specify the particular products and markets concerned, and include some indicia that these entities may be engaging in practices that may hinder trade or investment between the Parties.
4. Each Party, at the request of the other Party, shall make available public information concerning exemptions to its measures proscribing anticompetitive business conduct. Requests for such information shall specify the particular products and markets of concern and include some indicia that the exemption might hinder trade or investment between the Parties.
Article 12.6. CONSULTATIONS
1. To foster understanding between the Parties, or to address specific matters that arise under this Chapter, each Party shall, at the request of the other Party, enter into consultations regarding representations made by the other Party. In its request, the Party shall indicate, if relevant, how the matter affects trade or investment between the Parties. The Party addressed shall accord full and sympathetic consideration to the concerns of the other Party.
2. Where consultations under paragraph 1 concern conduct covered by Article 12.3.2(d)(ii), Singapore shall inform the United States of the steps it has taken or plans to take to examine the conduct at issue, shall apprise the United States when Singaporeâs responsible authorities decide to initiate or not to initiate enforcement proceedings regarding the conduct, and shall keep the United States regularly apprised of developments in, and the results of, any enforcement proceedings it initiates.
Article 12.7. DISPUTES
A Party shall not have recourse to dispute settlement under this Agreement for any matter arising under Article 12.2, 12.4, or 12.6.
Article 12.8. DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Chapter:
1. covered entity means:
(a) an enterprise organized under the laws of Singapore in which effective influence exists, or is rebuttably presumed to exist, whose annual revenue is greater than SGD 50 million;
(b) an enterprise organized under the laws of Singapore in which effective influence exists, or is rebuttably presumed to exist, whose total assets are greater than SGD 50 million; and
(c) any entity organized under the laws of Singapore in which the Government of Singapore owns a special voting share with veto rights relating to such matters as the disposal of the undertaking, the acquisition by any person of a specified percentage of the enterprise's share capital, appointments to the board of directors or of management, winding up or dissolution of the enterprise, or any change to the constituent documents concerning the aforementioned matters;
but excludes: