Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, neither Party shall adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of the other Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party, except in accordance with Article XI of GATT 1994, and to this end, Article XI of GATT 1994 is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.10. Import Licensing
1. Neither Party shall adopt or maintain a measure that is inconsistent with the Import Licensing Agreement.
2. A Party shall publish on an official government website any new or modified import licensing procedure, including any information that it is required to publish under Article 1.4(a) of the Import Licensing Agreement. To the extent possible, the Party shall do so at least 21 days before the new procedure or modification takes effect.
3. In respect of any import licensing procedures, each Party's notifications to the WTO Committee on Import Licensing under the Import Licensing Agreement shall describe any limitations on permissible end users of the product and any conditions the Party imposes on eligibility for obtaining a licence to import the product.
At the request of a Party, the other Party shall, with regard to any import licensing procedures that it has adopted or maintains, or changes to existing import licensing procedures:
(a) promptly provide the information specified in Article 5(2) of the Import Licensing Agreement, where that information has not been notified to the WTO Committee on Import Licensing provided for in Article 4 of the Import Licensing Agreement; and
(b) promptly and to the extent possible provide any other relevant information.
Article 2.11. Administrative Fees and Formalities
1. Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article VIII:1 of GATT 1994, that all fees and charges of whatever character (other than export taxes, custom duties, charges equivalent to an internal tax or other internal charge applied consistently with Article 11:2 of 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 tendered, and do not represent an indirect protection to domestic goods of a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
2. Neither Party shall require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of a good of the other Party.
3. Each Party shall make publicly available online a current list of the fees and charges it imposes in connection with importation or exportation, including any updates or changes to such fees and charges. An adequate time period shall be accorded between the publication of new or amended fees and charges and their entry into force, except in urgent circumstances. Such fees and charges shall not be applied until information on them including the reason for such fees and charges, the responsible authority, and when and how payment is to be made, has been published.
Article 2.12. Export Duties, Taxes or other Charges
Neither Party shall adopt or maintain any duty, tax, or other charge on the export of any good to the territory of the other Party, unless the duty, tax, or other charge is also applied to a like good destined for domestic consumption. For the purposes of this Article, charges shall not include fees or other charges imposed in accordance with Article 2.11 (Administrative Fees and Formalities).
Article 2.13. Export Subsidies
The Parties affirm their WTO commitments not to adopt or maintain an export subsidy on any good.
Article 2.14. Export Licensing
1. Within 60 days of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall notify the other Party of its existing export licensing procedures. A Party shall be deemed to have complied with this paragraph if it has notified its export licensing procedures consistent with a Decision on Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions adopted by the WTO Council for Trade in Goods.
2. Each Party shall publish any new export licensing procedure, or any modification to an existing export licensing procedure. Such publication shall take place no later than 30 days after the procedure or modification takes effect.
3. For greater certainty, nothing in this Article requires a Party to grant an export licence, or prevents a Party from implementing its obligations under any international agreement, including but not limited to those under United Nations Security Council Resolutions, as well as its commitments under multilateral non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements including, but not limited to the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies done at The Hague on 19 December 1995, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group, and the Missile Technology Control Regime.
Article 2.15. Remanufactured Goods
1. Unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, neither Party shall accord to a remanufactured good of the other Party treatment that is less favourable than that it accords to equivalent goods in new condition.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to consumer guarantees provided for in a Party's laws and regulations.
3. If a Party adopts or maintains import and export prohibitions or restrictions on used goods on the basis that they are used goods, it shall not apply those measures to remanufactured goods. For greater certainty, Article 2.9 (Import and Export Restrictions) shall apply to prohibitions and restrictions on the importation of remanufactured goods.
4. Subject to its obligations under this Agreement and the WTO Agreement, a Party may require that remanufactured goods be identified as such for distribution or sale in its territory and that they meet all applicable technical requirements that apply to equivalent goods in new condition.
Article 2.16. Committee on Trade In Goods
1. The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Trade in Goods ("the Goods Committee"), composed of government representatives of each Party.
2. The Goods Committee's functions shall include:
(a) reviewing and monitoring the implementation and operation of this Chapter, Chapter 3 (Trade Remedies), Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin), and Chapter 5 (Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation);
(b) promoting trade in goods between the Parties, including through consultations on accelerating tariff elimination or reduction under this Agreement, and addressing non-tariff barriers on the importation of any good of the other Party or on the exportation of any good destined for the territory of the other Party;
(c) addressing issues relating to the administration and operation of tariff rate quotas and the application of product specific safeguard measures;
(d) receiving reports from, and reviewing the work of, the Working Group on Rules of Origin and Customs and Trade Facilitation established under Article 4.29 (Working Group on Rules of Origin and Customs and Trade Facilitation - Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures);
(e) reporting, as needed, on its activities and work programme to the Joint Committee;
(f) facilitating trade in remanufactured goods, including considering amendments or modifications to the provisions of this Agreement relating to the treatment of remanufactured goods, with a view to broadening the types of goods that may be considered remanufactured goods, having regard to factors including technological developments and the Parties' shared environmental objectives;
(g) reviewing the future amendments to the Harmonized System and endeavouring to resolve any differences that may arise between the Parties on matters related to the classification of goods under the Harmonized System and Annex 2A (Tariff Commitments);
(h) determining the procedures and specific data requirements, as appropriate, for any exchange of trade data; and
(i) undertaking any other work that the Joint Committee assigns to it.
3. The Goods Committee shall meet at the request of either Party and in any event within one year of the date of entry into force of this Agreement. Meetings may occur in person, or by any other means as mutually determined by the Parties.
4. The Goods Committee may establish technical working groups to consider any matter relating to this Chapter that creates disruption or may affect trade in goods between the Parties. Any technical working group established shall report to the Goods Committee on progress of its work.
Chapter 3. TRADE REMEDIES
Section A. General Provisions
Article 3.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
"bilateral safeguard measure" means a measure referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 3.6 (Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure);
"customs duty reduction or elimination" means any customs duty reduction or elimination in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 2.5 (Treatment of Customs Duties - Trade in Goods);
"domestic industry" means, with respect to an imported good, the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive good operating within the territory of a Party, or those whose collective output of the like or directly competitive good constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of the good;
"serious injury" means a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry;
"threat of serious injury" means serious injury that is clearly imminent, in accordance with the provisions of Article 3.8 (Investigation Procedure). A determination of the existence of a threat of serious injury shall be based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture, or remote possibility; and
"transition period" means, in relation to a good, the entry into force of this
Agreement until five years after the completion of the customs duty reduction or elimination in relation to the good.
Section B. Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures
Article 3.2. General Provision
Except as provided in this Section, each Party affirms its rights and obligations under Article VI of GATT 1994, the AD Agreement, and the SCM Agreement.
Article 3.3. Investigations
1. After receipt by a Party's investigating authority of a properly documented application for an anti-dumping investigation or a countervailing duty investigation with respect to imports from the other Party and before initiating an investigation, the importing Party shall provide written notification to the other Party of its receipt of the application.
2. Without prejudice to its other rights and obligations under the SCM Agreement, prior to initiating a countervailing duty investigation against imports from the other Party, the importing Party shall afford to the other Party a reasonable opportunity to consult with the aim of clarifying the situation on matters raised in the application and arriving at a mutually agreed solution. Any such consultations shall not unnecessarily delay or prevent a Party from proceeding expeditiously to initiate and conduct an investigation.
3. The Parties reaffirm their rights and obligations under Articles 6.2 and 6.3 of the AD Agreement and Article 12.2 of the SCM Agreement, including with respect to the rights of interested parties to present information orally and to defend their interests in the conduct of an anti-dumping investigation or a countervailing duty investigation.
4. Each Party shall ensure, before a final determination is made, full and meaningful disclosure of all essential facts under consideration which form the basis for the decision whether to apply definitive measures in an anti-dumping investigation or a countervailing duty investigation. This is without prejudice to Article 6.5 of the AD Agreement and Article 12.4 of the SCM Agreement. Disclosures shall be made in writing, and allow interested parties sufficient time to defend their interests.
Article 3.4. Lesser-duty Rule
Each Party's investigating authority may consider whether the amount of the anti-dumping or countervailing duty to be imposed shall be the full margin of dumping or total amount of the subsidy or a lesser amount, in accordance with the Party's laws and regulations.
Section C. Global Safeguard Measures
Article 3.5. General Provisions and Transparency
1. Except as provided in this Section, nothing in this Agreement affects either Party's rights and obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards.
2. A Party that initiates a safeguard investigatory process shall provide to the other Party an electronic copy of any notification given to the WTO Committee on Safeguards under Article 12.1 of the Agreement on Safeguards.
3. To the extent permitted by the Agreement on Safeguards, when imposing safeguard measures, each Party shall endeavour to impose them in a way that least affects bilateral trade.
Section D. Bilateral Safeguard Measures
Article 3.6. Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure
1. If, as a result of customs duty reduction or elimination, an originating good of the other Party is being imported into the territory of a Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause serious injury or threat of serious injury, the importing Party may apply a safeguard provided for in paragraph 2 to the extent necessary to prevent or remedy the serious injury and to facilitate the adjustment of the domestic industry.
2. In accordance with paragraph 1, the importing Party may apply one of the following bilateral safeguard measures:
(a) a suspension of the further customs duty reduction or elimination in relation to the good; or
(b) an increase in the rate of customs duty on the good to a level that does not exceed the lesser of:
(i) the most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty in effect at the time the measure is applied; or
(ii) the most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty on the good in effect on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 3.7. Duration and Scope
1. A Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure only for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate the adjustment of the domestic industry.
2. The period referred to in paragraph 1 shall not exceed two years, except that the period may be extended by no more than two years if the competent authority of the Party that applies the measure determines, in conformity with the procedures set out in Article 3.8 (Investigation Procedure), that the bilateral safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment.
3. In order to facilitate adjustment in a situation where the expected duration of a bilateral safeguard measure is more than one year, the Party that applies the measure shall progressively liberalise it at regular intervals during its period of application.
4. Neither Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure ona good that has already been subject to a bilateral safeguard measure for a period of time equal to the duration of the previous safeguard or one year after its termination, whichever is longer.
5. When a Party terminates a bilateral safeguard measure on a good, the rate of customs duty for that good shall be the rate that would have been in effect in accordance with the Party's Schedule to Annex 2A (Tariff Commitments) but for the bilateral safeguard measure.
6. Neither Party shall apply or maintain a bilateral safeguard measure after the transition period.
Article 3.8. Investigation Procedure
1. A Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure only following an investigation by the Party's competent authority in accordance with the same procedures as those provided for in Articles 3 and 4.2 of the Safeguards Agreement; to this end, Articles 3 and 4.2 of the Safeguards Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. An investigation shall not exceed one year, but a Party may, in exceptional circumstances, and as mutually agreed with the other Party, extend the investigation for no more than the time necessary to complete the investigation. The other Party should not unreasonably withhold its agreement to the extension.
Article 3.9. Notification and Consultation
1. A Party shall provide written notice to the other Party immediately after:
(a) initiating an investigation referred to in Article 3.8 (Investigation Procedure);
(b) making a finding of serious injury or threat of serious injury caused by increased imports of an originating good of the other Party as a result of a customs duty reduction or elimination in relation to the good;
(c) taking a decision to apply or extend a bilateral safeguard measure; or
(d) taking a decision to modify a bilateral safeguard measure for progressive liberalisation.
2. A Party shall provide promptly to the other Party a copy of the public version of the report of its competent authority following the conclusion of its investigation as set out under Article 3.8 (Investigation Procedure).
3. The Party providing a written notice referred to in paragraph 1 shall provide the other Party with all pertinent information, which shall include:
(a) in the written notice referred to in subparagraph 1(a), the reason for the initiation of the investigation, a precise description of the good subject to the investigation (including its subheading in the Harmonized System), the importation period subject to the investigation, and the date of initiation of the investigation; and
(b) in the written notice referred to in subparagraphs 1(b) through (d), the evidence of the serious injury or the threat of serious injury caused by the increased imports of the good as a result of the customs duty reduction or elimination, a precise description of the good subject to the proposed bilateral safeguard measure (including its subheading in the Harmonized System), a precise description of the bilateral safeguard measure, and, as applicable, the proposed date of the introduction, extension, or modification of the bilateral safeguard measure, its expected duration, and the timetable for the progressive liberalisation of the measure. In the case of an extension of a bilateral safeguard measure, evidence that the domestic industry concerned is adjusting shall also be provided.
4. A Party proposing to apply or extend a bilateral safeguard measure shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations with the other Party with a view to reviewing the information provided under subparagraph 3(b), exchanging views on the bilateral safeguard measure, and reaching an agreement on compensation set out in Article 3.11 (Compensation).
Article 3.10. Provisional Application of a Bilateral Safeguard Measure
1. In critical circumstances, a Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure on a provisional basis if:
(a) delay would cause damage to a domestic industry that would be difficult to repair; and
(b) the Party's competent authority makes a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that imports of an originating good of the other Party have increased as the result of the customs duty reduction or elimination in relation to the good, and that those increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury.
2. Before applying a bilateral safeguard measure on a provisional basis the applying Party shall provide written notice to the other Party. Consultation between the Parties on the application of the measure on a provisional basis shall be initiated immediately after the measure is applied.
3. A bilateral safeguard measure applied on a provisional basis shall not be maintained for more than 200 days. The duration of a bilateral safeguard applied on a provisional basis shall be counted as part of the period described in paragraph 2 of Article 3.7 (Duration and Scope).
4. The increase in customs duty paid as a result of the application of the bilateral safeguard measure on a provisional basis shall be promptly refunded if the Party's competent authority, in the investigation referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 3.8 (Investigation Procedure), does not determine that the increase in imports of the good subject to the measure has caused or threatened to cause serious injury.
Article 3.11. Compensation
1. A Party applying a bilateral safeguard measure shall, in consultation with the other Party, provide mutually agreed trade liberalising compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the bilateral safeguard measure. The Party shall provide an opportunity for those consultations no later than 30 days after the application or the extension of the bilateral safeguard measure.
2. If the consultations under paragraph 1 do not result in the Parties agreeing on trade liberalising compensation within 30 days, the Party against whose good the bilateral safeguard measure is applied may suspend the application of substantially equivalent concessions to the trade of the Party applying the bilateral safeguard measure.
3. The Party against whose good the bilateral safeguard measure is applied shall notify the other Party in writing at least 30 days before it suspends concessions in accordance with paragraph 2.
4. The obligation to provide compensation under paragraph 1 and the right to suspend concessions under paragraph 2 terminates on the termination of the bilateral safeguard measure.
Article 3.12. Non-cumulation
Neither Party shall apply or maintain two or more of the following measures, with respect to the same good at the same time:
(a) a bilateral safeguard measure;
(b) a safeguard measure under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards;
(c) a safeguard measure under the Agreement on Agriculture, in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(d) a product-specific safeguard under the Party's Schedule to Annex 2A (Tariff Commitments).
Article 3.13. Non-application of Dispute Settlement
Neither Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 30 (Dispute Settlement) for any matter arising under Section B or C.
Chapter 4. RULES OF ORIGIN AND ORIGIN PROCEDURES
Section A. Rules of Origin
Article 4.1. Definitions
For the Purposes of this Chapter:
"aquaculture" means the farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other aquatic invertebrates and aquatic plants from seed stock, including seed stock imported from non-parties, such as eggs, fry, fingerlings, or larvae, parr, smolts, or other immature fish at a post-larval stage, by intervention in the rearing or growth processes to enhance production such as regular stocking, feeding, or protection from predators;
"fungible goods or materials" means goods or materials that are interchangeable for commercial purposes and whose properties are essentially identical, irrespective of minor differences in appearance that are not relevant to a determination of origin;
"generally accepted accounting principles" means those principles recognised by consensus or with substantial authoritative support in the territory of a Party with respect to the recording of revenues, expenses, costs, assets and liabilities; the disclosure of information; and the preparation of financial statements. These principles may encompass broad guidelines for general application, as well as detailed standards, practices, and procedures;
"indirect material" means a material used in the production, testing, or inspection of a good but not physically incorporated into the good; or a material used in the maintenance of buildings or the operation of equipment, associated with the production of a good, including:
(a) fuel, energy, catalysts, and solvents;
(b) equipment, devices, and supplies used to test or inspect the good;
(c) gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, safety equipment, and supplies;
(d) tools, dies, and moulds;
(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 buildings; and
(g) any other material that is not incorporated into the good but the use of which in the production of the good can reasonably be demonstrated to be a part of that production;
"material" means a good that is used in the production of another good;
"non-originating good" or "non-originating material" means a good or material that does not qualify as originating in accordance with this Chapter;
"originating good" or "originating material" means a good or material that qualifies as originating in accordance with this Chapter;
"packing materials and containers for shipment" means goods used to protect another good during its transportation, but does not include the packaging materials or containers in which a good is packaged for retail sale;
"preferential tariff treatment" means the customs duty rate applicable to an originating good, pursuant to each Party's Schedule to Annex 2A (Tariff Commitments);
"producer" means a person who engages in the production of a good;
"production" means operations including growing, cultivating, raising, mining, harvesting, fishing, trapping, hunting, capturing, collecting, breeding, extracting, aquaculture, gathering, manufacturing, processing, or assembling a good;
"production value" means the price paid or payable to the producer of the good at the place where the last production was carried out, and must include the value of all materials. If there is no price paid or payable or if it does not include the value of all materials, the value of the good:
(a) must include the value of all materials and the cost of production employed in producing the good, calculated in accordance with accounting principles which are generally accepted in the Party of the producer; and
(b) may include amounts for general expenses and profit to the producer that can be reasonably allocated to the good.
Any internal taxes which are, or may be, repaid when the good obtained is exported are excluded. If value of the good includes costs incurred subsequent to the good leaving the place of production, such as freight, insurance, packing, and all other costs incurred to transport the good, those costs are to be excluded; and
"value of the good" means, in relation to a good, either:
(a) the production value of the good; or
(b) the price actually paid or payable for the good when sold for export or other value determined in accordance with the Customs Valuation Agreement, excluding any costs incurred in the international shipment of the good.
Article 4.2. Origin Criteria
Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, a good shall be regarded as originating if it is:
(a) wholly obtained or produced in the territory of one or both of the Parties, as established in Article 4.3 (Wholly Obtained or Produced Goods);
(b) produced entirely in the territory of one or both of the Parties, exclusively from originating materials; or
(c) produced entirely in the territory of one or both of the Parties using non-originating materials, provided the good satisfies all applicable requirements of Annex 4B (Product-Specific Rules),
in each case, provided the good satisfies all other applicable requirements of this Chapter.