(b) allow persons of the other Party to participate in consultation procedures which are available to the general public on terms no less favourable than those accorded to its own persons;
(c) take into account the other Party's views when carrying out consultation procedures which are available to the general public and, on request of the other Party, provide written responses in a timely manner to the comments made by that Party;
(d) in addition to subparagraph 1(a)(ii) of Article 7.5, make publicly available the results of the impact assessment on a proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure, if carried out, including of the impact on trade; and
(e) endeavour to provide, on request of the other Party, a summary in English of the impact assessment referred to in subparagraph (d).
2. Each Party shall, when making notifications in accordance with paragraph 9.2 of Article 2 or paragraph 6.2 of Article 5 of the TBT Agreement:
(a) allow in principle at least 60 days from the date of notification for the other Party to provide written comments to the proposal, except where urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection or national security arise or threaten to arise and, where practicable, give appropriate consideration to reasonable requests for extending the comment period;
(b) provide the electronic version of the full notified text together with the notification;
(c) provide, in case the notified text is not in one of the official WTO languages, a detailed and comprehensive description of the content of the measure in the notification format, as well as, if already available, a translation of the notified text in one of the official WTO languages;
(d) reply in writing to written comments received from the other Party on the proposal, no later than the date of publication of the final technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure;
(e) provide information on the adopted final text through an addendum to the original notification;
(f) allow a reasonable interval! between the publication of technical regulations and their entry into force for economic operators of the other Party to adapt; and
(g) ensure that the enquiry points established in accordance with Article 10 of the TBT Agreement provide information and answers in one of the official WTO languages to reasonable enquiries from the other Party or from interested persons of the other Party on adopted technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
3. Each Party shall, on request of the other Party, provide information regarding the objectives of, and rationale for, a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure that the Party has adopted or is proposing to adopt.
4. Each Party shall ensure that all adopted technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures are publicly and freely available on official websites and, if already available, in English.
(1) For the purposes of this subparagraph, "reasonable interval" means normally a period of not less than six months, unless this would be ineffective for the fulfilment of the legitimate objectives pursued.
Article 7.10. Market Surveillance
1. For the purposes of this Article, "market surveillance" is a public authority function separate from and carried out after conformity assessment procedures, and means activities conducted and measures taken by public authorities on the basis of procedures of a Party to enable that Party to monitor or address compliance of products with the requirements set out in its laws and regulations.
2. Each Party shall, inter alia:
(a) exchange information with the other Party on market surveillance and enforcement activities, for example on the authorities responsible for market surveillance and enforcement, or on measures taken against dangerous products;
(b) ensure the independence of market surveillance functions from conformity assessment functions with a view to avoiding conflicts of interest; (1) and
(c) ensure that there are no conflicts of interest between market surveillance authorities and the persons concerned, subject to control or supervision, including the manufacturer, the importer and the distributor.
Article 7.11. Marking and Labelling
1. The Parties note that a technical regulation may include or deal exclusively with marking or labelling requirements. Accordingly, if a Party develops marking or labelling requirements in the form of a technical regulation, that Party shall ensure that such requirements are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade and are not more trade restrictive than necessary to fulfil legitimate objectives as referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the TBT Agreement.
2. In particular, the Parties agree that, ifa Party requires marking or labelling of product in the form of a technical regulation:
(a) information required for such marking or labelling of products shall be limited to what is relevant for persons concerned, including consumers, users of the product or authorities, for indicating the product's compliance with regulatory requirements;
(b) a Party shall not require any prior approval, registration or certification of markings or the labels of products as a precondition for placing on its market products that otherwise comply with its mandatory technical requirements, unless necessary to fulfil its legitimate objective;
(c) if that Party requires the use of a unique identification number for marking or labelling of products, it shall issue such number to the persons concerned, including the manufacturer, the importer and the distributor, without undue delay and on a non-discriminatory basis;
(d) provided that it is not misleading, contradictory or confusing, or that the Party's legitimate objectives are not compromised, the Party shall permit the following in relation to the information required in the country of destination of the goods:
(i) information in other languages in addition to the language required in the country of destination of the goods;
(ii) international nomenclatures, pictograms, symbols or graphics; and
(iii) information in addition to that required in the country of destination of the goods;
(e) the Party shall accept that labelling and corrections to labelling take place in customs warehouses at the point of import as an alternative to labelling in the exporting Party unless such labelling is required to be carried out by approved persons for reasons of public health or safety; and
(f) the Party shall, unless it considers that legitimate objectives under the TBT Agreement are compromised thereby, endeavour to accept non-permanent or detachable labels, or marking or labelling in the accompanying documentation rather than physically attached to the product.
Article 7.12. Lot Identification Codes
1. A Party may impose penalties or take other appropriate measures against the removal or deliberate defacement of any lot identification code for wines and spirits that is provided by the supplier and placed on the container, provided that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade or investment.
2. The Parties shall exchange information, experiences and best practices regarding the prevention of the removal or deliberate defacement of lot identification codes for the supply of wines and spirits.
3. The Parties shall carry out activities for the exchange of information, experience and best practices with representatives of their business sectors and business-related organisations with the necessary expertise in the field of lot identification. The Parties shall commence such activities no later than two years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 7.13. Cooperation
1. The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in the field of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures with a view to increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems and facilitating access to their respective markets. The Parties recognise that existing regulatory cooperation dialogues are important means to strengthen such cooperation.
2. The Parties shall seek to identify, develop and promote trade facilitating initiatives of mutual interest.
3. The initiatives referred to in paragraph 2 may include:
(a) improving the quality and effectiveness of their respective technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, and promoting good regulatory practices through regulatory cooperation between the Parties, including the exchange of information, experience and data;
(b) where appropriate, simplifying their respective technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures;
(c) increasing the convergence of their respective technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures with relevant international standards, guides or recommendations;
(d) ensuring efficient interaction and cooperation of their respective regulatory authorities at international or national level;
(e) promoting or enhancing cooperation between organisations in the Parties in charge of standardisation, accreditation and conformity assessment procedures; and
(f) exchanging information, to the extent possible, about international agreements and arrangements regarding technical barriers to trade to which one or both Parties are party.
Article 7.14. Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
1. The Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade established pursuant to Article 23.3 shall be responsible for the effective implementation and operation of this Chapter.
2. The Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade shall have the following functions:
(a) reviewing the implementation and operation of this Chapter;
(b) reviewing the cooperation in the development and improvement of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures as provided for in Article 7.13;
(c) reviewing this Chapter in light of any developments under the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade established under Article 13 of the TBT Agreement, and if necessary, developing recommendations for amendments to this Chapter;
(d) taking any steps which the Parties may consider to be of assistance in their implementation of this Chapter and the TBT Agreement and in facilitating trade between the Parties;
(e) identifying and considering technical cooperation projects of mutual interests between the Parties in the area of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, including those relating to third countries;
(f) discussing any matter covered by this Chapter, on request of a Party;
(g) promptly addressing any issue that a Party raises related to the development, adoption or application of technical regulations, standards or conformity assessment procedures of the other Party under this Chapter and the TBT Agreement;
(h) establishing, if necessary to achieve the objectives of this Chapter, ad hoc technical working groups to deal with specific issues or sectors with a view to identifying a solution;
(i) exchanging information on the work in regional and multilateral fora engaged in activities relating to technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures and on the implementation and operation of this Chapter;
(j) carrying out other functions as may be delegated by the Joint Committee pursuant to subparagraph 5(b) of Article 23.1; and
(k) reporting to the Joint Committee, as it considers appropriate, on the implementation and operation of this Chapter.
3. The Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade and any ad hoc technical working group under its auspices shall be coordinated by:
(a) for the United Kingdom, the Department for International Trade; and
(b) for Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4. The authorities referred to in paragraph 3 shall be responsible for coordinating with the relevant institutions and persons in their respective territories as well as for ensuring that such institutions and persons are invited to the meetings of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade as necessary.
5. On request of a Party, the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade and any ad hoc technical working group under its auspices shall meet at such times and places to be agreed between the representatives of the Parties. The meetings may take place by video conference or by other means.
Article 7.15. Contact Points
1. Each Party shall, upon the entry into force of this Agreement, designate a contact point for the implementation of this Chapter and notify the other Party of the contact details including information regarding the relevant officials. The Parties shall promptly notify each other of any change of those contact details.
2. The functions of the contact point shall include:
(a) exchanging information on technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures of each Party or any other matters covered by this Chapter;
(b) providing any information or explanation requested by a Party pursuant to this Chapter, in print or electronically, within a reasonable period of time agreed between the Parties and, if possible, within 60 days of the date of receipt of the request; and
(c) promptly clarifying and addressing, where possible, any issue that a Party raises relating to the development, adoption or application of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures under this Chapter and the TBT Agreement.
Chapter 8. TRADE IN SERVICES, INVESTMENT LIBERALISATION AND ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Section A. General Provisions
Article 8.1. Scope
1. The Parties, affirming their respective commitments under the WTO Agreement and their commitment to create a better climate for the development of trade and investment between the Parties, hereby lay down the necessary arrangements for the progressive and reciprocal liberalisation of trade in services and investment and for cooperation on electronic commerce.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, the Parties affirm their right to adopt within their territories regulatory measures necessary to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of public health, safety, the environment or public morals, social or consumer protection or the promotion and protection of cultural diversity.
3. This Chapter does not apply to measures affecting natural persons of a Party seeking access to the employment market of the other Party, nor to measures regarding nationality or citizenship, residence or employment on a permanent basis.
4. This Chapter shall not prevent a Party from applying measures to regulate the entry of natural persons into, or their temporary stay in, the Party, 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 nullify or impair the benefits accruing to the other Party under the terms of this Chapter. The sole fact of requiring a visa for natural persons of a certain country and not for those of others shall not be regarded as nullifying or impairing benefits accrued under this Chapter.
Article 8.2. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) "aircraft repair and maintenance services during which an aircraft is withdrawn from service" means such activities when undertaken on an aircraft or a part thereof while it is withdrawn from service and does not include so-called line maintenance;
(b) "computer reservation system (CRS) services" means services provided by computerised systems that contain information about air carriers' schedules, availability, fares and fare rules, through which reservations can be made or tickets may be issued;
(c) "covered enterprise" means an enterprise in the territory of a Party established in accordance with subparagraph (i), directly or indirectly, by an entrepreneur of the other Party, in existence on the date of entry into force of this Agreement or established thereafter, in accordance with the applicable law;
(d) "cross-border trade in services" means the supply of a service:
(i) from the territory of a Party into the territory of the other Party; or
(ii) in the territory of a Party to the service consumer of the other Party;
(e) "direct taxes" comprises 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;
(f) "economic activity" means any service or activity of an industrial, commercial or professional character or activities of craftsmen, except for services supplied or activities performed in the exercise of governmental authority;
(g) "enterprise" means a juridical person or branch or representative office;
(h) "entrepreneur of a Party" means a natural or juridical person of a Party that seeks to establish, is establishing or has established an enterprise in accordance with subparagraph (i), in the territory of the other Party;
(i) "establishment" means the setting up or the acquisition of a juridical person, including through capital participation, or the creation of a branch or representative office, with a view to establishing or maintaining lasting economic links; (1)
(j) "existing" means in effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement;
(k) "ground handling services" means the supply at an airport, on a fee or contract basis, of the following services: airline representation, administration and supervision; passenger handling; baggage handling; ramp services; catering, except the preparation of the food; air cargo and mail handling; fuelling of an aircraft; aircraft servicing and cleaning; surface transport; and flight operations, crew administration and flight planning. Ground handling services do not include: self-handling; security; line maintenance; aircraft repair and maintenance; or management or operation of essential centralised airport infrastructure, such as de-icing facilities, fuel distribution systems, baggage handling systems and fixed intra-airport transport systems;
(l) "juridical person" means any legal entity duly constituted or otherwise organised under the 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;
(m) a juridical person is:
(i) "owned" by natural or juridical persons of a Party if more than 50 per cent of the equity interest in it is beneficially owned by natural or juridical persons of that Party; and
(ii) "controlled" by natural or juridical persons of a Party if those natural or juridical persons have the power to name a majority of its directors or otherwise to legally direct its actions;
(n) "juridical person of a Party" means a juridical person constituted or organised under the laws and regulations of a Party and engaged in substantive business operations in the territory of that Party.
Notwithstanding the first sentence, shipping companies established outside the United Kingdom or Japan and controlled by nationals of the United Kingdom or of Japan, respectively, shall also be beneficiaries of the provisions of this Chapter if their vessels are registered in accordance with their respective legislation, in the United Kingdom or in Japan and fly the flag of the United Kingdom or of Japan;
(o) "measures by a Party" means measures adopted or maintained by:
(i) central, regional or local governments or authorities; and
(ii) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities;
(p) "operation" means conduct, management, maintenance, use, enjoyment and sale or other form of disposal of an enterprise;
(q) "selling and marketing of air transport services" means opportunities for the air carrier concerned to sell and market freely its air transport services including all aspects of marketing such as market research, advertising and distribution; these activities do not include the pricing of air transport services nor the applicable conditions;
(r) "services" means any service in any sector except services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority;
(s) "services supplied or activities performed in the exercise of governmental authority" means services or activities which are supplied or performed neither on a commercial basis nor in competition with one or more economic operators;
(t) "service supplier" means any natural or juridical person that seeks to supply or supplies a service; and
(u) "service supplier of a Party" means any natural or juridical person of a Party that seeks to supply or supplies a service.
Article 8.3. General Exceptions
1. For the purposes of Section B and Article 8.86, Article XX of GATT 1994 is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis. (1)
2. Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where like conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on establishment or trade in services, nothing in Sections B to F shall be construed as preventing a Party from adopting or enforcing measures which are:
(a) necessary to protect public security or public morals or to maintain public order; (2)
(b) necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health; (3)
(c) necessary to secure compliance with laws or regulations which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter including those relating to:
(i) the prevention of deceptive and fraudulent practices or to deal with the effects of a default on contracts;
(ii) the protection of the privacy of individuals in relation to the processing and dissemination of personal data and the protection of confidentiality of individual records and accounts; or
(iii) safety; or
(d) inconsistent with paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 8.8 and paragraph 1 of Article 8.16 provided that the difference in treatment is aimed at ensuring the equitable or effective (1) imposition or collection of direct taxes in respect of economic activities, entrepreneurs, services or service suppliers of the other Party.
Article 8.4. Committee on Trade In Services, Investment Liberalisation and Electronic Commerce
1. The Committee on Trade in Services, Investment Liberalisation and Electronic Commerce established pursuant to Article 23.3 (hereinafter referred to in this Chapter as "the Committee") shall be responsible for the effective implementation and operation of this Chapter.
2. The Committee shall have the following functions:
(a) reviewing and monitoring the implementation and operation of this Chapter and the non-conforming measures set out in each Party's Schedules in Annexes I to IV to Annex 8-B;
(b) discussing matters relating to trade in audio-visual services, including:
(i) regulatory matters relating to audio-visual services with a view to sharing information and experience, as appropriate, including on related laws, regulations and their implementation, and best practices with respect to audio-visual services regulation;
(ii) ways to encourage greater cooperation between the Parties' respective audio-visual sectors, including but not limited to, encouraging co-production; and
(iii) the need for the inclusion of audio-visual services in the scope of this Chapter;
(c) exchanging information on any matters related to this Chapter;
(d) examining possible improvements to this Chapter, including a review on the scope of this Chapter in relation to audio-visual services;
(e) discussing any issue related to this Chapter as may be agreed upon between the representatives of the Parties; and
(f) carrying out other functions as may be delegated by the Joint Committee pursuant to subparagraph 5(b) of Article 23.1.
3. The Committee shall be composed of representatives of the Parties including officials of relevant ministries or agencies in charge of the issues to be addressed. The Committee may invite representatives of relevant entities other than the Governments of the Parties with the necessary expertise relevant to the issues to be addressed.
Article 8.5. Review
1. Each Party shall endeavour, where appropriate, to reduce or eliminate the non-conforming measures set out in its respective Schedules in Annexes I to IV to Annex 8-B.
2. With a view to introducing possible improvements to the provisions of this Chapter, and consistent with their commitments under international agreements, the Parties shall review their legal framework relating to trade in services, investment liberalisation, electronic commerce and investment environment, including this Agreement, in accordance with Article 24.1.
3. If, after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, a Party signs an international agreement with an investment chapter that contains provisions for investment protection or provides for investor-to-state dispute settlement procedures, the other Party, after the date of entry into force of that agreement, may request that the Parties review this Section and Section B. (1) Such a review shall be conducted with a view to the possible inclusion within this Agreement of such provisions that could provide for the improvement of the investment environment. Unless the Parties otherwise agree, any such review shall be commenced within two years from the date of the request and shall be concluded within a reasonable period of time.
Section B. Investment Liberalisation
Article 8.6. Scope
1. This Section applies to measures by a Party with regard to the establishment or operation of economic activities by:
(a) entrepreneurs of the other Party;
(b) covered enterprises; and
(c) for the purposes of Article 8.11, any enterprise in the territory of the Party adopting or maintaining the measure.
2. This Section does not apply to: