Title
Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Costa Rica
Preamble
PREAMBLE
The Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica, hereinafter referred to as the "Parties", determined to:
STRENGTHEN the traditional bonds of friendship and the spirit of cooperation between their peoples;
PROMOTE economic development in a manner consistent with the protection and conservation of the environment, as well as with sustainable development;
PROMOTE the creation of employment opportunities and improve the living standards of their peoples in their respective territories in order to reduce poverty;
CREATE a larger and more secure market for goods and services produced in their respective territories;
CONTRIBUTE to regional economic integration;
ESTABLISH clear and mutually beneficial rules for the commercial exchange of their goods and services, as well as for the promotion and protection of investments in their territories;
RECOGNIZE that the promotion and protection of investments of one Party in the territory of the other Party will contribute to increase the flow of investments and stimulate mutually beneficial commercial activity;
AVOID distortions in their reciprocal trade;
PROMOTE the competitiveness of their enterprises in global markets;
STIMULATE creativity and innovation and promote trade in the innovative sectors of their economies;
FACILITATE trade by promoting efficient, transparent and predictable customs procedures for their importers and exporters;
PROMOTE transparency in international trade and investment;
PRESERVE their ability to safeguard public welfare and public order;
DEVELOP their respective rights and obligations under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, as well as other treaties to which they are a party; and
RECOGNIZE that Colombia as a member of the Andean Community and Costa Rica as a member of the Central American Integration System are subject to rights and obligations within the framework of their respective integration processes,
HAVE AGREED, in pursuit of the foregoing, to conclude the following Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement"):
Body
Chapter 1. INITIAL PROVISIONS AND GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Section A. INITIAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.1. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FREE TRADE AREA
The Parties to this Agreement, in accordance with the provisions of Article XXIV of the WTO General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and Article V of the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services, establish a free trade area.
Article 1.2. RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
1. The Parties confirm the rights and obligations existing between them under the WTO Agreement and other agreements to which they are a party.
2. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and the agreements referred to in paragraph 1, this Agreement shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement.
Article 1.3. SCOPE OF OBLIGATIONS
Each Party shall ensure the adoption of all measures necessary to give effect to the provisions of this Agreement in its territory and at all levels of government.
Section B. GENERAL DEFINITIONS
Article 1.4. DEFINITIONS OF GENERAL APPLICATION
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise specified:
Antidumping Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 of the WTO;
Customs Valuation Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 of the WTO;
SPS Agreement means the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; TBT Agreement means the WTO Agreement on TBT;
TBT Agreement means the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade;
WTO Agreement means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, dated April 15, 1994;
TRIPS Agreement means the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (1);
Agreement on Safeguards means the Agreement on Safeguards of the WTO;
Agreement on Subsidies means the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures;
GATS means the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services; GATS means the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services;
customs duty means any duty or charge of any kind imposed on or in connection with the importation of a good, including any form of surcharge or additional charge on or in connection with such imports. A "customs duty" does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed pursuant to Article III of GATT 1994;
(b) antidumping duty, countervailing duty or safeguard measure applied in accordance with GATT 1994, the Antidumping Agreement, the Agreement on Subsidies and the Agreement on Safeguards, as the case may be;
(c) duty or other charge imposed in accordance with Article VIII of GATT 1994;
Chapter means the first two digits of the Harmonized System Tariff Classification number;
Commission means the Free Trade Commission established under Article 20.1 (The Free Trade Commission);
government procurement means the process by which a government procures the use of or acquires goods or services, or any combination thereof, for governmental purposes and not with a view to commercial sale or resale or with a view to use in the production or supply of goods or services for commercial sale or resale;
days means calendar days;
enterprise means any entity incorporated or organized under applicable law, whether or not for profit, or whether privately or governmentally owned, including corporations, trusts, partnerships, sole proprietorships, joint ventures, and other forms of associations;
GATT 1994 means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 of the WTO;
measure includes any measure adopted by a Party, whether in the form of law, regulation, procedure, administrative decision or ruling, requirement, practice, or in any other form;
good means any product, article or material;
goods of a Party means domestic products as understood in the GATT 1994 or such goods as the Parties may agree, and includes originating goods of that Party;
originating good means a good that qualifies under the rules of origin set out in Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures);
national means a natural person who is a national of a Party in accordance with Annex 1-A or a permanent resident of a Party;
MFN means Most Favored Nation;
central level of government means the national level of government;
local level of government means for:
(a) Colombia, the departments, districts and municipalities; and.
(b) Costa Rica, the municipalities;
WTO means the World Trade Organization;
item means the first four digits of the Harmonized System tariff classification number;
person means a natural person or a company;
Harmonized System (HS) means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, Section Notes and Chapter Notes;
subheading means the first six digits of the tariff classification number under the Harmonized System; and
territory means, for a Party, the territory of that Party as set out in Annex 1-A.
Annex 1-A. PARTY-SPECIFIC DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise specified:
natural person having the nationality of a Party means:
(a) with respect to Colombia, Colombians by birth or adoption, as determined by Article 96 of the Political Constitution of Colombia; and.
(b) with respect to Costa Rica, a Costa Rican as defined in Articles 13 and 14 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica.
territory (2) means:
(a) with respect to Colombia, its land territory, both continental and insular, its airspace and the maritime areas over which it exercises sovereignty, sovereign rights or jurisdiction in accordance with its Political Constitution, its domestic law and international law, including applicable international treaties; and
(b) with respect to Costa Rica, the national territory including airspace and maritime areas, where the State exercises complete and exclusive sovereignty or special jurisdiction in accordance with Articles 5 and 6 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Costa Rica and International Law.
Annex 1-B. OBJECTIVES OF THE AGREEMENT
The objectives of this Agreement are as follows:
(a) to stimulate the expansion and diversification of trade between the Parties;
(b) to contribute, through the elimination of barriers to trade, to the harmonious development and expansion of trade between the Parties and to facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and services between them;
(c) promote conditions of free competition in the free trade area;
(d) increasing investment opportunities in the territories of the Parties; and
(e) to create effective procedures within the framework of this Agreement for its implementation and enforcement, its joint administration, and for preventing and resolving disputes.
Chapter 2. NATIONAL TREATMENT AND MARKET ACCESS FOR GOODS
Article 2.1. SCOPE OF APPLICATION
Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Chapter applies to trade in goods of a Party.
Section A. NATIONAL TREATMENT
Article 2.2. NATIONAL TREATMENT
1. Each Party shall accord national treatment to goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of the GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes, and to that end Article III of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and made an integral part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the measures set out in Annex 2-A.
Section B. TARIFF ELIMINATION
Article 2.3. TARIFF ELIMINATION
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, no Party may increase any existing customs duty, or adopt any new customs duty, on a good originating in the other Party.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, each Party shall eliminate its customs duties on originating goods of the other Party in accordance with Annex 2-B.
3. The tariff elimination program provided for in this Chapter shall not apply to used goods, including goods that are identified as such in headings or subheadings of the Harmonized System. Used goods also include goods that have been rebuilt, remanufactured, remanufactured, or any other similar appellation given to goods that after having been used have undergone some process to restore them to their original characteristics or specifications, or to restore them to the functionality they had when new.
4. At the request of any Party, consultations shall be held to consider the improvement of tariff conditions for market access in accordance with Annex 2-B.
5. Notwithstanding Article 20.1 (The Free Trade Commission), an agreement between the Parties to improve tariff market access conditions for a good shall prevail over any customs duty or category defined in Annex 2-B for such good, when approved by the Parties in accordance with their applicable legal procedures.
6. For greater certainty, a Party may:
(a) following a unilateral reduction, increase a customs duty to the level set out in Annex 2-B; or
(b) maintain or increase a customs duty where authorized by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body.
Section C. SPECIAL REGIMES
Article 2.4. CUSTOMS DUTY EXEMPTIONS
1. No Party may adopt a new waiver of customs duties, or extend the application of an existing waiver of customs duties with respect to existing beneficiaries, or extend it to new beneficiaries, where the waiver is conditioned, explicitly or implicitly, on compliance with a performance requirement.
2. No Party may condition, explicitly or implicitly, the continuation of any existing customs duty exemption on the fulfillment of a performance requirement.
Article 2.5. TEMPORARY ADMISSION OF GOODS
1. Each Party shall allow temporary admission free of customs duties for the following goods, irrespective of their origin:
(a) professional equipment, including equipment for scientific research, medical activities, press or television, computer software, and broadcasting and cinematography equipment necessary for the exercise of the business, trade or profession of a person that qualifies for temporary entry under the legislation of the importing Party;
(b) goods intended for display or demonstration at exhibitions, fairs, meetings or similar events;
(c) commercial samples, advertising films and recordings; and
(d) goods admitted for sporting purposes.
2. Each Party shall, at the request of the person concerned and for reasons deemed valid by its customs authority, extend the period for temporary admission beyond the period initially fixed in accordance with its legislation.
3. No Party may condition the temporary duty-free admission of a good referred to in paragraph 1 on conditions other than that the good:
(a) is used only by or under the personal supervision of a national or resident of the other Party in the exercise of that person's business, trade, professional or sporting activity;
(b) is not for sale or lease while it remains in its territory;
(c) is accompanied by a bond or guarantee in an amount not exceeding the charges that would otherwise be due for entry or final importation, refundable upon departure of the good;
(d) is capable of identification upon export;
(e) is exported upon the departure of the person referred to in paragraph (a), or within such period of time corresponding to the purpose of the temporary admission as the Party may establish, or within one year, unless extended;
(f) is admitted in quantities no greater than is reasonable in accordance with its intended use; and
(g) is otherwise admissible into the territory of the Party in accordance with its legislation.
4. If any of the conditions imposed by a Party under paragraph 3 have not been met, the Party may apply the customs duty and any other charges that would normally be due on the good, plus any other charges or penalties established in accordance with its law.
5. Each Party shall adopt and maintain procedures to facilitate the expeditious release of goods admitted under this Article. To the extent possible, such procedures shall provide that when such merchandise accompanies a national or resident of the other Party who is requesting temporary entry, the merchandise shall be cleared simultaneously with the entry of that national or resident.
6. Each Party shall permit a good temporarily admitted under this Article to be exported through a customs port other than the port through which it was admitted.
7. Each Party shall provide that the importer or other person responsible for a good admitted under this Article shall not be liable for the inability to export the good upon presentation of evidence satisfactory to the importing Party that the good has been destroyed within the original time limit fixed for temporary admission or any lawful extension.
8. Subject to Chapter 12 (Investment) and Chapter 13 (Cross-Border Trade in Services), no Party may:
(a) prevent a vehicle or container used in international transportation that has entered its territory from the other Party from leaving its territory by any route that has a reasonable relationship to the prompt and economic departure of such vehicle or container;
(b) require a bond or impose any penalty or charge solely on the ground that the port of entry of the vehicle or container is different from the port of departure;
(c) condition the release of any obligation, including any bond, which it has applied to the entry of a vehicle or container into its territory, on its departure from a particular port; and
(d) require that the vehicle or carrier bringing a container into its territory from the territory of the other Party be the same vehicle or carrier that brings it into the territory of the other Party.
9. For the purposes of paragraph 8, vehicle means a truck, tractor-trailer, tractor-trailer, trailer or trailer unit, locomotive or railcar or other railway equipment.
Article 2.6. GOODS REIMPORTED AFTER REPAIR OR ALTERATION
1. No Party may apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, that has been re-entered into its territory after having been temporarily exported from its territory to the territory of the other Party for repair or alteration, regardless of whether such repair or alteration could have been carried out in the territory of the Party from which the good was exported for repair or alteration.
2. No Party may apply a customs duty to a good that, regardless of its origin, is temporarily admitted from the territory of the other Party to be repaired or altered.
3. For purposes of this Article, "repair or alteration" does not include an operation or process that:
(a) destroys the essential characteristics of a good or creates a new or commercially different good; or
(b) transforms an unfinished good into a finished good.
Article 2.7. DUTY-FREE IMPORTATION OF COMMERCIAL SAMPLES OF NEGLIGIBLE VALUE AND PRINTED ADVERTISING MATERIALS
Each Party shall allow duty-free importation of commercial samples of negligible value and printed advertising materials imported from the territory of the other Party, regardless of their origin, but may require that:
(a) such samples are imported only for the purpose of soliciting orders for goods or services provided from the territory of the other Party or another non-Party; or
(b) such advertising materials are imported in packages containing not more than one printed copy each and that neither the materials nor the packages are part of a larger consignment.
Section D. NON-TARIFF MEASURES
Article 2.8. IMPORT AND EXPORT RESTRICTIONS
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, no Party may adopt or maintain any non-tariff measure that prohibits or restricts the importation of any good of the other Party or the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party, except as provided in Article XI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, and to this end, Article XI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into this Agreement and form an integral part thereof, mutatis mutandis.
2. The Parties understand that the rights and obligations of the GATT 1994 embodied in paragraph 1 prohibit, in any circumstances in which any other type of restriction is prohibited, a Party from adopting or maintaining:
(a) export and import price requirements, except as permitted for the enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duty provisions and undertakings;
(b) import licensing conditioned on compliance with a performance requirement; or
(c) voluntary export restraints inconsistent with Article VI of GATT 1994, implemented under Article 18 of the Subsidies Agreement and Article 8.1 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to the measures set out in Annex 2-A.