Article 79. Designated Authorities
For the purpose of applying Articles 73, 74 and 75, each Party shall designate its competition authority or any other public entity and communicate its decision to the other Parties at the first meeting of the Joint Committee but in no case later than 60 days after the entry into force of the Agreement.
Article 80. Definitions
For the purpose of this Chapter:
(a) "competition laws" means:
(i) for Chile, Decreto Ley N° 211 of 1973 and Ley N° 19.610 of 1999 and their implementing regulations or amendments as well as other laws dealing with competition matters;
(ii) for the Republic of Iceland, Competition Law No. 8/1993 as amended by Law No. 24/1994, 83/1997, 82/1998 and 107/2000 as well as other laws dealing with competition matters;
(iii) for the Principality of Liechtenstein, any competition rules that Liechtenstein recognises or undertakes to apply within its territory, including those provided for in other international agreements, such as the Agreement on the European Economic Area;
(iv) for the Kingdom of Norway, Act No. 65 of 11 June 1993 relating to Competition in Commercial Activity as well as other laws dealing with competition matters;
(v) for the Swiss Confederation, the Federal Act on Cartels and Other Restraints of Competition of 6 October 1995 and the Order on the Control of Business Concentration of 17 June 1996, and any regulation provided for by these acts as well as other laws dealing with competition matters, and any changes that the above mentioned legislation may undergo after the conclusion of this Agreement;
(b) "enforcement activity" includes any application of competition laws by way of investigation or proceeding conducted by a Party, which may result in the imposition of penalties or remedies.
Chapter VII. Subsidies
Article 81. Subsidies/state Aid
1. The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of subsidies related to goods shall be governed by Article XVI of the GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
2. The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of subsidies related to services shall be governed by the GATS.
3. Each Party may request information on individual cases of state aid believed to affect trade between the Parties. The requested Party will make its best efforts to provide such information.
Chapter VIII. Transparency
Article 82. Publication
1. The Parties shall publish, or otherwise make publicly available, their laws, regulations, procedures and administrative rulings of general application as well as the international agreements, that may affect the operation of this Agreement.
2. The Parties shall provide, upon request, information on matters referred to in paragraph 1.
Article 83. Contact Points and Exchange of Information
1. In order to facilitate communication between the Parties on any trade matter covered by this Agreement, each Party shall designate a contact point. On the request of any Party, the contact point of the other Parties shall indicate the office or official responsible for the matter and provide the required support to facilitate communication with the requesting Party.
2. On the request of a Party, each Party shall provide information and reply to any question from the other Parties relating to an actual measure that may affect the operation of this Agreement. The Parties shall make information on proposed measures available to the extent possible under their domestic laws and regulations.
3. The information referred to under this Article shall be considered to have been provided when the information has been made available by appropriate notification to the WTO or when the information has been made available on the official, publicly and fee-free accessible website of the Party concerned.
Article 84. Cooperation on Increased Transparency
The Parties agree to cooperate in bilateral and multilateral fora on ways to increase transparency in trade matters.
Chapter IX. Administration of the Agreement
Article 85. The Joint Committee
1. The Parties hereby establish the EFTA-Chile Joint Committee, comprising Ministers of each Party, or senior officials delegated by them for this purpose.
2. The Joint Committee shall:
(a) supervise the implementation of this Agreement and evaluate the results obtained in its application;
(b) oversee the further elaboration of this Agreement;
(c) endeavour to resolve disputes that may arise regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement;
(d) supervise the work of the sub-committees and working groups established or created under this Agreement; and
(e) carry out any other function assigned to it under this Agreement.
3. The Joint Committee may decide to set up such sub-committees and working groups as it considers necessary to assist it in accomplishing its tasks. The Joint Committee may seek the advice of non-governmental persons and groups.
4. The Joint Committee shall establish its rules of procedure. (11) It may take decisions as provided for in this Agreement. On other matters the Joint Committee may make recommendations. The Joint Committee shall take decisions and make recommendations by consensus.
5. Subject to the provisions set out in Annex XV, the Joint Committee may amend the Annexes and the Appendices to this Agreement.
6. The Joint Committee shall meet whenever necessary but normally every two years. The regular meetings of the Joint Committee shall alternate between Chile and an EFTA State.
7. Each Party may request at any time, through a notice in writing to the other Parties, that a special meeting of the Joint Committee be held. Such a meeting shall take place within 30 days of receipt of the request, unless the Parties agree otherwise.
Article 86. The Secretariat
1. The Parties hereby establish a Secretariat of this Agreement, comprising the competent organs referred to in Annex XVI.
2. All communications to or by a Party shall be sent through the respective competent organs unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement.
Chapter X. Dispute Settlement
Article 87. Scope
1. This Chapter shall apply with respect to the avoidance or the settlement of all disputes arising from this Agreement between one or several EFTA States and Chile.
2. The Parties shall at all times endeavour to agree on the interpretation and application of this Agreement, and shall make every attempt through co-operation and consultations to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution of any matter that might affect its operation.
3. This Chapter shall not apply to Articles 14(2), 16(1), 17(1), 18(3), 20, 24(1) and 81(1) and (2).
Article 88. Choice of Forum
1. Disputes on the same matter arising under both this Agreement and the WTO Agreement, or any agreement negotiated thereunder, to which the Parties are party, may be settled in either forum at the discretion of the complaining Party. The forum thus selected shall be used to the exclusion of the other.
2. Once dispute settlement procedures have been initiated under this Agreement pursuant to Article 91 or dispute settlement proceedings have been initiated under the WTO Agreement, the forum selected shall be used to the exclusion of the other.
3. For the purposes of this Article, dispute settlement proceedings under the WTO Agreement are deemed to be initiated by a Party's request for the establishment of a panel pursuant to Article 6 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.
4. Before a Party initiates dispute settlement proceedings under the WTO Agreement against another Party or Parties, that Party shall notify all other Parties of its intention.
Article 89. Good Offices, Conciliation or Mediation
1. Good offices, conciliation and mediation are procedures that are undertaken voluntarily if the Parties involved so agree. They may begin at any time and be terminated at any time.
2. Proceedings involving good offices, conciliation and mediation shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of the Parties in any other proceedings.
Article 90. Consultations
1. A Party may request in writing consultations with another Party whenever it considers that a measure applied by that Party is inconsistent with this Agreement or that any benefit accruing to it directly or indirectly under this Agreement is impaired by such measure. The Party requesting consultations shall at the same time notify the other Parties in writing thereof. Consultations shall take place before the Joint Committee unless the Party or Parties making or receiving the request for consultations disagree.
2. Consultations shall be held within 30 days from the date of receipt of the request for consultations. Consultations on urgent matters, including those on perishable agricultural goods, shall commence within 15 days from the receipt of the request for consultations.
3. The Parties involved in the consultations shall provide sufficient information to enable a full examination of how the measure is inconsistent with, or may impair the benefit accruing to them under this Agreement and treat any confidential or proprietary information exchanged in the course of consultations in the same manner as the Party providing the information.
4. The consultations shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of the Parties involved in any further proceedings.
5. The Parties involved in the consultations shall inform the other Parties of any mutually agreed resolution of the matter.
Article 91. Establishment of Arbitration Panel
1. If the matter has not been resolved within 60 days, or 30 days in relation to a matter of urgency, after the date of receipt of the request for consultations, it may be referred to arbitration by one or more of the Parties involved by means of a written notification addressed to the Party or Parties complained against. A copy of this notification shall also be communicated to all Parties so that each Party may determine whether to participate in the dispute.
2. Where more than one Party requests the establishment of an arbitration panel relating to the same matter, a single arbitration panel should be established to examine these complaints whenever feasible.
3. A request for arbitration shall give the reason for the complaint including the identification of the measure at issue and an indication of the legal basis of the complaint.
4. A Party to this Agreement which is not a Party to the dispute, on delivery of a written notice to the disputing Parties, shall be entitled to make written submissions to the arbitration panel, receive written submissions of the disputing Parties, attend all hearings and make oral submissions.
Article 92. Arbitration Panel
1. The arbitration panel shall comprise three members.
2. In the written notification pursuant to Article 91, the Party or the Parties referring the dispute to arbitration shall designate one member of the arbitration panel.
3. Within 15 days of the receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 2, the Party or Parties to which it was addressed to shall designate one member of the arbitration panel.
4. The Parties to the dispute shall agree on the appointment of the third arbitrator within 15 days of the appointment of the second arbitrator. The member thus appointed shall chair the arbitration panel.
5. If all 3 members have not been designated or appointed within 30 days from the date of receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 2, the necessary designations shall be made at the request of any Party to the dispute by the Director-General of the WTO within a further 30 days.
6. The Chair of the arbitration panel shall not be a national of any of the Parties, nor have his or her usual place of residence in the territory of any of the Parties, nor be employed or previously have been employed by any of the Parties, nor have dealt with the case in any capacity.
7. If an arbitrator dies, withdraws or is removed, a replacement shall be selected within 15 days in accordance with the selection procedure followed to select him or her. In such a case, any time period applicable to the arbitration panel proceedings shall be suspended for a period beginning on the date the arbitrator dies, withdraws or is removed and ending on the date the replacement is selected.
8. The date of establishment of the arbitration panel shall be the date on which the Chair is appointed.
Article 93. Procedures of the Arbitration Panel
1. Unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise, the arbitration panel proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the Model Rules of Procedure set out at Annex XVII.
2. Unless the Parties to the dispute otherwise agree within 10 days from the date of delivery of the request for the establishment of the arbitration panel, the terms of reference shall be:
"To examine, in the light of the relevant provisions of the Agreement, the matter referred to in the request for the establishment of an arbitration panel pursuant to Article 91 and to make findings of law and fact together with the reasons therefore for the resolution of the dispute."
3. At the request of a Party to the dispute or on its own initiative, the arbitration panel may seek scientific information and technical advice from experts as it deems appropriate. Any information so obtained shall be submitted to the Parties for comments.
4. The arbitration panel shall make its ruling based on the provisions of this Agreement, in particular in the light of its objectives as set out in Article 2, applied and interpreted in accordance with the rules of interpretation of public international law.
5. Decisions of the arbitration panel shall be taken by a majority of its members. Arbitrators may furnish separate opinions on matters not unanimously agreed. No arbitration panel may disclose which arbitrators are associated with majority or minority opinions.
6. The expenses of the arbitration panel, including the remuneration of its members, shall be borne by the Parties to the dispute in equal shares.
Article 94. Ruling
1. The arbitration panel shall within 90 days from the date of the establishment of the arbitration panel present to the Parties to the dispute its ruling.
2. The arbitration panel shall base its ruling on the submissions and arguments of the Parties to the dispute and on any scientific information and technical advice pursuant to Article 93(3).
3. Unless the Parties to the dispute decide otherwise, the ruling shall be published 15 days after it is presented to them.
Article 95. Termination of Arbitration Panel Proceedings
A complaining Party may withdraw its complaint at any time before the ruling has been issued. Such withdrawal is without prejudice to its right to introduce a new complaint regarding the same issue at a later point in time.
Article 96. Implementation of Arbitration Panel Rulings
1. The ruling shall be final and binding on the Parties to the dispute. Each Party to the dispute shall be bound to take the measures necessary to comply with the ruling referred to in Article 94.
2. The Parties to the dispute shall endeavour to agree on the specific measures that are required for complying with the ruling.
3. The Party complained against shall notify the other Party within 30 days after the ruling has been transmitted to the Parties to the dispute:
(a) the specific measures required for complying with the ruling;
(b) the reasonable period of time to do so; and
(c) a concrete proposal of a temporary compensation until the full implementation of the specific measures required for compliance with the ruling.
4. In case of disagreement between the Parties to the dispute on the content of such notification, the complaining Party may request the original arbitration panel to rule on whether the proposed measures referred to under paragraph 3(a) are in compliance with the ruling, on the duration of the period of time and on whether the compensation proposal is manifestly disproportionate. The ruling shall be given within 45 days after that request.
5. The Party or Parties concerned shall notify to the other Party or Parties to the dispute and the Joint Committee the measures adopted in order to implement the ruling before the expiry of the reasonable period of time determined in accordance with paragraph 4. Upon that notification, any Party to the dispute may request the original arbitration panel to rule on the conformity of those measures with the ruling. The ruling of the arbitration panel shall be given within 45 days from that request.
6. If the Party or Parties concerned fails to notify the implementing measures before the expiry of the reasonable period of time determined in accordance with paragraph 4, or if the arbitration panel rules that the implementing measures notified by the Party or Parties concerned are not in compliance with the ruling, such Party or Parties shall, if so requested by the complaining Party or Parties, enter into consultations with a view to agree on a mutually acceptable compensation. If no such agreement has been reached within 20 days from the request, the complaining Party or Parties shall be entitled to suspend only the application of benefits granted under this Agreement equivalent to those affected by the measure found to be inconsistent with, or to impair benefits under, this Agreement.
7. In considering what benefits to suspend, the complaining Party or Parties should first seek to suspend benefits in the same sector12 or sectors as that affected by the measure that the arbitration panel has found to be inconsistent with, or to impair benefits under, this Agreement. The complaining Party or Parties that consider it is not practicable or effective to suspend benefits in the same sector or sectors may suspend benefits in other sectors.
8. The complaining Party or Parties shall notify the other Party or Parties of the benefits which it intends to suspend no later than 60 days before the date on which the suspension is due to take effect. Within 15 days from that notification, any of the Parties to the dispute may request the original arbitration panel to rule on whether the benefits which the complaining Party or Parties intend to suspend are equivalent to those affected by the measure found to be inconsistent with, or to impair benefits under, this Agreement, and whether the proposed suspension is in accordance with paragraphs 6 and 7. The ruling of the arbitration panel shall be given within 45 days from that request. Benefits shall not be suspended until the arbitration panel has issued its ruling.
9. The suspension of benefits shall be temporary and shall only be applied by the complaining Party or Parties until the measure found to be inconsistent with, or to impair benefits under, this Agreement has been withdrawn or amended so as to bring it For the purpose of this Article, with respect to goods ‘sector' shall mean goods classified in Chapters 1 to 97 of the HS. into conformity with this Agreement, or the Parties to the dispute have reached agreement on a resolution of the dispute.
10. At the request of any of the Parties to the dispute, the original arbitration panel shall decide on the conformity with the ruling of any implementing measures adopted after the suspension of benefits and, in light of such ruling, whether the suspension of benefits should be terminated or modified. The ruling of the arbitration panel shall be given within 30 days from the date of that request.
11. The rulings provided for in this Article shall be binding.
Article 97. Other Provisions
1. Any time period mentioned in this Chapter may be extended by mutual agreement of the Parties involved.
2. Hearings of the arbitration panels shall be closed to the public, unless the Parties decide otherwise.
Chapter XI. General Exceptions
Article 98. Balance of Payments Difficulties
1. Where a Party is in serious balance of payments and external financial difficulties, or under threat thereof, it may adopt or maintain restrictive measures with regard to trade in goods and in services and with regard to payments and capital movements, including those related to direct investment.
2. The Parties shall endeavour to avoid the application of the restrictive measures referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Any restrictive measure adopted or maintained under this Article shall be nondiscriminatory and of limited duration and shall not go beyond what is necessary to remedy the balance of payments and external financial situation. Such a measure shall be in accordance with the conditions established in the WTO Agreements and consistent with the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, as applicable.
4. The Party maintaining or having adopted restrictive measures, or any changes thereto, shall promptly notify them to the other Parties and present, as soon as possible, a time schedule for their removal.
5. The Party applying restrictive measures shall consult promptly within the Joint Committee. Such consultations shall assess the balance of payments situation of the Party concerned and the restrictions adopted or maintained under this Article, taking into account, inter alia, such factors as:
(a) the nature and extent of the balance of payments and the external financial difficulties;
(b) the external economic and trading environment of the consulting Party;
(c) alternative corrective measures which may be available.
The consultations shall address the compliance of any restrictive measures with paragraphs 3 and 4. All findings of statistical and other facts presented by the International Monetary Fund relating to foreign exchange, monetary reserves and balance of payments shall be accepted and conclusions shall be based on the assessment by the International Monetary Fund of the balance of payments and the external financial situation of the consulting Party.
Article 99. National Security Clause
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:
(a) to require a Party to furnish any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests;
(b) to prevent a Party from taking any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests
(i) relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;
(ii) relating to the traffic in arms, ammunition and implements of war and to such traffic in other goods and materials or relating to the supply of services, as carried on directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying or provisioning a military establishment;
(iii) relating to the government procurement of arms, ammunition or war materials or procurement indispensable for national security or for national defense purposes; or
(iv) taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations; or
(c) to prevent a Party from taking any action in pursuance of its obligations under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.
2. The Joint Committee shall be informed to the fullest extent possible of measures taken under paragraphs 1(b) and (c) and of their termination.
Article 100. Taxation
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall apply to taxation measures except:
(a) Article 15, and such other provisions of this Agreement as are necessary to give effect to that Article to the same extent as does Article III of the GATT 1994; and
(b) with regard to taxation measures applicable in Section I of Chapter III, where Article XIV of the GATS applies.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of any Party under any tax convention. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any such convention, that convention shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
Chapter XII. Final Provisions
Article 101. Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise specified:
"days" means calendar days;
"measure" includes inter alia any law, regulation, procedure, requirement or practice; and
"Party" means any State regarding which this Agreement has entered into force.
Article 102. Annexes and Appendices
The Annexes and Appendices to this Agreement constitute an integral part thereof.
Article 103. Amendments
1. The Parties may agree on any amendment to this Agreement. Unless the Parties decide otherwise, the amendments shall enter into force on the first day of the third month following the deposit of the last instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, with respect to decisions of the Joint Committee amending the Annexes and Appendices to this Agreement, Article 85(5) shall apply. Such decisions shall enter into force on the date that the last Party notifies that its internal requirements have been fulfilled, unless the decision itself specifies a later date. The Joint Committee may decide that any decision shall enter into force for those Parties that have fulfilled their internal requirements, provided that Chile is one of those Parties. An EFTA State may apply a decision of the Joint Committee provisionally until such decision enters into force, subject to its constitutional requirements.
3. The text of the amendments shall be deposited with the Depositary.
Article 104. Additional Parties
Any third State may, upon invitation by the Joint Committee, become a Party to this Agreement. The terms and conditions of the accession of the additional Party shall be the subject of an agreement between the Parties and the invited State.