Article 5.6. HARMONIZATION
1. The Parties shall make their best endeavour to base their SPS measures on international standards, guidelines, or recommendations where they exist.
2. The Parties shall strengthen communications, cooperation, and coordination with each other, where appropriate, in the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
Article 5.7. REGIONALIZATION
The Parties recognise the principles of regionalisation and its implementation as provided for in Article 6 of the SPS Agreement and the relevant standards and guidelines established by the relevant international organisations.
Article 5.8. EQUIVALENCE
Each Party shall accept the SPS measures of the other Party as equivalent to its own if the exporting Party objectively demonstrates to the other Party that its measure achieves the other Party's appropriate level of protection. For this purpose, reasonable access shall be given, upon request, to the importing Party for inspection, testing and other relevant procedures.
Article 5.9. TRANSPARENCY
1. Each Party affirms its commitment to ensure that information regarding proposed new or amended SPS measures is made available in accordance with the notification obligations of the SPS Agreement.
2. Each Party shall make available the full text of its notified SPS measures, in available languages, to the requesting Party within 15 working days after receiving the written request.
3. Each Party shall allow at least 60 days following the notification of its proposed sanitary and phytosanitary measures to WTO for the other Party to present comments except where risks to human, animal or plant life or health arising or threatening to arise warrant urgent actions.
4. Each Party shall endeavour to take into consideration the comments of the other Party and provide responses to these comments upon request in reasonable timeframe.
Article 5.10. TECHNICAL COOPERATION
1. The Parties agree to explore the opportunity for technical cooperation on SPS issues, with a view to enhancing the mutual understanding of the regulatory systems of the Parties and facilitating access to each other's market.
2. Each Party, on request, shall give due consideration to cooperation in relation to SPS issues.
Article 5.11. CONTACT POINTS
1. Each Party shall designate a contact point who shall, for that Party, have the responsibility for coordinating the implementation of this Chapter. The contact points will be:
(a) For China, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine or its successor; and
(b) For Georgia, the Legal Entity of Public Law – National Food Agency.
2. Each Party shall provide the other Party with the name of the designated contact point and the contact details of the relevant official in that organization, including telephone, facsimile, email, and any other relevant details.
3. Each Party shall notify the other Party promptly of any change in its contact point or any amendment to the details of the relevant officials.
Chapter 6. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
Article 6.1. OBJECTIVE
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) Facilitate and promote trade in goods between the Parties by ensuring that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary technical barriers to trade;
(b) Strengthen cooperation, including information exchange in relation to the preparation, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures;
(c) Promote mutual understanding of each Party's standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures; and
(d) Facilitate implementation of the principles of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
Article 6.2. SCOPE
This Chapter shall apply to all technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures of each Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade in goods between the Parties. It shall exclude:
(a) SPS measures which are covered in Chapter 5 SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures); and
(b) Purchasing specifications prepared by governmental bodies for production or consumption requirements of governmental bodies, as provided by paragraph 1.4 of the Article 1 of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
Article 6.3. DEFINITION
For the purposes of this Chapter, the definitions set out in Annex 1 to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "TBT Agreement") shall apply.
Article 6.4. AFFIRMATION OF THE TBT AGREEMENT
The Parties affirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the TBT Agreement.
Article 6.5. TECHNICAL REGULATIONS (1)
Where relevant international standards exist or their completion is imminent, each Party shall use them, or relevant parts of them, as a basis for their technical regulations except when such international standards or relevant parts would be an ineffective or inappropriate means for the fulfilment of the legitimate objectives pursued, for instance, due to fundamental climatic or geographical factors or fundamental technological problems.
Article 6.6. STANDARDS
1. For the purpose of applying this Chapter, standards issued, in particular, by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) shall be considered relevant international standards in the sense of Article 2.4 of the TBT Agreement.
2. The Parties agree to strengthen exchanging of experience and information on the standardization area.
Article 6.7. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES
1. Each Party, with a view to increasing efficiency and ensuring cost effectiveness of the conformity assessments, shall seek upon request to enhance the acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures, conducted by the relevant accredited and/or authorized conformity assessment bodies in the territory of the other Party, through a separate mutual recognition agreement.
2. The Parties agree, upon request, to exchange information on conformity assessment procedures, including testing, certification and accreditation.
3. When cooperating in conformity assessment, the Parties shall take into consideration their participation in the relevant international and/or regional organizations.
Article 6.8. TRANSPARENCY
1. Each Party affirms its commitment to ensuring that information regarding proposed new or amended technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures is made available in accordance with the relevant requirements of the TBT Agreement.
2. Each Party shall make available the full text of its notified technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, in available languages, to the requesting Party within 15 working days after receiving the written request.
3. Each Party shall allow at least 60 days following the notification of its proposed technical regulation and conformity assessment procedures to WTO for the other Party to present comments except where risks to health, safety, and the environment arising or threatening to arise warrant urgent actions.
4. Each Party should take the comments of the other Party into due consideration and shall endeavour to provide responses to these comments upon request.
Article 6.9. TECHNICAL CONSULTATIONS
1. When a Party considers that a relevant technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure of the other Party has constituted unnecessary obstacle to its exports, it may request technical consultations. The requested Party shall respond as early as possible to such request.
2. The requested Party shall enter into technical consultations within a period mutually agreed, with a view to reaching a solution. Technical consultations may be conducted via any means mutually agreed by the Parties concerned.
Article 6.10. COOPERATION
With a view to increasing mutual understanding of their respective systems and facilitating bilateral trade, the Parties shall strengthen their technical cooperation in the following areas:
(a) Communication between competent authorities of the Parties;
(b) Exchange of information in respect of technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures, and good regulatory practice;
(c) Encouraging, where possible, cooperation between conformity assessment bodies of the Parties;
(d) Cooperation in areas of mutual interest in the work of relevant regional and international bodies relating to the development and application of standards and conformity assessment procedures; and
(e) Other areas mutually agreed by the Parties.
Article 6.11. CONTACT POINTS
1. Each Party shall designate a contact point who shall, for that Party, have the responsibility for coordinating the implementation of this Chapter. The contact points will be:
(a) For China, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine or its successor; and
(b) For Georgia, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.
2. Each Party shall provide the other Party with the name of the designated contact point and the contact details of the relevant official in that organization, including telephone, email and any other relevant details.
3. Each Party shall notify the other Party promptly of any change in their contact points or any amendments to the details of the relevant officials.
Chapter 7. TRADE REMEDIES
Section A. General Trade Remedies
Article 7.1. ANTI-DUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
1. Except as otherwise provided by paragraph 3 of this Article, each Party retains its rights and obligations under the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) contained in Annex 1 A to the WTO Agreement.
2. Each Party retains its rights and obligations under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
3. Neither Party shall use a methodology based on surrogate value of a third country for the purpose of determining normal value when calculating dumping margin in an anti-dumping investigation.
Article 7.2. GLOBAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES
Each Party retains its rights and obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards.
Section B. Transitional Safeguard Measures
Article 7.3. APPLICATION OF A TRANSITIONAL SAFEGUARD MEASURE
1. During the transition period only, if as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty provided under this Agreement, any product originating in 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 cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive product, the importing Party may apply a transitional safeguard measure described in paragraph 2 of this Article.
2. If the conditions in paragraph 1 of this Article are met, a Party may:
(a) Suspend the further reduction of any rate of customs duty on the product provided for under this Agreement; or
(b) Increase the rate of customs duty on the product to a level not exceeding the lesser of:
(i) The most-favored-nation (hereinafter referred to as "MFN") applied rate of duty in effect on the product on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement; or
(ii) The MFN applied rate of customs duty in effect on the product on the date on which the transitional safeguard measure is applied.
Article 7.4. SCOPE AND DURATION OF TRANSITIONAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES
1. From the entry into force of this Agreement in relation to a particular product, transitional period of the transitional safeguard measure shall be taken for a period not exceeding three years.
2. Neither Party may apply or maintain a transitional safeguard measure:
(a) Except to the extent and for such time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury, and to facilitate adjustment; or
(b) For a period exceeding one year, except that the period may be extended by up to one year, if the competent authorities determine, in conformity with the procedures set out in section B (Transitional Safeguard Measures) of this Chapter, that the transitional safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting.
(c) Without prejudice of subparagraph (a) and (b) of this paragraph, regardless of its duration, such measure shall terminate at the end of the transitional period.
3. In order to facilitate adjustment in a situation where the transitional safeguard measure is extended, the Party extending the measure shall liberalize it during the period of extension.
4. No transitional safeguard measure shall be applied to the import of a product, which has previously been subject to such a measure.
5. Neither Party may apply a transitional safeguard measure on a product that is subject to a measure that the Party has applied pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Safeguard Agreement, and neither Party may maintain a transitional safeguard measure on a product that becomes subject to a measure that the Party imposed pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Safeguard Agreement.
6. On the termination of a transitional safeguard measure, the Party that applied the transitional safeguard measure shall apply the rate of customs duty set out in its schedule to Annex 1-A of this Agreement on the date of termination as if the transitional safeguard measure has never been applied.
Article 7.5. INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES
Transitional safeguard measure shall only be taken upon clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury pursuant to an investigation in accordance with the related procedures laid down in the WTO Agreement on Safeguard.
Article 7.6. PROVISIONAL MEASURE
1. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair, a Party may take a provisional transitional safeguard measure pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury to a domestic industry.
2. Before taking a provisional measure, the applying Party shall notify the other Party and shall, on request of the other Party, initiate consultations after applying such a measure.
3. The duration of a provisional transitional safeguard measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which period the pertinent requirement of Article 7.3, 7.4 and 7.5 shall be met. Such a provisional transitional safeguard measure should take the form of a suspension of the further reduction of any rate of duty provided for under this Agreement on the product or an increase in the customs duties not exceeding the lesser of the rates in Article 7.3.2 (b). Any additional customs duties or guarantees collected shall be promptly refunded if the subsequent investigation referred to in Article 7.5 determines that increased imports have not caused or threatened to cause serious injury to a domestic industry.
4. The duration of any such provisional transitional safeguard measure shall be counted as a part of the initial period and any extension of a transitional safeguard measure.
Article 7.7. NOTIFICATION AND CONSULTATION
1. A Party shall immediately notify the other Party, in writing on:
(a) Initiating a transitional safeguard investigation;
(b) Making a finding of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports;
(c) Taking a decision to apply or extend a transitional safeguard measure; and
(d) Taking a decision to liberalize a transitional safeguard measure previously applied, in accordance with Article 7.4.3.
2. In making the notification referred to in subparagraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Party applying a transitional safeguard measure shall provide the other Party with all pertinent information, which shall include evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports, a precise description of the product involved, the proposed transitional safeguard measure, the proposed date of introduction and its expected duration. In the case of an extension of a transitional safeguard measure, the written results of the determination required by Article 7.5, including evidence that the continued application of the measure is necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and that the industry is adjusting shall also be provided.
3. A Party proposing to apply or extend a transitional safeguard measure shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations with the other Party, with a view to, inter alia, reviewing the information provided under paragraph 2 of this Article, exchanging views on the transitional safeguard measure and, in the case of extending a transitional safeguard measure reaching an agreement on compensation as set forth in Article 7.8.1.
4. A party shall provide to the other Party a copy of the publicly available version of the report of its competent authorities in accordance with WTO Agreement on Safeguards as soon as it is available.
Article 7.8. COMPENSATION
1. A party extending a transitional safeguard measure shall, in consultation with the other Party, provide to the other Party mutually agreed 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 measure. Such consultations shall begin within 30 days of the extension of the transitional safeguard measure.
2. If the Parties are unable to reach an agreement on compensation within 30 days after the consultation commences, the exporting Party shall be free to suspend the application of substantially equivalent concessions to the trade of the Party extending the transitional safeguard measure.
3. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing at least 30 days before suspending concession under paragraph 2 of this Article.
4. The extending Party's obligation to provide compensation under paragraph 1 and the other Party's right to suspend concessions under paragraph 2 of this Article shall terminate on the date of the termination of the transitional safeguard measure.
Chapter 8. TRADE IN SERVICES
Part I. SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 8.1. SCOPE
1. This Chapter shall apply to measures adopted or maintained by a Party affecting trade in services.
2. This Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) measures affecting air traffic rights, however granted, or measures affecting services directly related to the exercise of air traffic rights and air traffic control and air navigation services, other than measures affecting:
(i) Aircraft repair and maintenance services;
(ii) The selling and marketing of air transport services; and
(iii) computer reservation system ("CRS") services.
The Parties note the multilateral negotiations pursuant to the review of the Annex on Air Transport Services of GATS. Upon the conclusion of such multilateral negotiations, the Parties shall conduct a review for the purpose of discussing appropriate amendments to this Agreement so as to incorporate the results of such multilateral negotiations.
(b) Government procurement;
(c) Services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority in the territory of a Party;
(d) Subsidies or grants provided by a Party, including government-supported loans, guarantees, and insurance; and
(e) Measures affecting natural persons of a Party seeking access to the employment market of the other Party, or measures regarding citizenship, residence or employment on a permanent basis.
Article 8.2. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) aircraft repair and maintenance services means such activities when undertaken on an aircraft or a part thereof while it is withdrawn from service and does not include so-called “line maintenance”;
(b) commercial presence means any type of business or professional establishment, including through:
(i) the constitution, acquisition, or maintenance of a juridical person; or
(ii) the creation or maintenance of a branch or a representative office, within the territory of a Party for the purpose of supplying a service;
(c) computer reservation system services mean services provided by computerized systems that contain information about air carriers’ schedules, availability, fares and fare rules, through which reservations can be made or tickets may be issued;
(d) controlled means having the power to name a majority of directors or otherwise legally direct a juridical person’s actions;
(e) juridical person of a Party means any legal entity duly constituted or otherwise organized under applicable law, whether for profit or otherwise, and whether privately-owned or governmentally-owned, including any corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, or association, which is either:
(i) constituted or otherwise organized in accordance with the law of that Party, and is engaged in substantive business operations in the territory of that Party; or
(ii) in the case of the supply of a service through commercial presence, owned or controlled by:
(A) natural persons of that Party; or
(B) juridical persons of that Party identified under subparagraph (i);
(f) measure means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action or any other form, taken by:
(i) central, regional, or local governments and authorities; and
(ii) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional, or local governments or authorities;
(g) measures by Parties affecting trade in services include measures in respect of:
(i) the purchase, payment, or use of a service;
(ii) the access to and use of, in connection with the supply of a service, services which are required by the Parties to be offered to the public generally; and
(iii) the presence, including commercial presence, of persons of a Party for the supply of a service in the territory of the other Party;
(h) monopoly supplier of a service means any person, public or private, which in the relevant market of the territory of a Party is authorized or established formally or in effect by that Party as the sole supplier of that service;
(i) natural person of a Party means a natural person who under the law of the Party,