EU - Kyrgyzstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (2024) - Electronic Database of Investment Treaties (EDIT)

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EU - Kyrgyzstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (2024)

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Chapter 1. HORIZONTAL PROVISIONS

Article 22. Objectives

The objectives of this Title are:

(a) the expansion, diversification and facilitation of trade between the Parties in particular through provisions regarding customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade as well as sanitary and phytosanitary measures, while preserving the right of each Party to legislate in order to achieve public policy objectives;

(b) the facilitation of trade in services and investment between the Parties including through the free transfer of current payments and capital movements;

(d) the promotion of innovation and creativity by ensuring an adequate and effective protection of all intellectual property rights;

(e) the promotion of conditions fostering undistorted competition in the economic activities of the Parties in particular with regard to trade and investment between them;

(f) the development of international trade in a manner that contributes to sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions;

(g) the establishment of an effective, fair and predictable dispute settlement mechanism to solve disputes on the interpretation and application of this Title.

Article 23. Definitions

For the purposes of this Title:

(a) "Agreement on Agriculture" means the Agreement on Agriculture, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(b) "Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures" means the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(c) "Anti-Dumping Agreement" means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(d) "days" means calendar days, including weekends and holidays;

(e) "Energy Charter Treaty" means the Energy Charter Treaty, done at Lisbon on 17 December 1994;

(f) "existing" means in effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement;

(g) "GATT 1994" means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(h) "GATS" means the General Agreement on Trade in Services, contained in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;

(i) "measure" includes any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or in any other forms; (2)

(j) "measures of a Party" means any measures adopted or maintained by: (3)

(i) central, regional or local governments or authorities; and

(ii) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities;

(k) "person" means a natural person or a legal person;

(l) "Revised Kyoto Convention" means the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonisation of Customs Procedures, done at Kyoto on 18 May 1973, as amended;

(m) "Safeguards Agreement" means the Agreement on Safeguards, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(n) "SCM Agreement" means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(o) "SPS Agreement" means the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(p) "TBT Agreement" means the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

(q) "third country" means a country or territory outside the geographic scope of application of this Agreement;

(r) "Trade Facilitation Agreement" means the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, contained in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement;

(s) "TRIPS Agreement" means the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, contained in Annex 1C to the WTO Agreement;

(t) "Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties" means the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, done at Vienna on 23 May 1969;

(u) "World Customs Organization's Arusha Declaration" means the Declaration of the Customs Co-operation Council Concerning integrity in Customs done at Arusha, Tanzania, on 7 July 1993;

(v) "WTO" means the World Trade Organization;

(w) "WTO Agreement" means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done on 15 April 1994.

(2) For greater certainty, the term measure includes failures to act.

(3) For greater certainty, "measures of a Party" covers measures by entities listed in point (j), (i) and (ii) which are adopted or maintained by instructing, directing or controlling, either directly or indirectly, the conduct of other entities with regard to those measures.

Article 24. Relation to other International Agreements

1. The Parties affirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the WTO Agreement and any other agreements to which they are both party.

2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring either Party to act in a manner inconsistent with its obligations under the WTO Agreement.

Article 25. References to Laws and Regulations and other Agreements

1. Any reference in this Title to laws and regulations, either generally or by reference to a specific statute, regulation or directive, shall be construed as a reference to the law and regulations as amended, unless otherwise indicated.

2. Any reference, or incorporation by means of a reference, in this Title to other agreements or legal instruments in whole or in part, shall be construed, unless otherwise indicated, as including:

(a) related annexes, protocols, footnotes, interpretative notes and explanatory notes; and

(b) successor agreements to which the Parties are party or amendments that are binding on the Parties, except where the reference affirms existing rights.

Article 26. Right of Action Under Domestic Law

A Party shall not provide for a right of action under its law against the other Party on the grounds that a measure of the other Party is inconsistent with this Agreement.

Article 27. Specific Tasks of the Cooperation Council Acting In Its Trade Configuration

1. When the Cooperation Council performs any of the tasks conferred upon it relating to this Title, it shall be composed of representatives of the Parties with responsibility of trade-related matters, in accordance with the Parties' respective legal frameworks, or by their designees.

2. The Cooperation Council acting in its trade configuration:

(a) shall have the power to adopt decisions in order to update or amend the following on the basis of mutual consent with due respect to completion of the Parties' respective internal procedures as provided for in their legislation:

(i) Annex 2;

(ii) Annexes 8-A, 8-B and 8-C;

(iii) Annex 9;

(iv) Annexes 14-A and 14-B;

(v) Protocol I.

Such updates and amendments shall be confirmed by, and enter into force upon, exchange of diplomatic notes between the Parties, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

(b) may adopt decisions to issue interpretations of the provisions of this Title;

(c) may adopt decisions to establish additional subcommittees from those established in this Title, composed of representatives of the Parties, and assign them responsibilities within its competence; it may also decide to modify the functions that are assigned to the Sub‑Committees it establishes, as well as to dissolve them.

3. The Cooperation Council acting in its trade configuration shall take decisions and make appropriate recommendations following the completion of the Parties' respective internal procedures, as provided for in their legislation.

4. When meetings of the Cooperation Council are not available, the decisions referred to in paragraph 2 may be taken by written procedure.

Article 28. Specific Tasks of the Cooperation Committee Acting In Its Trade Configuration

1. When the Cooperation Committee performs any of the tasks conferred upon it in this Title, it shall be composed of representatives of the Parties with responsibility for trade-related matters, or their designees.

2. The Cooperation Committee acting in its trade configuration shall have, in particular, the following tasks:

(a) assist the Cooperation Council in the performance of its tasks regarding trade-related matters;

(b) be responsible for the proper implementation and application of this Title; in this respect, and without prejudice to the rights established in Chapter 14, either Party may refer for discussion within the Cooperation Committee any issue relating to the application or interpretation of this Title;

(d) seek appropriate ways of preventing and solving problems which might otherwise arise in areas covered by this Title; and

(e) supervise the work of all subcommittees established under this Title.

3. In the performance of its tasks under paragraph 2 of this Article, the Cooperation Committee may submit proposals on the necessity to adopt the decisions to make updates or amendments as referred to in point (a) of Article 27(2) or to issue interpretations as referred to in point (b) of Article 27(2) when meetings of the Cooperation Council are not available.

4. The Cooperation Committee, acting in its trade configuration shall take decisions and make appropriate recommendations following the completion of the Parties' respective internal procedures, as provided in their legislation.

Article 29. Coordinators

1. The European Union and the Kyrgyz Republic shall appoint a coordinator for this Title, within 60 days after the entry into force of this Agreement, and notify each other of the contact details.

2. The coordinators shall jointly establish the agenda and conduct all other necessary preparations for the meetings of the Cooperation Council and the Cooperation Committee in accordance with this Chapter, and shall follow up on the decisions of such bodies, as appropriate.

Article 30. Sub-Committees

1. The Sub-Committees shall be composed of representatives of the European Union, on the one part, and of representatives of the Kyrgyz Republic, on the other part.

2. The Sub-Committees shall meet within a year of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and, thereafter, once per year or at the request of either Party or of the Cooperation Committee, at an appropriate level. When in person, meetings shall be held alternately in Brussels or Bishkek. Meetings may also be held by any technological means available to the Parties.

3. The Sub-Committees shall be co-chaired by representatives of the Parties.

Chapter 2. TRADE IN GOODS

Article 31. Scope

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Chapter applies to trade in goods of a Party.

Article 32. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "consular transactions" means the procedure of obtaining from a consul of the importing Party in the territory of the exporting Party, or in the territory of a third party, a consular invoice or a consular visa for a commercial invoice, certificate of origin, manifest, shipper's export declaration or any other customs documentation in connection with the importation of a good;

(b) "customs duty" means any duty or charge of any kind imposed on or in connection with the importation of a good; it does not include any:

(i) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed in accordance with Article 34;

(ii) anti-dumping, special safeguard, countervailing or safeguard duty applied in accordance with GATT 1994, the Anti-dumping Agreement, the Agreement on Agriculture, the SCM Agreement and the Safeguards Agreement, as appropriate;

(iii) fee or other charge imposed on or in connection with the importation of a good that is limited in amount to the approximate cost of the services rendered;

(c) "export Licensing Procedure" means an administrative procedure requiring the submission of an application or other documentation (other than that generally required for customs clearance purposes) to the relevant administrative body or bodies as a prior condition for exportation from the territory of the exporting Party;

(d) "good of a Party" means a domestic good as this is understood in GATT 1994;

(e) "Harmonised System" or "HS" means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including all legal notes and amendments thereto developed by the World Customs Organization;

(f) "import licensing procedure" means an administrative procedure requiring the submission of an application or other documentation (other than that generally required for customs clearance purposes) to the relevant administrative body or bodies as a prior condition for importation into the territory of the importing Party;

(g) "remanufactured good" means a good classified in the Harmonised System's Chapters 84, 85, 87, 90 or Heading 9402 that:

(i) is entirely or partially comprised of parts obtained from goods that have been used beforehand;

(ii) has similar performance and working conditions compared to the equivalent good in new condition; and

(iii) is given the same warranty as the equivalent good in new condition.

Article 33. Most-favoured-nation Treatment

1. Each Party shall accord most-favoured nation treatment to goods of the other Party in accordance with Article I of GATT 1994, including its Notes and Supplementary Provisions, which are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply in respect of preferential treatment accorded by either Party to goods of a third country in accordance with the WTO Agreement.

Article 34. National Treatment

Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of GATT 1994, including its Notes and Supplementary Provisions. To this end, Article III of GATT 1994 and its Notes and Supplementary Provisions are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.

Article 35. Import and Export Restrictions

Neither Party shall adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction other than duties, taxes or other charges, whether made effective through quotas, import or export licences or other measures, 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, including its Notes and Supplementary Provisions. To that end, Article XI of GATT 1994 and its Notes and Supplementary Provisions are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.

Article 36. Export Duties, Taxes or other Charges

1. Neither Party shall introduce or maintain any duty, tax or other charge of any kind imposed on, or in connection with, the exportation of a good to the other Party or any other measures having an equivalent effect other than for goods in accordance with the Schedule set out in Annex 2. This provision does not apply to goods in transit across the territory of a Party within the meaning of Article V of GATT 1994, or to goods which, in accordance with an international agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and a third party, have been imported into the Kyrgyz Republic without the imposition of export duties which could otherwise have been imposed by that third party on export to the European Union in accordance, where relevant, with that third party's Schedule of concessions annexed to GATT 1994 or any bilateral commitments with the European Union.

2. Nothing in this Article shall prevent a Party from imposing on the exportation of a good to the other Party a fee or charge that is permitted under Article 38.

Article 37. Dual-use Export Controls

The Parties shall exchange information and good practices on dual-use export controls with a view to promoting the convergence of the European Union and of the Kyrgyz Republic export controls.

Article 38. Fees and Formalities

1. Article VIII of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes as well as any exception and exemption to the obligations, and waivers thereof, set out in Article VIII of GATT 1994 applicable under the WTO Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.

2. Each Party shall promptly publish all fees and charges it imposes in connection with importation or exportation in such a manner as to enable governments, traders and other interested parties, to become acquainted with them.

3. Each Party shall periodically review the fees and charges it imposes with a view to reducing their number and diversity, where practicable.

4. Neither Party shall require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of any good of the other Party.

Article 39. Remanufactured Goods

1. A Party shall endeavour to accord to remanufactured goods of the other Party a treatment that is not less favourable than that it accords to equivalent goods in new condition.

2. If a Party adopts or maintains import and export prohibitions or restrictions to used goods, it shall endeavour not to apply those measures to remanufactured goods.

3. 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 40. Temporary Admission of Goods

A Party shall grant the other Party exemption from import charges and duties on goods admitted temporarily, in the instances and in accordance with the procedures stipulated by any international convention on the temporary admission of goods binding upon it. That exemption shall be applied pursuant to the legislation of each Party.

Article 41. Transit

Article V of GATT 1994 is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement. The Parties shall take all necessary measures to facilitate the transit of energy goods, in accordance with the principle of freedom of transit, and with Article 7(1) and (3) of the Energy Charter Treaty.

Article 42. Import and Export Monopolies

Neither Party shall designate or maintain a designated import or export monopoly. For the purposes of this Article, import or export monopoly means the exclusive right or grant of authority by a Party to an entity to import a good from, or export a good to, the other Party (4).

(4) For greater certainty, this Article is without prejudice to Chapter 6, and does not include a right that results from the grant of an intellectual property right.

Article 43. Origin Marking

1. Where the Kyrgyz Republic requires a mark of origin on the importation of goods of the European Union, it shall accept the "Made in EU" origin marking or the equivalent in a language in accordance with the Kyrgyz Republic origin marking requirements under conditions that are no less favourable than those applied to marks of origin of Member States of the European Union.

2. For the purposes of the origin mark "Made in EU", the Kyrgyz Republic shall treat the European Union as a single territory.

Article 44. Import Licensing Procedures

Each Party shall adopt and administer any import licensing procedures in accordance with Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. To that end, Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.

Article 45. Export Licensing Procedures (5)

1. Each Party, in accordance with its competencies (6), shall ensure transparency with regard to export licensing procedures and publish any new export licensing procedure, or any modification to an existing export licensing procedure in such a manner as to enable governments, traders and other interested parties to become acquainted with them. Such publication shall take place, whenever practicable, no later than 30 days before any new export licencing procedure or any modification of any existing export licencing procedure takes effect, and in any event no later than the date when such procedure or modification takes effect.

2. The publication of export licensing procedures shall include the following information:

(a) the texts of the export licensing procedures or any modifications made thereto;

(b) the goods subject to each export licensing procedure;

(c) for each procedure, a description of the process for applying for an export license and any criteria an applicant has to fulfil to be eligible to apply for an export license, such as possessing an activity license, establishing or maintaining an investment, or operating through a particular form of establishment in a Party's territory;

(d) a contact point or points from which interested persons can obtain further information on the conditions for obtaining an export license;

(e) the administrative body or bodies to which an application or other relevant documentation is to be submitted;

(f) a description of any measure or measures that the export licensing procedure is designed to implement;

(g) the period during which each export licensing procedure will be in effect, unless the procedure will remain in effect until it is withdrawn or revised in a new publication;

(h) if the Party intends to use an export licensing procedure to administer an export quota, the overall quantity and, if applicable, the value of the quota and the opening and closing dates of the quota; and

(i) any exemptions from or exceptions to the requirement to obtain an export license, how to request or use those exemptions or exceptions, and the criteria for granting them.

3. Within 45 days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall notify the other Party of its existing export licensing procedures. A Party that adopts a new export licensing procedure, or modifies any existing export licensing procedure, shall notify to the other Party the procedure or modification within 60 days of publication. The notification shall include the reference to the source(s) where the information required pursuant to paragraph 2 is published and include, where appropriate, the address of the relevant official website.

(5) For greater certainty, nothing in this Article requires a Party to grant an export license, or prevents a Party from implementing its obligations or commitments under UN Security Council Resolutions, as well as under multilateral non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements.

(6) With respect to the Kyrgyz Republic, this Article is applied only with respect to measures applied by the Kyrgyz Republic unilaterally in accordance with laws and regulations applied in its territory.