Title

FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA (TAIWAN), THE REPUBLIC OF EL SALVADOR AND THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS

Preamble

The Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Government of the Republic of El Salvador and the Government of the Republic of Honduras determined to:

STRENGTHEN the traditional bonds of friendship and the spirit of cooperation among their countries;

RECOGNIZE the strategic and geographic position of each nation within its respective regional market;

REACH a better balance in their trade relations;

CREATE an expanded and secure market for goods and services produced in their territories;

RECOGNIZE the differences in the levels of development and the size of their economies and the need to create opportunities for economic development;

AVOID distortions in their reciprocal trade;

ESTABLISH clear rules of mutual benefit governing trade of their goods and services, and for the promotion and protection of the investments in their territories;

RESPECT the rights and obligations derived from the Marrakech Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as other bilateral and multilateral cooperation instruments;

STRENGTHEN the competitiveness of their enterprises in global markets;

CREATE employment opportunities and improve living standards in their territories;

PROMOTE economic development in accordance with the protection and conservation of the environment, as well as sustainable development;

PRESERVE their capacity to safeguard the public welfare; and

PROMOTE the dynamic participation of different economic agents, in particular the private sector, in deepening the trade relations among their nations;

HAVE AGREED as follows:

Body

Part ONE. General Aspects

Section CHAPTER 1. Initial Provisions

Article 1.01. Establishment of a Free Trade Area

1. The Parties to this Agreement, consistent with Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, hereby establish a free trade area.
2. Except as otherwise provided, the Republic of El Salvador and the Republic of Honduras, considered individually, will apply this Agreement on a bilateral basis with the Republic of China (Taiwan). This Agreement does not apply to the trade relations between the Republic of El Salvador and the Republic of Honduras.

Article 1.02. Objectives

1. The objectives of this Agreement are to:
(a) promote the expansion and diversification of trade of goods and services between the Parties;
(b) eliminate barriers to trade in, and facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and services between the territories of the Parties;
(c) promote fair competition between the Parties;
(d) promote, protect and substantially increase investments in each Party;
(e) create effective procedures for the implementation and application of this Agreement, and for its joint administration and dispute settlement; and
(f) establish a framework for further bilateral cooperation based on mutually agreed terms and conditions in order to expand and enhance the benefits of this Agreement.
2. The Parties shall interpret and apply the provisions of this Agreement in the light of its objectives set out in paragraph 1 and in accordance with applicable rules of international law.

Article 1.03. Relation to other International Agreements

1. The Parties reaffirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the WTO Agreement and other agreements to which the Parties are party.
2. In case of any inconsistency between the provisions of this Agreement and the provisions of the agreements mentioned in paragraph 1, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail, unless otherwise agreed.
3. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and the specific trade obligations set forth in:
(a) the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), done at Washington, March 3, 1973, as amended June 22, 1979;
(b) the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, done at Montreal, September 16, 1987, as amended June 29, 1990 and September 27, 1997; or
(c) the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, done at Basel, March 22, 1989;
such obligations shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency, provided that where a Party has a choice among equally effective and reasonably available means of complying with such obligations, the Party chooses the alternative that is the least inconsistent with the other provisions of this Agreement.

Article 1.04. Extent of Obligations

Each Party shall ensure, in conformity with its Constitutional rules, the adoption of all necessary measures to comply with the provisions of this Agreement in its territory and at all levels of government.

Article 1.05. Succession of Agreements

Any reference in this Agreement to any other treaty or international agreement shall be made in the same terms to its successor treaty or international agreement to which the Parties are party.

Section CHAPTER 2. General Definitions

Article 2.01. Definitions of General Application

For purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise agreed, the following terms shall be understood as:
chapter: the first two digits of the Harmonized System;
Commission: the Administrative Commission of the Agreement established in accordance with Article 14.01 (Administrative Commission of the Agreement);
customs duty: any tax, tariff or duty on imports or any charge of any type collected in relation to the import of goods, including any type of surtax or surcharge on imports, except:
(a) any charge equivalent to an established internal tax in accordance with Article III.2 of the GATT 1994;
(b) any fee or other charge related to the import, proportional to the cost of services rendered;
(c) premium offered or collected on an imported good arising out of any tendering system in respect to the administration of quantitative import restrictions, tariff rate quota or tariff preference quota; and
(d) antidumping or countervailing duty that is applied pursuant to a Party's domestic law and applied consistently with Chapter 7 (Unfair Trade Practices);
Customs Valuation Agreement: the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994;
days: calendar days, including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays;
enterprise: any legal entity constituted or organized under applicable law, whether or not for profit, and whether privately-owned or governmentally-owned, including any corporation, trust, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, or other association;
enterprise of a Party: an enterprise constituted or organized under the law of a Party;
existing: in effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement;
GATS: the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services;
GATT 1994: the WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994;
goods: any matter, material, product or part;
goods of a Party: domestic products as these are understood in the GATT 1994, or such goods as the Parties may agree, and includes originating goods of that Party;
Harmonized System (HS): the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, Section Notes, and Chapter Notes, chapters, headings, subheadings, as adopted and implemented by the Parties in their respective tariff laws;
heading: the first four digits in the tariff classification number under the Harmonized System;
measure: any law, regulation, procedure, requirement, provision or practice, among others;
national: a natural person of a Party according to Annex 2.01;
originating goods: goods that qualify as originating according to the rules established in Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin); Party: the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Republic of El Salvador or the Republic of Honduras, for which this Agreement is in force;
person: a natural person, or an enterprise;
person of a Party: a national or an enterprise of a Party;
producer: a person who manufactures, produces, processes or assembles a good, or who cultivates, grows, develops, raises, exploits a mine, extracts, harvests, fishes, hunts, collects, gathers, or captures a good;
Secretariat: "Secretariat" as established in accordance with Article 14.03 (Secretariat);
state enterprise: an enterprise that is owned or controlled by a Party through ownership interests;
subheading: the first six digits in the tariff classification number under the Harmonized System;
tariff reduction schedule: "tariff reduction schedule", as established in Annex 3.04 (Tariff Reduction Schedule); territory: the land, maritime and air space of each Party, including the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, within which each exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international and domestic law; TRIPS: the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights;
Uniform Regulations: "Uniform Regulations", as established in Article 5.11 (Uniform Regulations); and
WTO Agreement: the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done on April 15, 1994.

Part TWO. Trade In Goods

Section CHAPTER 3. National Treatment and Market Access for Goods

Section A. Definitions and Scope of Application

Article 3.01. Definitions

For purposes of this Chapter, unless otherwise agreed in this Agreement, the following terms shall be understood as: agricultural products or agricultural goods: the products listed in Annex I of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, and including any future amendments agreed at the WTO;
commercial samples of negligible value:
(a) raw materials and goods of which dimensions, quantities, weight, volume or presentation are such that indicate without a doubt that they are not for any other use than demonstrations or proof;
(b) objects of common materials fixed over cards, supports or clearly presented as samples, according to trade uses; (c) raw materials and goods, as well as the surplus of those raw materials and goods that have been disabled for other use rather than demonstration, by laceration, perforation, marked permanently, or any other way that effectively prevent their commercialization; and
(d) goods that cannot be subject to the conditions established in subparagraphs (a) through (c), consisting in:
(i) non consumer good, with no more than one (1) US dollar unit value, composed by unique specimens in each series or quality; and
(ii) consumer goods with no more than one (1) US dollar unit value, including those composed totally or partially of specimens of the same type or quality, as long as the quantity and form of presentation exclude all possibility of commercialization; and
printed advertising materials: products classified in chapter 49 of the Harmonized System, including brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, trade catalogues, yearbooks published by trade associations, and tourist promotional materials and posters that are used to promote, publish, or advertise an originating good or service, and are supplied free of charges.

Article 3.02. Scope of Application

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Chapter applies to the trade in goods between the Parties.

Section B. National Treatment

Article 3.03. National Treatment

1. Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes, and for that matter, the Article III of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement.
2. The provisions on paragraph 1 regarding the national treatment shall mean, with respect to a Party, including its departments, counties, or provinces, a treatment not less favourable than the most favourable treatment that this Party accords to any like, directly competitive, or substitutable goods of its national origin.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the measures set out in Annex 3.03.

Section C. Tariffs

Article 3.04. Tariff Reduction Schedule

1. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, no Party may increase any existing tariff rate nor adopt any new customs tariff on originating goods.
2. The Parties agree to establish the tariff reduction schedule in Annex 3.04 for the originating goods.
3. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement each Party shall progressively eliminate its customs duties on goods in accordance with its schedules to Annex 3.04 and Annex 3.14.
4. Paragraphs 1 and 3 do not intend to impede a Party to create a new subheading duty, if the customs tariff applied for is not higher than the tariff applied to the fraction.
5. Paragraphs 1 and 3 of this Article are not intended to prevent a Party from maintaining or increasing a customs duty as may be authorized by any dispute settlement provision of the Dispute Settlement Agreement of the WTO.
6. Upon request by either Party, the Parties shall hold consultations to examine the possibility to improve the tariff treatment of each Party established in Annex 3.04. An agreement between the Parties of improving the tariff treatment of a good, shall prevail over any customs tariff or preference established in their schedules for that specific good, once approved by each Party in accordance with its applicable legal procedures.
7. Paragraph 1 of this Article does not prevent a Party from increasing a customs tariff to a level not higher than that established in Annex 3.04 if previously this customs tariff had been unilaterally reduced to a level lower than that established in Annex 3.04.
8. During the tariff reduction process, the Parties commit themselves to apply in their reciprocal trade of originating goods, the lowest customs tariff, obtained by comparing the level established in accordance with its respective Tariff Reduction Schedule and the level in force according to Article I of GATT 1994.

Article 3.05. Temporary Admission of Goods

1. Each Party shall grant duty-free temporary admission for the following goods, regardless of their origin:
(a) professional equipment, including equipment for the press and television, broadcasting and cinematographic equipment, necessary for carrying out the business activities, trade, or profession of a business person who qualifies for temporary entry pursuant to the laws of the importing Party activities;
(b) goods intended for display or demonstration;
(c) commercial samples and advertising films and recordings; and (d) goods imported for sports purposes.
2. Each Party, shall, at the request of an interested person, and for reasons deemed valid by its customs authority, extend the time limit for temporary admission beyond the period initially fixed, pursuant to its domestic law.
3. No Party shall condition the duty-free temporary admission of goods referred to in paragraph 1, other than to require that such goods:
(a) not be sold or leased in its territory;
(b) be accompanied by a bond in an amount no greater than the duties and charges that would otherwise be owed on entry or final importation, reimbursable or releasable on exportation of the good;
(c) be capable of identification when exported;
(d) be exported within such other period related to the purpose of the temporary admission as the Party may establish, or within one year, unless extended;
(e) be admitted in quantities no greater than is reasonable for their intended use; and
(f) be otherwise admissible into the territory of the Party under its domestic laws.
4. If any condition that a Party imposes under paragraph 3 has not been fulfilled, the Party may apply the customs duty and any other charge that would normally be owed on the goods plus penalties provided for under its domestic law.
5. Each Party, through its customs authority, shall adopt procedures providing for the expeditious release of goods admitted under this Article.
6. Each Party shall permit goods temporarily admitted under this Article to be exported through a customs port other than that through which they were admitted.
7. Each Party, through its customs authority, according to its domestic law, shall relieve the importer or other person responsible for the goods admitted under this Article from any liability for failing to export the goods, provided that satisfactory proof has been presented to customs authorities showing that the goods have been destroyed in accordance with the domestic laws of each Party within the given period or any lawful extension.
8. Subject to Chapters 10 (Investment) and 11(Cross-Border Trade in Services):
(a) each Party shall allow a container used in international transportation that enters its territory from the territory of the other Party to exit its territory on any route that is reasonably related to the cost effective and prompt departure of such container;
(b) neither Party shall require any bond or impose any penalty or charge solely by reason of any difference between the port of entry and the port of departure of a container;
(c) neither Party shall condition the release of any obligation, including any bond, that it imposes in respect of the entry of a container into its territory on its exit through any particular port of departure; and
(d) neither Party shall require that a carrier bringing a container from the territory of the other Party into its territory be the same carrier that takes such container to the territory of the other Party.

Article 3.06. Duty-free Entries of Commercial Samples of Negligible Value and Printed Advertising Materials

Each Party shall grant duty-free entrance to commercial samples of negligible value and to printed advertising materials imported from the territory of the other Party, but may require that: (a) such samples be imported solely for the solicitation of orders for goods, or services provided from the territory, of another Party or a non-Party; or (b) such advertising materials be imported in packets that each contain no more than one copy of each such material and that neither such materials nor packets form part of a larger consignment.

Article 3.07. Customs Valuation

Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, the principles of customs valuation applied to trade between the Parties shall be that established in the Customs Valuation Agreement, including its annexes. Besides, the Parties shall not determine the customs value of the goods based on the officially established minimum value.

Section D. Non-Tariff Measures

Article 3.08. Domestic Support

1. The Parties recognize that domestic support measures may be important to their agricultural sectors, but they may also distort trade and affect production. In this sense, the Parties shall apply domestic support in accordance with the Agreement on Agriculture of the WTO, or its successors, and when a Party decides to support its agriculture producers it shall ensure, in accordance with the relevant legal instruments, that the benefits arising from those programs do not distort domestic trade of the other Party, nor diminish the opportunity of the goods of the other Party to access the market of the Party.
2. In order to ensure transparency, the Parties agree that the Committee on Trade in Goods established pursuant to Article 3.16 shall carry out ongoing and permanent analysis of the status of all domestic support measures, seeking to evaluate the accomplishment of the provisions under paragraph 1. Also, the Parties shall exchange information in a timely manner or, at the request of a Party may engage in consultations over this issue at any time.

Article 3.09. Agricultural Export Subsidies

The Parties agree not to adopt or maintain agricultural export subsidies on goods in their reciprocal trade since the entry into force of this Agreement.

Article 3.10. Import and Export Restrictions

1. The Parties agree to immediately eliminate non-tariff barriers, with the exception of rights of the Parties under Articles XX and XXI of GATT 1994, and those regulated in Chapter 8 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures) and Chapter 9 (Measures on Standards, Metrology and Authorization Procedures).
2. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, neither Party may adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any goods of the other Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any goods destined to the territory of the other Party, except in accordance with Article XI of GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes. To this end, Article XI of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, are incorporated into and form part of this Agreement. 3. The Parties reaffirm their rights and obligations under GATT 1994, that prohibit, under any circumstances any form of restrictions, export price requirements and, except as permitted in the enforcement of countervailing and antidumping duty orders and undertakings, import price requirements, including minimum prices and reference prices.
4. In the event that a Party adopts or maintains a prohibition or restriction on the importation or exportation of originating goods from the other Party, if required, the former Party shall establish that the measure is in accordance with this Agreement and the WTO Agreements.
5. Paragraphs 1 through 3 shall not apply to the measures set out in Annex 3.03.
6. If a Party has state trading enterprises, said Party shall guarantee that their activities be carried out based solely on considerations of a commercial nature, such as prices, quality, availability, marketability, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale. The Party shall accord to the trade of the other Party fair and equitable treatment, to avoid these activities becoming barriers to trade, in accordance with Article XVII of GATT 1994 including its interpretative notes, and to this end, this Article and its interpretative notes, are incorporated into and form part of this Agreement.

Article 3.11. Administrative Fees and Formalities

1. Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article VIII.1 of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, that all fees and charges of whatever character (other than customs duties, charges equivalent to an internal tax or other internal charge applied consistently with Article III.2 of the GATT 1994, and antidumping and countervailing duties) imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and do not represent an indirect protection to domestic products or a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
2. No Party may require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of any good of another Party.
3. Each Party shall make available and maintain through the Internet a current list of the fees and charges it imposes in connection with importation or exportation.

Article 3.12. Country of Origin Marking

1. The Parties confirm their rights and obligations under Article IX of GATT 1994 and any successor agreement.
2. Each Party shall ensure that the establishment and implementation of their laws on country of origin marking does not have the purpose or effect of creating unnecessary barriers to trade between the Parties.

Article 3.13. Export Taxes

Except as provided in Annex 3.03, at the time of entry into force of this Agreement, neither Party shall adopt nor maintain any tax, duty or charge on the export of a good to the territory of the other Party.

Article 3.14. Special Safeguard Measures

1. The Parties may apply a Special Safeguard Measure (SSM) at any given time in a calendar year, for those goods included in Annex 3.14, whenever the percentage of the average imports of a good have exceeded the trigger levels established in Annex 3.14. The percentage shall be the average imports from the other Party to the average imports from the globe during the last three (3) years with importation, within the previous five (5) years.
2. The SSM application shall consist of a tariff increase to the level of the MFN customs tariff established either at the time of importation or the one referred on the base rate, whichever is lower.
3. The SSM application is not subject to any kind of compensation.
4. The SSM duration period shall be maintained until the end of the year.
5. The adopted SSM shall be effective on the day that said measure is published in the media designated by each Party's legislation, taking into account all relevant information that justifies its entry into force. The Party imposing the measure shall notify it to the other 3-9 Party at least thirty (30) days before its application.
6. Notwithstanding the application of the SSM, the Parties shall be able to hold consultations at any time in order to exchange information and try to reach mutually beneficial agreements.
7. Whenever new goods are incorporated into the Tariff Reduction Schedule included in Annex 3.04, the Parties shall be able to include them in Annex 3.14 in accordance to the national legislation.
8. The SSM shall not apply to the goods listed under the exclusion category or subject to a tariff quota system.

Article 3.15. Distinctive Products

The Parties shall conduct consultations in the Committee on Trade in Goods, about the recognition of distinctive products.

Article 3.16. Committee on Trade In Goods

1. The Parties hereby establish the Committee on Trade in Goods, which shall be composed as set out in Annex 3.16. 2. The Committee on Trade in Goods shall meet periodically, and by request of a Party or the Commission, to ensure the effective implementation and administration of this Chapter.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 14.05 (2) (Committees), the Committee shall have the following functions:
(a) supervise the implementation and administration of this Chapter refered in paragraph 2 of this Article by the Parties;
(b) at the request of either Party, review any proposed modification or addition;
(c) make recommendation on modifications or additions to the Commission;
(d) consider any other matter related to the implementation and administration of the Chapter refered in paragraph 2 of this Article;
(e) recomend to the Comission the establishment of Sub-Comittees or technical groups whenever it is appropriate; and
(f) analyze, the status of all domestic support measures of the Parties, in an ongoing and permanent manner, as well as any other modifications of this measures, seeking to assess compliance with paragraph 1 of Article 3.08.

Section CHAPTER 4. Rules of Origin

Article 4.01. Definitions

For purposes of this Chapter, the following terms shall be understood as:
CIF: the value of an imported good that includes the costs of insurance and freight to the port or place of entry in the importing Party;
FOB: free on board; regardless of the mode of transportation, at the point of direct shipment by the seller to the buyer;
fungible goods or materials: goods or materials which are interchangeable for commercial purposes and whose properties are essentially identical and it is not possible to differentiate one from another by a simple eye examination;
generally accepted accounting principles: recognized consensus or substantial authorized support given in the territory of one of the Parties with respect to the recording of revenues, expenses, costs, assets and liabilities, the disclosure of information and the preparation of financial statements. Generally accepted accounting principles may encompass broad guidelines for general application, as well as detailed standards, practices and procedures;
goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more Parties:
(a) minerals extracted or obtained in the territory of one or more Parties;
(b) vegetables and vegetable products harvested, gathered or collected in the territory of one or more Parties;
(c) live animals born and raised in the territory of one or more Parties;
(d) goods obtained by hunting, trapping, fishing, aquaculture, gathering or capture in the territory of one or more Parties;
(e) goods obtained from live animals in the territory of one or more Parties;
(f) fish, shellfish, and other marine species obtained outside the territorial sea of a Party, by fishing vessels registered or recorded in a Party and fly its flag, or by fishing vessels rented by enterprises established in the territory of a Party; (g) goods obtained or produced on board factory vessels from the goods referred to in subparagraph (f) provided that such vessels are registered or recorded in a Party and fly its flag, or are rented by enterprises established in the territory of a Party;
(h) goods obtained by a Party or a person of a Party from the seabed or subsoil beneath the sea bed outside the territorial sea provided that the Party has rights to exploit such seabed or subsoil;
(i) scrap and waste derived from manufacturing or processing operations in the territory of one or more Parties, provided those goods are only fit for the recovery of raw materials; or
(j) goods produced in the territory of one or more Parties, exclusively from goods mentioned in subparagraph (a) through (i) above;
indirect material: a good used in the production, testing or inspection of another good, but not physically incorporated into the good, or a good used in the maintenance of buildings or the operation of equipment related to the production of another good, including:
(a) fuel, energy, solvents and catalysts;
(b) equipment, devices and supplies used in the testing or inspection of goods;
(c) gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, and safety equipment and supplies;
(d) tools, dies and molds;
(e) spare parts and materials used in the maintenance of equipment and buildings;
(f) lubricants, greases, compounding materials, and other materials used in production, or used to operate equipment and maintenance of buildings; and
(g) any other goods that are not incorporated into the good but whose use in the production of the good can reasonably be demonstrated to be a part of that production;
material: a good used in the production of another good including ingredients, parts, components and goods that have been physically incorporated into another good or were subject to the production process of another good; production: methods of obtaining goods including manufacturing, producing, growing, assembling, processing, harvesting, raising, breeding, mining, extracting, hunting, collecting, gathering, fishing, trapping and capturing; and value: the value of a good or material for purposes of calculating customs duties or for purposes of applying this Chapter according to the rules established in the Customs Valuation Agreement.

Article 4.02. Application and Interpretation Instruments

1. For purposes of this Chapter:
(a) the tariff classification of goods shall be based on the Harmonized System; and
(b) the rules of the Customs Valuation Agreement shall be used to determine the value of a good or material.
2. For purposes of this Chapter, the Customs Valuation Agreement shall be applied to determine the origin of a good as follows:
(a) the rules of the Customs Valuation Agreement shall be applied to domestic transactions, with the modifications required by the circumstances, as they should apply to international transactions; and
(b) the provisions of this Chapter shall prevail over those of the Customs Valuation Agreement, where there are inconsistencies.

Article 4.03. Originating Goods

Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, a good shall be considered as originating in the territory of a Party, when:
(a) it is wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or more Parties;
(b) it is produced entirely in the territory of one or more Parties exclusively from materials that qualify as originating according to this Chapter; or
(c) it is produced in the territory of one or more Parties from non-originating materials that meet with a change in tariff classification, satisfies a regional value content or other requirements, as specified in Annex 4.03 and the good complies with all other applicable requirements of this Chapter.

Article 4.04. Minimal Processes or Operations

Except otherwise provided in this Chapter, the minimal processes or operations that by themselves or in combination do not confer origin to a good are the following:
(a) the necessary operations for the preservation of a good during transportation or storage, including airing, ventilation, drying, refrigeration, freezing, elimination of damaged parts, application of oil, antirust painting or protective coatings, or the placing in salt, sulfur dioxide or some other aqueous solution;
(b) simple operations consisting of cleaning, washing, sifting, straining, shaking, selection, classification or grading, culling, peeling, shelling or striping, grain removal, pitting, pressing or crushing, soaking, elimination of dust or of spoiled or damaged parts, sorting, division of consignments in bulk, grouping in packages, placing of marks, labels or distinctive signs on products and their packages, packing, unpacking or repackaging;
(c) combination or mixing operations of goods that have not result in any important difference in the characteristics of the goods before and after the combination or mixing;
(d) simple jointing or assembling of parts to produce a complete good, or to form sets or assortments of goods; and (e) simple water dilution operations or ionization and salting, which have not changed the nature of the good.

Article 4.05. Indirect Materials

Indirect materials shall be considered as originating, regardless where they are produced or manufactured, and the value of those materials shall be included in the costs as indicated in the accounting records of the producer of the good.

Article 4.06. Accumulation

1. Each Party shall provide that originating goods or materials of one or more of the Parties, incorporated into a good in the territory of another Party, shall be considered to originate in the territory of that other Party.
2. Each Party shall provide that a good is originating when the good is produced in the territory of one or more of the Parties by one or more producers, provided that the good satisfies the requirements established in Article 4.03 and all other applicable requirements in this Chapter.

Article 4.07. Regional Value Content

1. The regional value content of the goods shall be calculated according to the following formula: RVC= [(TV- VNM) / TV] * 100 where: RVC is the regional value content, expressed as a percentage; TV is the transaction value of the good adjusted to a FOB basis, except as otherwise provided in paragraph 2, determined according to Articles 1 through 8 and 15 of the Customs Valuation Agreement; and VNM is the transaction value of the non-originating materials adjusted to a CIF basis, except as otherwise provided in paragraph 5, according to Articles 1 through 8 and 15 of the Customs Valuation Agreement.
2. When the good is not exported directly by its producer, the value shall be adjusted to the point at which the buyer receives the good in the territory in which the producer is located.
3. All the records of the costs considered for the calculation of the regional value content shall be recorded and maintained according to the generally accepted accounting principles applicable in the territory of the Party where the good is produced.
4. When the producer of a good acquires a non-originating material in the territory of a Party in which the producer is located, the value of the non-originating material shall not include freight, insurance, packing costs and any other cost incurred in the transportation of the material from the supplier's warehouse to the location of the producer.
5. For purposes of calculating the regional value content, the value of the non-originating materials used in the production of the good shall not include the value of the non-originating materials used by:
(a) another producer in the production of an originating material that is acquired and used by the producer of the good in the production of that good; or
(b) the producer of a good in the production of a material that is self produced.

Article 4.08. De Minimis

1. A good shall be considered originating if the value of all non-originating materials used in the production of that good that does not satisfy the requirement of change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4.03 does not exceed ten percent (10%) of the transaction value of the good, as determined according to Article 4.07.
2. When it refers to goods classified into chapters 50 through 63 of the Harmonized System, the percentage indicated in paragraph 1 shall refer to the weight of fibers or yarns with respect to the weight of the good being produced.
3. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to a non-originating material used in the production of goods classified into chapter 1 through 24 of the Harmonized System, unless the non originating material is classified in a different subheading than the good for which the origin is being determined according to this Article.

Article 4.09. Fungible Goods and Materials

1. When in the production of a good originating or non-originating fungible goods or materials are used, the origin of those fungible goods or materials shall be determined through the application of one of the following inventory management methods:
(a) first in first out (FIFO) method;
(b) last in first out (LIFO) method; or
(c) averaging method.
2. Once the inventory management method listed out in the preceding paragraph is selected by a producer, it shall be used during the entire period of a fiscal year of that producer.

Article 4.10. Sets or Assortments of Goods

1. A set or assortment of goods that is classified according to rule 3 of the General Rules of the Interpretation of the Harmonized System, as well as the goods whose description according to the nomenclature of the Harmonized System is specifically that of a set or assortment, shall qualify as originating, whenever each one of the goods contained in that set or assortment complies with the rules of origin set out in this Chapter and in Annex 4.03.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, a set or assortment of goods shall be considered originating, if the value of all non-originating goods used in making the set or assortment does not exceed the percentage set out in paragraph 1 of Article 4.08 with respect to the value of the set or assortment, as determined according to Article 4.07. 3. The provisions of this Article shall prevail over the specific rules of origin set out in Annex 4.03.

Article 4.11. Accessories, Spare Parts and Tools

1. The accessories, spare parts or tools delivered with the good that usually form part of the good shall not be taken into account for determining whether all non-originating materials used in the production of the good undergo the applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4.03, provided that:
(a) the accessories, spare parts or tools are not invoiced separately from the good; and
(b) the amount and the value of these accessories, spare parts or tools are customary for the good.
2. When the good is subject to a requirement of regional value content, the value of the accessories, spare parts or tools shall be considered as originating or non-originating materials, as the case may be, for calculating the regional value content of the good.
3. For those accessories, spare parts or tools that do not fulfill the conditions mentioned above, the corresponding specific rules of origin shall apply to each of them respectively and separately, according to this Chapter.

Article 4.12. Packaging Materials and Containers for Retail Sale

1. When packaging materials and containers in which a good is packaged for retail sales are classified in the Harmonized System with the good, they shall not be taken into account in determining whether all non-originating materials used in the production of the good undergo the applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4.03.
2. When the good is subject to a requirement of regional value content, the value of these packaging materials and containers shall be taken into account as originating or non-originating materials, as the case may be, in calculating the regional value content of the good.

Article 4.13. Packing Materials and Containers for Shipment

Containers and packing materials in which the good is packed for shipment shall not be taken into account in determining whether:
(a) the non-originating materials used in the production of the good undergo the applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4.03; or
(b) the good satisfies the requirement of regional value content.

Article 4.14. Transit and Transshipment

An originating good shall not lose such status when it is exported from a Party to another Party and during its transportation it passes by the territory of one Party or by the territories of one or more non-Parties, as long as it fulfills the following requirements:
(a) the transit is justifiable by geographical reasons or by considerations relative to requirements of international transportation;
(b) the good has not been destined for trade, consumption, and use in the countries of transit;
(c) during its transportation and temporary storage the good has not undergone operations other than unloading, reloading or any other operation necessary to preserve them in good condition; and
(d) the good remains under the control of the customs authority in the territory of a Party or non-Party.

Article 4.15. Committee on Rules of Origin and Customs Procedures

1. For the purposes of the effective implementation and operation of this Chapter and Chapter 5 (Custom Procedures Related to the Origin of Goods), the Parties shall establish a Committee on Rules of Origin and Customs Procedures (hereinafter referred to in this Article as "the Committee") pursuant to Article 14.05 (Committees).
2. The Committee shall meet when the Commission requires it or as the Parties may agree.
3. The Committee shall have, along with the function established in Article 14.05 (Committees), the following functions:
(a) review and make appropriate recommendations to the Commission on the implementation and operation of this Chapter and Chapter 5 (Custom Procedures Related to the Origin of Goods);
(b) review and make appropriate recommendations to the Commission on:
(i) matters relating to determinations of origin;
(ii) certificate of origin established in Article 5.02 (Origin Certification) and its filling instructions referred to in the Uniform Regulations;
(iii) the certifying procedures established in Article 5.02 (Origin Certification) with a view to confirm whether it would be more beneficial to the Parties to let exporters or producers certify certificates of origin by themselves;
(iv) the advance rulings established in Article 5.07 (Advanced Rulings); and (v) uniform regulations established in Article 5.11 (Uniform Regulations);
(c) modify the specific rules of origin contained in Annex 4.03;
(d) consider any other matter as the Parties may agree related to this Chapter and Chapter 5 (Custom Procedures Related to the Origin of Goods); and
(e) consider any other matter that the Commission may consider necessary.
4. The Parties shall consult and cooperate to ensure that this Chapter and Chapter 5 (Custom Procedures Related to the Origin of Goods) are applied in an effective and uniform manner, consistently with the spirit and the objectives of this Agreement.
5. A Party that considers that one or more of the provisions of this Chapter and its Annex or Chapter 5 (Custom Procedures Related to the Origin of Goods) requires modification in order to take into account developments in production processes, lack of supply of originating materials, or other relevant matters may submit a proposal of modification along with supporting rationale and any studies to the Commission for consideration.
6. Upon submission by a Party of a proposal of modification under paragraph 5 of this Article, the Commission shall refer the matter to Committee. The Committee shall meet to consider the proposal of modification within sixty (60) days of the date of referral or on such other date as the Commission may decide.
7. Within the period referred in paragraph 6, the Committee shall provide a report to the Commission, setting out its conclusions and recommendations, if any. Upon reception of the report, the Commission may take appropriate action under Article 14.01 (Administrative Commission of the Agreement).

Section CHAPTER 5. Customs Procedures Related to the Origin of Goods

Article 5.01. Definitions

1. For purposes of this Chapter, the following terms shall be understood as:
certificate of origin: a certificate of origin issued in the format established in paragraph 1 of Article 5.02, completed, signed and dated by the exporter or producer of a good in the territory of a Party, and certified by a certifying authority of that Party, according to the provisions of this Chapter and to the instructions for filling the certificate. certifying authority: in the case of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), Ministry of Economic Affairs, or its successor, or other agencies as authorized by BOFT or its successor;
in the case of the Republic of El Salvador, the Centro de Trámites de Exportación (CENTREX) of the Banco Central de Reserva and/or other offices, public or private, that are authorized by the Ministerio de Economía; and
in the case of the Republic of Honduras, the Dirección General de Integración Económica y Política Comercial of the Secretaría de Estado en los Despachos de Industria y Comercio, or its successor; commercial importation: the importation of a good into the territory of a Party for sale, or for commercial, industrial or similar purposes; competent authority: in the case of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the customs authority under the Ministry of Finance, or its successor;
in the case of Republic of El Salvador, the Ministerio de Economía is responsible of aspects relative to its administration in what proceeds, or its successor and the Dirección General de Aduanas of the Ministerio de Hacienda is responsible of the origin verification procedures and issuing advanced rulings, or its successor; and in the case of the Republic of Honduras, the Secretaría de Estado en los Despachos de Industria y Comercio, or its successor;
customs authority: the authority, according to the respective laws of each Party, responsible for administering and implementing customs laws and regulations; days: "days" as defined in Chapter 2 (General Definitions);
determination of origin: the written legal document issued by the competent authority as a result of a procedure for verifying whether a good qualifies as originating according to Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin);
exporter: a person located in the territory of a Party from which the good is exported by that person and that is obligated to keep the records referred to in paragraph 1 (a) of Article 5.05 in the territory of that Party;
identical goods: goods that are equal in all aspects, including physical characteristics, quality and commercial prestige, irrespective of minor differences in appearance that are not relevant to the determination of origin of these goods according to Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin);
importer: a person located in the territory of a Party from which the good is imported by that person and that is obligated to keep the records referred to in paragraph 1 (b) of Article 5.05 in the territory of that Party;
preferential tariff treatment: the application of the tariff rate corresponding to an originating good according to the tariff reduction schedule, pursuant to Article 3.04 (Tariff Reduction Schedule) of this Agreement; and
producer: a person located in the territory of a Party, as defined in Chapter 2 (General Definitions), who is obligated, according to this Chapter, to maintain records in the territory of that Party according to paragraph (a) of Article 5.05. 2. The definitions established in Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin) shall be incorporated into this Chapter.

Article 5.02. Origin Certification

1. For the purposes of this Chapter, the Parties shall establish a single format of certificate of origin, which shall enter into force on the same day as this Agreement and may be modified by mutual consent.
2. The certificate of origin established in paragraph 1 shall be used to certify that a good being exported from the territory of a Party into the territory of the other Party qualifies as originating.
3. The certifying authority of each Party shall require its exporters or producers to complete, sign and date a certificate of origin for each export of goods for which an importer of the other Party may claim preferential tariff treatment.
4. The exporter or producer completing, signing, and dating a certificate of origin will do so through an affidavit, committing to assume administrative, civil or criminal liability whenever the exporter includes false or incorrect information in the certificate of origin.
5. The certifying authority of each Party shall certify that the certificate of origin completed, signed and dated by the exporter or producer of the good is correct based on the information provided by such exporter or producer, who shall be responsible for the accuracy and validity of the information, and shall verify that the exporter or producer is indeed located in that Party.
6. Each Party shall require the certificate of origin to be sealed, signed and dated by the certifying authority of the exporting Party with respect to the exportation of a good for which the importer may claim preferential tariff treatment. The certificate of origin shall contain a serial number allowing its identification, which will be managed by the certifying authority.
7. The certifying authority of the exporting Party shall:
(a) elaborate and implement the administrative procedures for certifying the certificates of origin that its producer or exporter completes, signs and dates;
(b) provide, if requested by the competent authority of the importing Party, information about the origin of the imported goods claiming preferential tariff treatment; and
(c) notify in writing, before this Agreement enters into force, the list of the names of the authorized persons and, where applicable, the list of bodies authorized to certify the certificate of origin, with the corresponding signatures and seals. Modifications to this list shall be notified immediately in writing to the other Parties and shall enter into force thirty (30) days after the date on which those Parties receive notification of the modification. Until the modifications enter into force, the certification will be done by the current certifying authority.
8. Each Party shall provide that a certificate of origin shall only be applicable to a single importation of one or more goods into the territory of that Party.
9. Each Party shall provide that a certification of origin be accepted by the customs authority of the importing Party for a period of one year from the date on which the certificate was signed and sealed by the certifying authority.
10. Each Party shall provide that when an exporter is not the producer of the good, complete, sign and date the certificate of origin with basis on:
(a) the exporter's knowledge that the good qualifies as originating; and
(b) the certificate of origin completed, signed and dated by the producer of the good and willingly provided to the exporter.
11. Each Party shall provide that the preferential tariff treatment shall not be denied only because the good covered by a certificate of origin is invoiced by an enterprise located in the territory of a non-Party.

Article 5.03. Obligations Regarding Importations

1. Each Party shall require the importer claiming preferential tariff treatment for a good imported into its territory from the territory of the other Party to:
(a) declare in writing in the importation document required by its legislation, based on a certificate of origin that a good qualifies as originating;
(b) have the certificate of origin in his possession at the time the declaration is made;
(c) provide, if requested by its customs authority, the certificate of origin or copies of it; and
(d) promptly make a corrected declaration and pay any duties owed when the importer has reasons to believe that the certificate of origin on which a customs declaration was based contains incorrect information. When the importer presents a corrected declaration, the importer may not be sanctioned, as long as the customs authorities have not initiated their faculties of verification and control.
2. Each Party shall provide that, if an importer in its territory fails to comply with any requirement established in this Chapter, it may deny the preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement to a good imported from the territory of the other Party.
3. Each Party shall provide that, when the importer does not request for a preferential tariff treatment for goods imported into its territory that would have qualified as originating, the importer may, according to the legislation of each Party, request the return of the customs duties paid in excess for not having requested the preferential tariff treatment for that good, as long as the request is accompanied by:
(a) a written declaration, indicating that the good qualifies as originating at the time of importation;
(b) the certificate of origin or its copy; and
(c) any other documentation related to the import of the good, as the customs authority of that Party may require.

Article 5.04. Obligations Regarding Exportations

1. Each Party shall require its exporter or producer that has completed, signed and dated a certificate of origin to submit a copy of such certificate to its competent authority upon request.
2. Each Party shall require its exporter or producer who has completed, signed and dated a certificate of origin or provided information for his/her certifying authority, and has reasons to believe such certificate contains incorrect information, to notify promptly in writing all persons to whom that certificate was given and its certifying authority, of any change that may affect the accuracy or validity of that certificate, in which case, the exporter or producer may not be penalized for having provided an incorrect certificate or information, according to the legislation of each Party.
3. Each Party shall require a that false certificate of origin completed, signed and dated by an exporter or a producer in its territory that a good to be exported to the territory of another Party is originating shall be subject to penalties equivalent to those that would apply to an importer in its territory that makes a false statement or representation in connection with an importation, with appropriate modifications.
4. The certifying authority of the exporting Party shall provide the competent authority of the importing Party the notification referred to in paragraph 2.

Article 5.05. Records

Each Party shall provide that:
(a) its exporter or producer who obtains a certificate of origin and provides information to its certifying authority shall maintain, for at least five (5) years from the date on which the certificate is signed, all records and documents related to the origin of the goods, including those concerning:
(i) the purchase, costs, value, and payment of the good exported from its territory;
(ii) the purchase, costs, value and payment of all materials, including indirect ones, used in the production of the good exported from its territory; and
(iii) the production of the good in the form in which it is exported from its territory;
(b) an importer who claims preferential tariff treatment for a good imported into that Party's territory shall maintain a copy of the certificate of origin and other documentation relating to the importation for at least five (5) years from the date of importation of the good; and
(c) the certifying authority of the exporting Party that has issued a certificate of origin shall maintain all documentation relating to the issuance of the certificate for a minimum period of five (5) years from the issuing date of the certificate.

Article 5.06. Origin Verification Procedures

1. The importing Party, through its competent authority, may: (a) request information about the origin of a good from the certifying authority of the exporting Party; and, (b) request its Embassy in the territory of the other Party for assistance in those matters.
2. For purposes of determining whether a good imported into its territory from the territory of the other Party under preferential tariff treatment according to this agreement qualifies as originating, a Party may verify the origin of the good through its competent authority by means of:
(a) written questionnaires or requests for information sent directly to the importer in its territory or the exporter or producer in the territory of the other Party;
(b) verification visits to the exporter or producer in the territory of the other Party to review the records and documents referred to in Article 5.05 (a), and to inspect the materials and facilities used in the production of the good in question;
(c) delegating its Embassy in the territory of the other Party to conduct the verification visit; or
(d) other procedures as the Parties may agree to.
3. For the purposes of this Article, the questionnaires, requests, official letters, determinations of origin, notifications or any other written communications sent by the competent authority to the importer, exporter or the producer for origin verification, shall be considered valid, provided that they are done by the following means:
(a) certified mails with receipts of acknowledgement or other ways that confirm that the importer, exporter or producer has received the documents;
(b) official communications through the Embassies of the Parties whenever the competent authority requires; or
(c) any other way as the Parties may agree.
4. In a written questionnaire or request for information referred to in paragraph 2 (a) it shall:
(a) indicate the time period, which shall be no more than thirty (30) days from the date of receipt, that the importer, exporter or producer has to duly complete and return the questionnaire or provide the information requested; and (b) include the notification of intention to deny preferential tariff treatment, in case the importer, exporter or producer does not duly complete and return the questionnaire or does not provide the information requested within such time period.
5. The importer, exporter or producer who receives a questionnaire or request for information according to paragraph 2 (a) shall duly complete and return the questionnaire or respond to the request for information within the time period established in paragraph 4 (a) from the date of receipt. During that time period, the importer, exporter or producer may make a written request to the competent authority of the importing Party for an extension of no more than thirty (30) days. A Party shall not deny the preferential tariff treatment based solely on the request of an extension for completing and returning the questionnaire or responding to the information request.
6. Each Party shall provide that, even if the answered questionnaire or information requested referred to in paragraph 5 has been received within the specified time period, it may still request, through its competent authority, additional information from the importer, exporter or producer, by means of a subsequent questionnaire or request. In such cases the importer, exporter or producer shall answer the questionnaire or respond to the request within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt.
7. If the importer, exporter or producer does not duly complete a questionnaire, or does not return the questionnaire or provide the information requested within the time period established in paragraphs 4 (a), 5 and 6 above, the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to the goods subject to verification, by issuing a written determination of origin, including facts and the legal basis for that determination, to the importer, exporter or producer.
8. Prior to conducting a verification visit according to paragraph 2 (b), the importing Party shall, through its competent authority, provide a written notification of its intention to conduct the visit. The notification shall be sent to the exporter or producer to be visited, the importer, to the certifying authority and the competent authority of the Party in whose territory the visit will be conducted, and, if necessary, to the embassy of the other Party in the territory of the importing Party. The competent authority of the importing Party shall request the written consent from the exporter or producer to be visited, to make a verification visit.
9. The notification referred to in paragraph 8 shall include:
(a) the name of the competent authority that sends the notification;
(b) the name of the exporter or producer to be visited;
(c) the date and place of the proposed verification visit;
(d) the objective and scope of the verification visit, including the specific reference to the good subject to verification; (e) the names and positions of the officers conducting the verification visit; and
(f) the legal basis for carrying out the verification visit. Any modification of the information referred to in this paragraph shall also be notified according to paragraph 8.
10. If the exporter or producer has not given his written consent for the making of the proposed verification visit within the thirty (30) days of the written notification as provided in paragraphs 8 and 9, the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to the good by notifying in writing to the importer, exporter or producer the determination of origin, including facts and the legal basis for such denial.
11. When the exporter or producer receives a notification according to paragraphs 8 and 9, within the fifteen (15) days from the date on which the notification was received may, one time only, request in writing the postposition of the visit with the corresponding justifications, for a period no longer than thirty (30) days from the date on which the notification was received, or for a longer term the competent authority of the importing Party and the exporter or producer may agree. For these purposes, the competent authority of the importing Party shall notify the postposition of the visit to the importer, exporter or producer of the good, the competent authority and the certifying authority of the exporting Party.
12. A Party shall not deny the preferential tariff treatment based solely on the request to postpone the verification visit, according to paragraph 11.
13. Each Party shall permit an exporter or producer who is subject to a verification visit to designate two observers to be present during the visit, provided that the observers only participate in that manner. Nevertheless, the failure to designate the observers shall not be a cause for postponing the visit.
14. Each Party shall require that an exporter or a producer provides the records and documents referred to in Article 5.05(a) to the competent authority of the importing Party conducting a verification visit. If the records and documents are not in possession of the exporter or producer, the exporter may request to the producer of the good or the producer may request the supplier of the materials, to deliver these to the competent authority of the importing Party.
15. A Party may deny the preferential tariff treatment to an imported good subject to an origin verification, if the exporter or producer:
(a) fails to provide the records or documents for determining the origin of the good, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter and of Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin); or
(b) denies access to the records or documents.
16. Each Party, through its competent authority, shall verify the compliance of the requirements of regional value content, De Minimis, or any other provision contained in Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin) in compliance with the generally accepted accounting principles that apply in the territory of the Party from which the good was exported.
17. Once the verification visit has been concluded, the competent authority of the importing Party shall prepare a minute of the visit, which shall include the facts confirmed by it. The exporter or producer, subject to the verification visit, may sign this minute.
18. Within a period of one hundred and twenty (120) days from the conclusion of the verification of origin, the competent authority of the importing Party shall issue a determination of origin, in writing, in which it is determined if the good qualifies or not as originating, which shall include the factual findings and legal basis for the determination of origin and notify the importer, exporter or producer, as well as the competent authority and certifying authority of the exporting Party the determination of origin.
19. When the period established in paragraph 18 concludes and the competent authority of the importing Party does not issue a determination of origin, the good subject to the verification of origin shall receive the same preferential tariff treatment as if it were an originating good.
20. Where through a verification the importing Party determines that an importer, exporter or a producer has provided more than once, a false or unfounded certificate of origin or stating that a good qualifies as originating, the importing Party may suspend preferential tariff treatment to the identical goods imported, exported or produced by that person, until it is proved that such person is in compliance with all the requirements under Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin) and this Chapter.
21. When the competent authority of the importing Party determines that a good imported into its territory does not qualify as originating, the importer must pay any custom duties owed and other applicable charges according to the legislation of each Party.
22. In case the preferential tariff treatment is resumed, the competent authority of the importing Party shall issue a written determination of origin in which the competent authority of the importing Party establishes the resumption of the preferential tariff treatment for the good, shall be notified to the importer, exporter or producer and the competent authority and certifying authority of the exporting Party; which shall include the factual findings and the legal basis of its determination.
23. A Party shall not apply a determination of origin issued under paragraph 18 to an importation made before the date of entry into force of the determination origin where:
(a) the customs authority of the exporting Party issued an advance ruling regarding the tariff classification or valuation of one or more materials used in the good under Article 5.07;
(b) the importing Party's determination is based on a tariff classification or valuation for such materials that is different than that provided for in the advance ruling referred to in subparagraph (a); and
(c) the customs authority issued the advance ruling before the importing Party's determination.

Article 5.07. Advance Rulings

1. Each Party shall, through its competent authority, expeditiously provide a written advance ruling, prior to the importation of a good into its territory. The advance ruling shall be issued in response to a written application made by an importer in its territory or an exporter or producer in the territory of the other Party, based on the facts and circumstances stated by such importer, exporter or producer of the good, with respect to:
(a) whether the good qualifies as originating according to Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin);
(b) whether the non-originating materials used in the production of the good have undergone applicable changes on tariff classification established in Annex 4.03 (Specific Rules of Origin);
(c) whether the good fulfills the requirement of regional value content established in Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin) and in Annex 4.03 (Specific Rules of Origin);
(d) whether the method applied by an exporter or producer in the territory of the other Party, according to the norms and principles of the Customs Valuation Agreement, to calculate the transaction value of a good or of the materials used in the production of the good, with respect to which an advance ruling is being requested, is adequate for demonstrating whether the good satisfies a regional value content requirement according to Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin) and in Annex 4.03 (Specific Rules of Origin); or
(e) such other matters as the Parties may agree.
2. Each Party shall establish directives for the issuance of advance rulings, including:
(a) the obligation of the importer to provide information reasonably required to process an application for such ruling;
(b) the power of the competent authority to ask at any time for additional information from the person who applies for an advance ruling, while evaluating such application;
(c) the obligation of the competent authority to issue an advance ruling within a maximum period of one hundred twenty (120) days, once all the necessary information has been collected from the applicant; and
(d) the obligation of the competent authority to issue an advance ruling in a complete, well-founded, and reasoned manner.
3. Each Party shall apply an advance ruling to the imports concerned, from the date on which the ruling is issued or a later date indicated in the ruling, unless such ruling has been modified or revoked according to paragraph 5.
4. Each Party shall provide any person who applies for an advance ruling the same treatment, including the same interpretation and application of the provisions of Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin), regarding the determination of origin as provided for any other person, to whom an advance ruling has been issued, whenever the facts and circumstances are identical in all substantial aspects.
5. An advance ruling may be modified or revoked by the issuing competent authority:
(a) when it is based on an error:
(i) in fact;
(ii) in the tariff classification of the good or materials which are the subject of the ruling; or
(iii) in the application of the regional value content requirement according to Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin);
(b) when the ruling is not in accordance with the interpretation agreed by the Parties with respect to Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin);
(c) when there is a change in the facts or circumstances on which the ruling is based;
(d) for the purpose being in accordance with a modification of Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin) or this Chapter; or
(e) for the purpose of complying with an administrative decision independent from the issuing authority, a judicial decision or to adjust to a change in the national legislation of the Party that issued the advance ruling.
6. Each Party shall provide that any modification or revocation of an advance ruling shall enter into force from the date on which the modification or revocation is issued, or on such later date as may be specified therein, and shall not be applied to the importation of a good having occurred prior to that date, unless the person to whom the advance ruling was issued has not acted according to its terms and conditions.
7. Each Party shall provide that, when its competent authority verifies the origin of a good with respect to which an advance ruling has been issued, that authority shall evaluate whether:
(a) the exporter or producer has complied with the terms and conditions of the advance ruling;
(b) the operations of the exporter or producer are consistent with the facts and circumstances on which the advance ruling is based; and
(c) the data and calculations used in the application of criteria or methods to calculate the regional value content are correct in all substantial aspects.
8. Each Party shall provide that, when its competent authority determines that any of the requirements established in paragraph 7 has not been fulfilled, that authority may modify or revoke the advance ruling as the circumstances warrant.
9. Each Party shall provide that, when a person to whom an advance ruling has been issued demonstrates that he has acted with reasonable care and in good faith while stating the facts and circumstances on which the ruling was based, that person shall not be penalized whenever the issuing authority determines that the ruling was based on incorrect information.
10. Each Party shall provide that, when an advance ruling has been issued to a person who had falsely stated or omitted substantial facts or circumstances on which the ruling was based, or has not acted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the ruling, the competent authority may apply measures against that person according to the legislation of each Party.
11. The Parties shall provide that the holder of an advance ruling may use it solely while the facts or circumstances on which the ruling was based are maintained. In case those facts or circumstances have changed, the holder of the ruling shall be allowed to present the necessary information for the issuing authority to modify or revoke it according to paragraph 5.
12. Any good subject to an origin verification or a request for review or appeal in the territory of one of the Parties, shall not be subject to advance ruling.

Article 5.08. Confidentiality

1. Each Party shall maintain, according to its legislation, the confidentiality of information, provided as confidential, collected according to this Chapter and shall protect such information from disclosure.
2. The confidential information collected in accordance with this Chapter may only be disclosed to the authorities in charge of the administration and enforcement of determinations of origin, and of customs and taxation matters according to the legislation of each Party.

Article 5.09. Penalties

Each Party shall establish or maintain measures that impose criminal, civil or administrative penalties for violations of its laws and regulations related to the provisions of this Chapter.

Article 510. Review and Appeal

1. Each Party shall grant the same rights of review and appeal with respect to determinations of origin and advance rulings to its importers, or to the exporters or producers of the other Party to whom those determinations of origin and rulings have been issued according to Article 5.06 and Article 5.07.
2. When a Party denied preferential tariff treatment to a good by a determination of origin based on non-compliance with time periods established in this Chapter, with respect to the presentation of records or other information to the competent authority of that Party, the decision made in the review or appeal shall only deal with the noncompliance of the time period to which this paragraph refers.
3. Each Party shall provide that the rights of review and appeal referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall include, in accordance with the laws of each Party, access to:
(a) at least one level of administrative review independent of the official or office responsible for the determination of origin or advance ruling under review; and
(b) judicial review.

Article 5.11. Uniform Regulations

1. The Parties shall establish and implement, through their respective laws or regulations, by the date on which this Agreement enters into force, or at any later date as agreed by the Parties, the uniform regulations regarding the interpretation, application and administration of Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin), this Chapter and other matters as may be agreed by the Parties.
2. Any modification or addition to the uniform regulation shall be done as the Parties agree.

Article 5.12. Cooperation

1. Each Party shall notify the other Party of the following determinations, measures and rulings, including, to the extent possible, the ones to be applied:
(a) a determination of origin issued as a result of a verification of origin conducted according to Article 5.06, once the review and appeal referred to in Article 5.10 are exhausted;
(b) a determination of origin that the Party considers contrary to a ruling issued by the competent authority of the other Party on the tariff classification or the value of a good, or of the materials used in the manufacturing of a good; (c) a measure that establishes or significantly modifies an administrative policy that may in the future affect the determinations of origin; and
(d) an advance ruling, and its revocation or modification, issued according to Article 5.07.
2. The Parties shall cooperate:
(a)in the enforcement of their respective customs laws or regulations, for the implementation of this Agreement, and, if applicable, under mutual customs assistance agreements, or in any another customs related agreement which they are parties to;
(b)to the extent possible and for the purpose of facilitating the flow of trade between their territories, in customs issues such as the collection and exchange of statistics regarding the importation and exportation of goods, and the exchange of information;
(c) to the extent possible, in the collection and exchange of documentation on customs procedures; and (d)in searching for a mechanism with the purpose of discovering and preventing the illegal transshipment of goods from a Party or non-Party.

Section CHAPTER 6. Safeguard Measures

Article 6.01. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter, the following terms shall be understood as:
Agreement on Safeguards: the Agreement on Safeguards which forms part of the WTO Agreement, its modifications or any successor agreement;
causal link: as defined in Agreement on Safeguards;
critical circumstances: those circumstances where delay of the application of the safeguard measure would cause damage that would be difficult to repair;
domestic industry: the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive goods operating within the territory of a Party, or those whose collective output of the like or directly competitive goods constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of those goods;
investigating authority: the investigating authority shall be:
(a) in the case of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the International Trade Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, or its successor;
(b) in the case of the Republic of El Salvador, the Dirección de Administración de Tratados Comerciales del Ministerio de Economía, or its successor; and
(c) in the case of the Republic of Honduras, the Dirección General de Integración Económica y Política Comercial de la Secretaría de Estado en los Despachos de Industria y Comercio, or its successor;
safeguard measure: all kinds of tariff measures as applied in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, with the exception of any derived safeguard measure of an initiated procedure before the entering into force of this Agreement; (1)
serious injury: as defined in the Agreement on Safeguards; threat of serious injury: as defined in the Agreement on Safeguards; and
transition period: a period of ten (10) years as of the date this Agreement enters into force;
except when it refers to a good where tariffs should be eliminated in a period of more than ten (10) years, according to the Schedule on Annex 3.04 (Tariff Reduction Schedule) of the Party that applies the measure, in which case transition period means the one set out in the aforementioned Schedule.

Article 6.02. Bilateral Safeguard Measures

1. All the substantive aspects, procedures and in general the application of the safeguard measures shall be governed by this Chapter, and Article XIX of GATT 1994, the Agreement on Safeguards and the applicable legislation for each Party as suppletory.
2. During the transition period, each Party may apply a safeguard measure according to the procedure established in this Chapter if, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs tariff in accordance with this Agreement, an originating good from the territory of a Party is 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 constitute a substantial cause of serious injury, or a threat thereof, to the domestic industry of the like or directly competitive good.
3. The importing Party may to the extent necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury, or the threat thereof:
(a) suspend the further reduction of any customs tariff provided for under this Agreement on the good; or
(b) increase the customs tariff on the good to a level not to exceed the lesser of:
(i) the Most Favored Nation (MFN) applied customs tariff in effect at the time the measure is taken; or
(ii) the MFN applied customs tariff in effect on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
4. The Republic of El Salvador and the Republic of Honduras shall have the right to extend the period of application of a safeguard measure for up to an additional two (2) years beyond the maximum period provided for in Article 6.02, paragraph 5.
5. The following conditions shall be observed in the proceeding that may result in the application of a safeguard measure according to paragraph 2:
(a) a Party shall, without delay and in writing, notify the other Party of the initiation of the proceeding which could have as a consequence the application of a safeguard measure against a good originating in the territory of the other Party;
(b) any safeguard measure shall be initiated no later than one (1) year from the date of the initiation of the procedure; except for what is established by the Article 6.04 paragraph 15;
(c) no safeguard measure may be maintained: (i) for more than four (4) years, extendable for a period of four (4) additional consecutive years, as provided in Article 6.04 paragraphs 27 through 29; or
(ii) after the termination of the transition period, unless with the consent of the Party against whose good the measure is applied;
(d) a safeguard measure may be applied as many times as necessary, provided that at least a period has elapsed, equivalent to half of the time during which the safeguard measure was applied for the first time;
(e) the period in which a provisional safeguard measure has been applied shall be calculated for the purpose of determining the period of duration of the definitive safeguard measure established in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph;
(f) provisional measures that do not become definitive shall be excluded from the limitation provided for in subparagraph (d) of this paragraph; and
(g) on the termination of the safeguard measure, the applied customs tariff shall be the rate as that in the Tariff Reduction Schedule.
6. In critical circumstances a Party may apply provisional bilateral safeguard measures pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that increased imports have been given on originating goods of the other Party, as a result of the reduction or elimination of duty pursuant to this Agreement and under such conditions as to constitute a serious injury or threat thereof. The duration of provisional measures shall not exceed two hundred (200) days.

Article 6.03. Global Safeguard Measures

1. Each Party shall reserve its rights and obligations in accordance with Article XIX of GATT 1994, and the Agreement on Safeguards, its modifications or successor provisions, except those relating to compensation or retaliation and exclusion of a safeguard measure which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Article.
2. Any Party applying a safeguard measure in accordance with paragraph 1 shall exclude from this measure, goods imported from the other Party, unless:
(a) imports from the other Party account for a substantial share of total imports. Those imports normally shall not be considered to be substantial if that Party is not among the top three suppliers of the good subject to the proceeding, measured in terms of its import share during the most recent three (3) year period; and
(b) imports from the other Party contribute importantly to the serious injury, or threat thereof, caused by total imports. To determine this, the investigating authority shall consider factors such as the change in the import share of the other Party in the total imports, as well as the import volume of the other Party and the changes in that volume. Normally, the imports from a Party shall not be considered to contribute importantly to serious injury, or threat thereof, if its growth rate of imports from a Party, during the period in which the injurious surge in imports occurred, is appreciably lower than the growth rate of total imports from all sources during the same period.
3. A Party shall notify in writing within a fifteen (15) day term to the other Party of the initiation of a proceeding that may result in the application of a safeguard measure, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.
4. No Party may apply a measure under paragraph 1 of this Article, that imposes restrictions on a good, without previous notification in writing to the other Party, and without giving appropriate opportunity to carry out consultations in advance with the other Party, with as much anticipation as feasible before applying it.
5. When a Party determines, in accordance with this Article, that it needs to apply a safeguard measure to those goods originating from the other Party, the measure applied to those goods shall consist, only and exclusively, of tariff measures.
6. The Party applying a safeguard measure under this Article shall provide to the other Party mutually agreed trade liberalization compensation, in the form of concessions, having substantially equivalent trade effects or equivalent to the additional customs tariff expected to result from the safeguard measure.
7. If the Parties are unable to agree on the compensation, the Party against whose good the safeguard measure is applied may impose measures which have trade effects substantially equivalent to the effects of the safeguard measure applied pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article.

Article 6.04. Administration of the Safeguard Measure Proceedings

1. Each Party shall ensure the consistent, impartial and reasonable application of the applicable legislation of each Party, regulations, decisions and rulings governing the application of safeguard measure proceedings, which shall be consistent with the provisions set forth in Article XIX of GATT 1994, Agreement on Safeguards, its modifications or successors.
2. Safeguard proceedings and the determination of the existence of serious injury or threat thereof shall be entrusted to the investigating authority of each Party. The investigating authority empowered under the domestic law of each Party to conduct these proceedings should be provided with all the necessary resources to fulfill its duties.
3. Each Party shall comply in an equitable, timely, transparent and effective manner with the safeguard proceedings under this Chapter.

Proceeding
4. The investigating authority may initiate a proceeding ex officio or by a petition of a domestic industry. When the investigating authority acts ex officio it shall notify the domestic industry to corroborate with its consent to continue the investigation.
5. When the procedure is initiated ex officio, or is a result of a petition by the domestic industry, support by at least twenty five percent (25%) of said domestic industry shall be required.
Content of the Petition
6. The domestic industry that files a petition to initiate an investigation shall provide the following information in the petition, to the extent that such information is publicly available from governmental or other sources, or its best estimates and the basis therefore if such information is not thus available:
(a) designation of the investigating authority to whom the petition is presented;
(b) data of identification of the petitioner or petitioners, as well as the location of the establishments in which they produce the like or directly competitive good. A proxy shall document the capacity with which they act;
(c) documentation to certify petitioner's share of domestic production of the like or directly competitive goods they represent and reasons for claiming that they represent said domestic industry;
(d) description of the imported good concerned at the level of tariff subheading under which that good is classified, or when necessary at a more detailed level, the effective tariff treatment as well as the specifications and elements that allow to compare them with domestic goods;
(e) description of the affected like or directly competitive domestic goods and its tariff subheading;
(f) volume and value of the imports;
(g) import data for each of the three (3) full years immediately prior to the initiation of the safeguard proceedings that form the basis of the claim that the good is being imported into the territory of the other Party, in increased quantities, either in absolute terms or relative to domestic production;
(h) cause of injury: the listing and description of the alleged causes of injury or threat thereof, and a summary of the basis for the assertion that imports of the good concerned increased relative to domestic production. The quantitative and objective indicators that denote the nature and cause of injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry, such as changes in the level of sales, prices, production, productivity, utilization of installed capacity, market share, profits or losses, and employment;
(i) volume and value of the domestic production of the like or directly competitive goods for each of the three (3) full years immediately prior to the initiation of the safeguard measure proceedings;
(j) petition to initiate the investigation and for the imposition of a safeguard measure;
(k) lists of known importers and exporters with addresses or place to serve them notice;
(l) petitioner's addresses or place to serve them notice;
(m)place and date of petition; and
(n) signature of the petitioner or legal representative.
Acceptance or Rejection of the Petition
7. After receiving a petition, the investigating authority shall review it and determine within thirty (30) days whether to accept the petition:
a) If the petition fulfills the requirements, the investigating authority shall initiate the investigation;
b) If the petition does not fulfill the requirements, the investigating authority shall notify the petitioner of the requirement to fulfill them within a period of fifteen (15) days and this term shall be extended for the same period at the request of the interested parties; or
c) the investigating authority may reject the petition, through a justified resolution, if there are not enough elements to justify the investigation or if the petitioner fails to fulfill the standing requirements of the domestic industry support. If the petitioner fulfills the requirements pursuant to part b) of this paragraph, the investigating authority shall, within thirty (30) days after the petitioner fulfills the requirements, accept the petition and initiate the investigation or reject it. If the petitioner does not fulfill the requirements, the investigating authority shall reject it, without prejudice of submittal of a new petition by the interested parties at a later date.
Resolution to Initiate an Investigation
8. The resolution to initiate an investigation shall contain as minimum:
(a) identification of the investigating authority, as well as the place and date on which the resolution is issued;
(b) indication that the petition is accepted along with the attached documents;
(c) name of the individual or legal person of domestic producers of the like or directly competitive goods that support the petition and their addresses to be served notice;
(d) description of the imported good concerned at the level of the tariff subheading under which that good is classified, or when necessary at a more detailed level, the effective tariff treatment, as well as a description of the like or directly competitive goods;
(e) the basis that sustains the resolution;
(f) previous representative period;
(g) time period for interested parties to submit written allegations and related documents; and (h) other relevant data.
Notifications in General
9. The notifications in the proceedings shall be made in writing within fifteen (15) days after the date the resolutions are issued, with attached copies of public versions of the petition and documents.

Publication Requirements
10. When initiating an investigation, the investigating authority shall publish a notice of initiation in an official journal of the Party or nation-wide newspaper, within a period of ten (10) days starting from the acceptance of the petition. The notification of the investigation initiation shall be sent through the investigating authority to the other Party by certified mail, courier, fax or any other means that will ensure its reception.
Opposition
11. The investigating authority shall grant forty-five (45) days to the interested parties, starting from the day after the notification that the investigation has initiated, to allow them to submit their position and introduce evidence. The investigating authority may, at the request of the interested parties, extend the period by no more than thirty (30) days.
12. The previous representative period, shall be the basis for the determination of the existence of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry and shall be determined by the investigating authority upon initiating the investigation and can be modified when necessary.
Previous Representative Period Consultations
13. Once a petition is accepted, the Party that intends to initiate the case shall notify the other Party, and the Parties may hold consultations at any time during the proceeding, without interrupting them.
14. During these consultations the Parties may address, among others, any issue relating to the investigation, the elimination of the measure, and in general, any related issues.
Period of Investigation
15. An investigation shall normally be concluded within one hundred eighty (180) days, and in exceptional circumstances qualified by the investigating authority, shall conclude three hundred and sixty five (365) days from the initiation of the investigation.
Information Required
16. The investigating authority may request all kinds of information from the interested parties. When the interested parties deny access to the necessary information, or they do not cooperate within the period set by the investigating authority, it can make a determination based on the evidence available.
Provisional Safeguard Measures
17. If the justified elements are gathered for the petition of a provisional measure, and the investigating authority has made an affirmative injury determination or threat thereof, it may recommend that the competent authority imposes a provisional measure.
18. Provisional measures shall take the form of customs tariff increases to be promptly refunded, pursuant to this Chapter, if the subsequent investigation does not determine that increased imports have caused or threatened to cause serious injury to a domestic industry.
Evidence of Serious Injury or Threat Thereof
19. In conducting its proceedings the investigating authority shall gather, to the best of its ability, all relevant information appropriate to make the determination. It shall evaluate all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of the domestic industry, including the rate and amount of the increased import quantities, absolute or relative to domestic production of the good concerned, the share of the domestic market taken by the increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilization, profits and losses, and employment. In making its determination, the investigating authority may also consider other economic factors, such as changes in prices and inventories, and the ability of the domestic industry to raise capital or investments.
Public Hearing
20. During the course of each proceeding, the investigating authority shall: (a) notify the date and the place of the public hearing to the interested parties, including the importers and exporters, fifteen (15) days before it is held, to allow them to appear in person or through a representative to submit evidence, allegations and be heard on issues of serious injury or threat thereof and the appropriate remedy; and (b) provide an opportunity to all interested parties appearing at the hearing to express their arguments and to ask questions.
21. After the public hearing, the interested parties should have fifteen (15) days to submit their supplementary evidence and conclusions on the investigation, in writing, to the investigating authority.
Confidential Information
22. The investigating authority shall establish or maintain procedures for the treatment of confidential information protected by the national legislation that is provided in the course of the proceeding, and shall request that the interested parties furnish non-confidential written summaries thereof. If the interested parties indicate that the information cannot be summarized, they shall explain the reasons why a summary cannot be provided. Unless it is demonstrated that the information is accurate, in a convincing way and from an accurate source, the authority may disregard that information.
23. The investigating authority shall not disclose any confidential information provided in accordance with any obligation related to the confidential information obtained in the course of the proceedings.
Deliberation and Determination
24. The competent authority, before making definitive determination in a proceeding for the application of safeguard measures, shall allow sufficient time to gather and check relevant information, shall hold a public hearing and provide opportunity for all interested parties to prepare and submit their views.
25. The investigating authority shall promptly publish a final determination notice in an official journal or nation-wide newspaper publicizing the results of the investigation and the reasoned conclusions on all pertinent issues of law and fact. The determination notice shall include a description of the imported good, its tariff subheading, the methodology applied and the findings made in the proceedings. The statement of reasons shall set out the basis for the determination, including a description of:
(a) the domestic industry seriously injured or threatened with serious injury;
(b) information supporting a finding that imports are increasing, the domestic industry is seriously injured or threatened with serious injury, and increasing imports are causing or threatening to cause serious injury; and
(c) if provided for by domestic law, any finding or recommendation regarding the appropriate remedy, as well as the basis thereof.
26. Each Party shall ensure that the determinations in safeguard measure proceedings may be subject to review by judicial or administrative proceedings of the Party, as provided in its domestic laws. Negative determinations of the existence of serious injury or threat thereof shall not be subject to modification by the competent authority, unless the modification is required by such judicial or administrative review.
Extension of Measures
27. If the importing Party determines that reasons justify the extension of a bilateral safeguard measure, the Party shall notify the competent authority of the other Party of its intention to extend the measure at least ninety (90) days before the measure is expected to expire, and shall prove that the reasons leading to its application persist, for the purpose of holding respective consultations, which shall be done according to the provisions of this Article.
28. The domestic industry that submitted the request for an extension of measures shall present a readjustment plan, including variables controllable by the domestic industry or production involved to eliminate injury or threat thereof.
29. The notifications of extension and compensation shall be presented pursuant to this Article prior to the expiration of the applied measures.
Compensation
30. The Party that applies a safeguard measure according to this Article shall provide to the other Party mutually agreed compensation in the form of concessions that have commercial effects substantially equivalent to the value of the additional customs duties that are expected from the safeguard measure. However, no compensation shall be provided for the first three (3) years that the safeguard measure is in effect, as well as the right of suspension of the concession or other obligations substantially equivalent shall not be exercised by the Party against which the safeguard measure is applied during these three (3) years.
31. Following the expiration of the three (3) years mentioned in the previous paragraph, the Party that applies the measure shall give opportunity to hold consultations within ninety (90) days following the expiration. If the Parties cannot reach an agreement on compensation, the Party to whose good the safeguard measure is applied shall be able to suspend concessions or other obligations that have commercial effects substantially equivalent to those of the applied safeguard measure according to this Article, after having notified the other Party in writing at least thirty (30) days before imposing these measures. The Party shall apply the tariff measure during the necessary minimum period to reach the effects substantially equivalent and in any event it shall cease when the other Party finishes the application of the safeguard measure.

Article 6.05. Dispute Settlement with Regards to Safeguard Measures

No Party shall request the establishment of an arbitral panel, under Article 15.07 (Establishment of an Arbitral Panel), before the application of a safeguard measure by the other Party.

Chapter 7. Unfair Trade Practices

Article 7.01. Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures

The Parties confirm their rights and obligations for the application of antidumping or countervailing duties imposed by a Party on the goods imported from the territory of the other Party, such measures shall be subject to Article VI and XVI of GATT 1994, the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.

Article 7.02. Scope of Application

Except as provided in this Chapter, the antidumping and countervailing duties shall be applied by the Parties in accordance with the provisions of the agreements set forth in Article 7.01 and the legislation of each Party as suppletory.

Article 7.03. Investigating Authority

For the investigation and application of the provisions of this Chapter the investigating authority in the case of the Republic of China (Taiwan), is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, or their successors; in the case of the Republic of El Salvador is the Dirección de Administración de Tratados Comerciales del Ministerio de Economía, or its successor; and in the case of the Republic of Honduras is the Dirección General de Integración Económica y Política Comercial de la Secretaría de Estado en los Despachos de Industria y Comercio, or its successor.

Article 7.04. Consultations