Article 13.17. Corporate Social Responsibility and Responsible Business Conduct
1. The Parties recognize the importance of promoting corporate social responsibility and responsible business practices.
2. Each Party shall encourage enterprises organized or constituted under its law, or operating in its territory, to adopt and implement principles and standards of responsible business conduct and corporate social responsibility that are related to the environment. These principles and standards shall be consistent with internationally recognized standards and guidelines that have been adopted by that Party to strengthen coherence between economic and environmental objectives.
Article 13.18. Voluntary Mechanisms to Enhance Environmental Performance
1. The Parties recognize that flexible, voluntary mechanisms, such as voluntary auditing and reporting, market-based mechanisms, voluntary sharing of information and expertise, and public-private partnerships can contribute to the achievement and maintenance of high levels of environmental protection and complement regulatory measures. The Parties also recognize that those mechanisms should be designed in a manner that maximizes their environmental benefits and avoids the creation of unnecessary barriers to trade.
2. Therefore, in accordance with its laws or policies, each Party shall encourage, as appropriate:
(a) the use of those mechanisms to protect the environment and natural resources in its territory; and
(b) its relevant authorities, private sector entities, non-governmental organizations, and other interested persons involved in the development of criteria used to evaluate environmental performance, to continue to develop and improve the criteria used in those mechanisms.
3. If private sector entities or non-governmental organizations develop mechanisms for the promotion of products based on their environmental qualities, those mechanisms must not be misleading or deceptive under the relevant law of a Party.
4. Each Party should encourage its private sector entities and non-governmental organizations to develop mechanisms that:
(a) are based on relevant scientific and technical information;
(b) are based on relevant international standards, recommendations, guidelines, or best practices, as appropriate;
(c) promote competition and innovation; and
(d) do not treat a product less favourably on the basis of origin.
Article 13.19. Trade and Biological Diversity
1. The Parties recognize the importance of conservation and sustainable using biological diversity, including the ecosystem services it provides. The Parties also recognize the key role that conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity plays in achieving sustainable development.
2. The Parties recognize the importance of respecting, preserving, and maintaining knowledge and practices of Indigenous Peoples, and rural or remote communities embodying traditional lifestyles, that contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in accordance with its law.
3. The Parties recognize the importance of facilitating access to genetic resources within their respective national jurisdictions, consistent with their international obligations. The Parties further recognize that each Party may require, through national measures, prior informed consent to access genetic resources in accordance with national measures and, if access is granted, the establishment of mutually agreed terms, including with respect to sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources between users and providers.
4. The Parties recognize that the movement of terrestrial and aquatic invasive alien species across borders through trade-related pathways can adversely affect the environment, economic activities and development, and human health. The Parties also recognize that the prevention, detection, early response and management, and when possible, eradication of invasive alien species, are critical strategies to averting or mitigating the adverse effects.
5. The Parties affirm the importance of ensuring that international trade in wild fauna and flora does not affect the survival of species in the wild and combatting the illegal take (6) of, and illegal trade in, wild fauna and flora. Further, the Parties acknowledge that illegal trade undermines efforts to conserve and sustainably manage wild fauna and flora, has social consequences, distorts legal trade in wild fauna and flora, and reduces the economic and environmental value of wild fauna and flora.
6. Each Party shall:
(a) promote and encourage the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, in accordance with its law or policy;
(b) adopt, maintain, and implement laws, regulations, and any other measures to fulfil its obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, done at Washington, D.C. on 3 March 1973, (CITES) (7) (8) (9);
(c) endeavour to implement CITES resolutions that aim to protect and conserve species whose survival is threatened by international trade;
(d) maintain or strengthen government capacity and institutional frameworks to promote the conservation of wild fauna and flora, and endeavour to enhance public participation and transparency in the institutional frameworks;
(e) adopt or maintain appropriate measures to protect and conserve wild fauna and flora that it has identified to be at risk within its territory, including measures to conserve the ecological integrity of specially protected natural areas such as grasslands and wetlands;
(f) adopt or maintain measures to combat, and cooperate to prevent, the trade of wild fauna and flora that, based on credible evidence (10), were taken or traded in violation of its law or another applicable law (11), the primary purpose of which is to conserve, protect, or manage wild fauna or flora;
(g) endeavour to adopt measures to combat the trade of wild fauna and flora transshipped through its territory that, based on credible evidence, were illegally taken or traded, including sanctions, penalties, or other effective measures, such as administrative measures that can act as a deterrent to that trade;
(h) endeavour to maintain or strengthen enforcement techniques to facilitate increased detection of illegal shipments containing wild fauna or flora, including parts and products thereof, at ports of entry; and
(i) treat intentional transnational trafficking of wildlife protected under its law (12) as a serious crime as defined in the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime done at New York on 15 November 2000. (13)
7. In implementing paragraph 6 (f) and (g), the Parties recognize that each Party:
(a) retains the right to exercise administrative, investigatory, and enforcement discretion including by taking into account in relation to each situation the strength of the available evidence and the seriousness of the suspected violation; and
(b) retains the right to make decisions regarding the allocation of administrative, investigatory, and enforcement resources.
8. Consistent with Article 13.24, the Parties shall cooperate to address matters of mutual interest with respect to trade and biological diversity, which may include:
(a) conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and its mainstreaming across relevant sectors;
(b) protection and maintenance of ecosystems and ecosystem services;
(c) access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their utilization;
(d) exchange of information and experiences on issues related to combatting the illegal take of, and illegal trade in, wild fauna and flora, and promoting the legal trade in associated products;
(e) undertaking, as appropriate, of joint activities on conservation issues, including through relevant regional and international forums; and
(f) identifying opportunities to enhance cooperation on law enforcement and share information, for example by enhancing participation in law enforcement networks, and, as appropriate, by establishing new networks with the objective of developing a strong and effective global international network.
Article 13.20. Sustainable Agriculture
1. The Parties note the increasing impact that global challenges, such as loss of biodiversity, land degradation, droughts, emergence of new pests and diseases, and climate change have on sustainable agriculture.
2. Considering this increasing impact, the Parties recognize the importance of strengthening policies and developing programs that contribute to more productive, sustainable, inclusive, and resilient agricultural practices.
3. Consistent with Article 13.24, the Parties shall, as appropriate, exchange information and best practices in the development and the implementation of integrated policies and programs to promote the economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainable agriculture.
4. The Parties may cooperate in areas of mutual interest such as improving agricultural productivity taking into account the protection and sustainable use of ecosystems and natural resources, adaptation and resilience to climate change, and meeting the particular needs of farmers and rural communities.
Article 13.21. Marine Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (14)
1. The Parties recognize:
(a) that a healthy ocean is critical to sustainably developing ocean economies;
(b) their role as consumers, producers, and traders of fisheries and aquaculture products;
(c) the importance of fisheries and aquaculture sectors to the development and livelihoods of coastal communities, including those engaged in artisanal, small scale, and Indigenous fisheries;
(d) the need for individual and collective action within international forums to address overfishing and unsustainable utilization of fisheries resources, and their impacts;
(e) the importance of taking measures aimed at the conservation and sustainable management of fisheries, and the contribution of those measures to environmental, economic, and social opportunities for present and future generations; and
(f) the importance of promoting and facilitating trade in sustainably and legally harvested fisheries products.
2. Accordingly, the Parties shall implement conservation measures, and shall seek to operate a fisheries management framework that is based on the best scientific evidence available and internationally recognized best practices in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982 ("UNCLOS") and other relevant international instruments.
3. In furtherance of the objectives of conservation and sustainable fisheries, each Party shall seek to implement a fisheries management framework that regulates marine wild capture fishing and is designed to implement conservation and management measures that are consistent with the rules of international law, including those reflected in UNCLOS, and to act in accordance with the principles of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
4. The Parties shall cooperate with and participate, where appropriate, in regional fisheries management organizations ("RFMOs") and regional fisheries management arrangements ("RFMAs"), as members, observers, or cooperating non-contracting parties, with the aim of achieving good governance, including by advocating for science-based decisions by these RFMOs and RFMAs, and ensuring compliance with those decisions.
5. Each Party shall promote the long-term conservation of sharks, sea turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals through the implementation and enforcement of conservation and management measures. Such measures shall include, as appropriate:
(a) monitoring, studies, and assessments of the impact of fisheries and aquaculture operations on non-target species and their marine habitats;
(b) gear-specific studies and data collection of impacts on non-target species;
(c) measures to prevent, mitigate, or reduce bycatch of non-target species in fisheries; and
(d) cooperation on regional bycatch reduction measures, including measures applicable to commercial fisheries of straddling and high seas stocks and highly migratory species.
6. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures designed to prohibit the practice of shark finning.
7. The Parties agree to continue to collaborate in the WTO towards strengthening international rules on the provisions of subsidies in the fisheries sector and enhancing transparency of fisheries subsidies. (15)
8. The Parties recognize the importance of concerted international action to prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated ("IUU") fishing as reflected in regional and international instruments (16), and shall endeavour to improve cooperation internationally in this regard, including with and through competent international organizations.
9. In support of international efforts to combat IUU fishing and to help deter trade in products derived from IUU fishing, each Party shall:
(a) implement port state measures, consistent with the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. done at Rome on 23 November 2009 (Port State Measures Agreement); and
(b) support monitoring, control, surveillance, compliance, and enforcement schemes, including by adopting, maintaining, reviewing, or revising, as appropriate, measures to:
(i) deter vessels flying its flag and its nationals from engaging in IUU fishing;
(ii) address the transshipment at sea of fish caught through IUU fishing or fish products derived from IUU fishing; and
(iii) implement catch or trade document schemes consistent with the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Catch Documentation.
10. In support of the development and management of an environmentally responsible and economically competitive aquaculture industry, the Parties shall endeavour to act in accordance with the principles of the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries that are applicable to the aquaculture sector.
Article 13.22. Sustainable Forest Management and Trade
1. The Parties recognize the importance of conservation and sustainable management of forests in contributing to economic, environmental, and social objectives, livelihoods and job opportunities, including for Indigenous Peoples, and in rural or remote communities.
2. Accordingly, the Parties recognize the importance of:
(a) the conservation and sustainable management of forests for providing environmental, economic, and social benefits for present and future generations;
(b) the critical role of forests in providing numerous ecosystem services, including carbon storage, regulating temperature, maintaining water quantity and quality, stabilizing soils, and providing habitat for wild fauna and flora; and
(c) combatting illegal logging and associated trade.
3. The Parties recognize that forest products, when sourced from sustainably managed forests and used appropriately, store carbon and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in other sectors and thus contribute toward achieving global environmental objectives, including those related to climate change.
4. Accordingly:
(a) each Party shall maintain or strengthen government capacity and institutional frameworks to promote sustainable forest management;
(b) each Party shall encourage trade in forest products from sustainably managed forests harvested in accordance with the law of the country of harvest; and
(c) the Parties shall exchange information and cooperate, as appropriate, on initiatives to promote sustainable forest management, including initiatives designed to combat illegal logging and associated trade.
Article 13.23. Environmental Goods and Services
1. The Parties recognize the importance of trade and investment in environmental goods and services, including those goods and services that are particularly relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation and, in particular, clean technologies, as a means of improving environmental and economic performance, contributing to green growth and jobs, and encouraging sustainable development, while addressing global environmental challenges.
2. Accordingly, each Party shall endeavour to facilitate and promote trade and investment in environmental goods and services.
3. The Parties shall facilitate joint activities to support the growth of, and trade and investment in, environmental goods and services. These activities may include:
(a) exchanging information on policies and programs that can support the commercialization, scale-up, and deployment of environmental goods and services, including goods of particular relevance for climate change mitigation and adaptation;
(b) exchanging information on the utilization of environmental goods and services to promote sustainable growth in all economic sectors, such as agriculture and natural resource extraction, and the transition to a more circular economy;
(c) considering ways that environmental goods and services can contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation, in particular in the design and construction of green and climate resilient public infrastructure, as well as for the promotion, use, and scale-up of goods and services related to clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable transportation;
(d) promoting research and development opportunities between and among researchers, academic institutions, and the private sector, including women and Indigenous researchers and scientists, and women-owned and Indigenous-owned enterprises, to encourage the growth of the environmental goods and services sectors, value chains, and the development and deployment of clean technologies; and
(e) developing cooperative projects on environmental goods and services to address current and future global environmental challenges.
4. The Parties shall cooperate in international forums on ways to further facilitate and liberalize global trade in environmental goods and services.
5. The Parties shall endeavour to address any identified potential barriers to trade in environmental goods and services, including by working through the Committee of the Environment (Committee) referred to in Article 13.25.
6. The Committee shall consider issues identified by a Party related to trade in environmental goods and services, including issues identified as potential non-tariff barriers to that trade.
7. If appropriate, the Committee may work on identified potential barriers to trade in conjunction with other relevant committees established or continued under this Agreement.
Article 13.24. Cooperation
1. The Parties recognize the importance of cooperation as a mechanism to implement this Chapter, to enhance its benefits, including gender responsive and inclusive benefits, and to strengthen the Parties' joint and individual capacities to protect the environment, and capacities to promote sustainable development as they strengthen their trade and investment relations.
2. Taking account of their national priorities, circumstances, and available resources, the Parties shall cooperate to address matters of common interest related to the implementation of this Chapter if there is mutual benefit from that cooperation. If appropriate, each Party may involve the public, interested stakeholders, and any other entity, including Indigenous Peoples, in the cooperative activities undertaken pursuant to this Article.
3. If possible and appropriate, the Parties shall seek to complement and use existing cooperation mechanisms and take into account the relevant work of regional and international organizations.
4. The Parties may cooperate through various means such as: dialogues, workshops, seminars, conferences, collaborative programmes, and projects; technical assistance that promotes and facilitates cooperation and training; sharing of best practices on policies and procedures; and exchange of experts.
5. If appropriate, each Party shall promote inclusive public participation in the development and implementation of cooperative activities under this Article.
Article 13.25. Contact Points and the Committee on the Environment
1. Each Party shall designate and notify a contact point from its relevant authorities in order to facilitate communication between the Parties in the implementation of this Chapter. Each Party shall promptly notify the other Party of any change of its contact point.
2. The Parties continue the Committee on the Environment established under the 2017 Agreement ("the Committee") composed of senior governmental representatives of each Party. The functions of the Committee are to:
(a) oversee and review the implementation of this Chapter;
(b) provide a forum to discuss cooperative activities under this Chapter;
(c) discuss any matter of common interest;
(d) consider and endeavour to resolve matters referred to it under Article 13.27 (Senior Representative Consultations);
(e) coordinate and work with other committees established under this Agreement as appropriate; and
(f) perform any other functions as the Parties may decide.
3. The Committee shall meet within one year of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and subsequently as decided by the Committee.
4. The Committee shall adopt decisions and reports by consensus, and make them publicly available unless the Committee decides otherwise.
5. The Committee shall prepare a summary record of each meeting unless it decides otherwise. The Committee may prepare reports and recommendations on any activity or action related to the implementation of this Chapter. The Committee shall submit a copy of its summary records, reports, and recommendations to the Joint Commission referred to in Article 27.1 (Joint Commission).
6. The Parties shall make summary records, decisions, reports, and recommendations of the Committee available to the public, unless otherwise decided by the Parties.
Article 13.26. Environment Consultations
1. The Parties shall endeavour to agree on the interpretation and application of this Chapter, and shall make every effort through dialogue, consultation, exchange of information, and, if appropriate, cooperation to address any matter that might affect the operation of this Chapter.
2. A Party (the requesting Party) may request consultations with the other Party (the responding Party) regarding any matter arising under this Chapter by delivering a request for consultations to the responding Party's contact point. The requesting Party shall include in its request information that is specific and sufficient to enable the responding Party to respond, including identification of the matter at issue and an indication of the legal basis for the request.
3. Unless the Parties decide otherwise, the Parties shall enter into consultations promptly and no later than 30 days after the date of receipt by the responding Party of the request.
4. The Parties shall make every effort to arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution to the matter, which may include by undertaking appropriate cooperative activities. The Parties may seek advice or assistance from any person or body they deem appropriate in order to examine the matter.
Article 13.27. Senior Representative Consultations
1. If the Parties fail to resolve the matter under Article 13.26, the requesting Party may request in writing that the Committee on the Environment convene to consider the matter and deliver the request to the responding Party's contact point.
2. The Committee shall promptly convene following the delivery of the request referred to in paragraph 1, and shall attempt to resolve the matter including, if appropriate, by gathering relevant scientific and technical information from governmental or non-governmental experts.
Article 13.28. Ministerial Consultations
1. If the Parties fail to resolve the matter under Article 13.27, the requesting Party may refer the matter to the relevant Ministers of the Parties by delivering a written request to the responding Party's contact point.
2. Consultations pursuant to Articles 13.26 and 13.27, and this Article may be held in person or by any technological means available as decided by the Parties. If held in person, consultations shall be in the capital of the responding Party unless the Parties decide otherwise.
3. All consultations under Articles 13.26, 13.27 and 13.28 shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of a Party in any future proceedings.
Article 13.29. Dispute Resolution
If the Parties fail to resolve the matter under Articles 13.26, 13.27, and 13.28 within 75 days after the date of receipt of a request under Article 13.26, or any other period as the Parties may decide, the requesting Party may request the establishment of a panel under Article 28.7 (Establishment of a Panel).
Chapter 14. Labour
Article 14.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
ILO Declaration on Rights at Work means the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-Up (1998), as amended in 2022;
ILO Declaration on Social Justice means ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008), as updated in 2022; and
labour laws means a measure of a Party that implements or otherwise relates to the commitments and rights set out in Section B (Obligations).
Section A. Shared Commitments
Article 14.2. General Commitments
1. The Parties affirm their obligations as members of the ILO including those stated in the ILO Declaration on Rights at Work, such as the obligation to respect, promote, and realize in good faith the fundamental rights that are the subject of ILO Conventions, even if the Party has not ratified the Convention in question.
2. The Parties affirm their commitments to further the aims of the Decent Work Agenda that are enshrined in the ILO Declaration on Social Justice.
3. The Parties recognize the important role of workers' and employers' organizations in protecting internationally recognized labour rights.