Title
REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
Preamble
PREAMBLE
The Parties to this Agreement,
RECALLING the Joint Declaration on the Launch of Negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership adopted by the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (hereinafter referred to as "ASEAN" in this Agreement) and Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand at Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 20 November 2012 which endorsed the Guiding Principles and Objectives for Negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership;
DESIRING to broaden and deepen economic integration in the region, strengthen economic growth and equitable economic development, and advance economic cooperation, through this Agreement, which will build upon existing economic linkages among the Parties;
ASPIRING to strengthen their economic partnership to create new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and improve the general welfare of their peoples;
SEEKING to establish clear and mutually advantageous rules to facilitate trade and investment, including participation in regional and global supply chains;
BUILDING upon their respective rights and obligations under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994, and the existing free trade agreements between the Member States of ASEAN and their free trade partners, namely Australia, China, Japan, Korea, and New Zealand;
TAKING ACCOUNT OF the different levels of development among the Parties, the need for appropriate forms of flexibility, including provision for special and differential treatment, especially for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam as appropriate, and additional flexibility for Least Developed Country Parties;
CONSIDERING the need to facilitate the increasing participation of Least Developed Country Parties in this Agreement so that they can more effectively implement their obligations under this Agreement and take advantage of the benefits from this Agreement, including expansion of their trade and investment opportunities and participation in regional and global supply chains;
RECOGNISING that good governance and a predictable, transparent, and consistent business environment will lead to the improvement of economic efficiency and the development of trade and investment;
REAFFIRMING the right of each Party to regulate in pursuit of legitimate public welfare objectives;
RECOGNISING that the three pillars of sustainable development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, and that economic partnership can play an important role in promoting sustainable development; and
FURTHER RECOGNISING the positive effect that regional trade agreements and arrangements can have in accelerating regional and global trade and investment liberalisation, and their role in strengthening the open, free, and rules-based multilateral trading system,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Body
Chapter 1. Initial Provisions and General Definitions
Article 1.1. Establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as a Free Trade Area
The Parties, consistent with Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and Article V of GATS, hereby establish the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as a free trade area in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Article 1.2. General Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise provided in this Agreement:
(a) AD Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(b) Agreement means the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement;
(c) Agreement on Agriculture means the Agreement on Agriculture in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(d) Customs Valuation Agreement means the Agreement on implementation of Article Vil of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(e) days means calendar days, including weekends and holidays;
(f) existing means in effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement;
(g) GATS means the General Agreement on Trade in Services in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;
(h) GATT 1994 means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(i) GPA means the Agreement on Government Procurement in Annex 4 to the WTO Agreement;
(j) Harmonized System or HS means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, Section Notes, Chapter Notes, and Subheading Notes, as adopted and administered by the World Customs Organization, set out in the Annex to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System done at Brussels on 14 June 1983, as may be amended, adopted and implemented by the Parties in their respective laws;
(k) IMF means the International Monetary Fund;
(l) IMF Articles of Agreement means the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund adopted at Bretton Woods on 22 July 1944;
(m) Import Licensing Agreement means the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(n) juridical person means any entity constituted or organised under applicable law, whether or not for profit, and whether privately-owned or governmentally-owned, including any corporation, trust, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship, association, or similar organisation;
(o) Least Developed Country means any country designated as such by the United Nations and which has not obtained graduation from the least developed country category;
(p) Least Developed Country Party means any Party that is a Least Developed Country;
(q) measure means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, or any other form;
(r) Party means any State or separate customs territory for which this Agreement is in force;
(s) perishable goods means goods that rapidly decay due to their natural characteristics, in particular in the absence of appropriate storage conditions;
(t) person means a natural person or a juridical person;
(u) personal information means any information, including data, about an identified or identifiable individual;
(v) Preshipment Inspection Agreement means the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(w) RCEP means the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership;
(x) RCEP Joint Committee means the RCEP Joint Committee established pursuant to Article 18.2 (Establishment of the RCEP Joint Committee);
(y) Safeguards Agreement means the Agreement on Safeguards in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(z) SCM Agreement means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(aa) small and medium enterprise means any small and medium enterprise, including any micro enterprise, and may be further defined, where applicable, in accordance with the respective laws, regulations, or national policies of each Party;
(bb) SPS Agreement means the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(cc) TBT Agreement means the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(dd) trade administration documents means forms issued or controlled by a Party which must be completed by or for an importer or exporter in relation to the import or export of goods;
(ee) Trade Facilitation Agreement means the Agreement on Trade Facilitation in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(ff) TRIPS Agreement means the Agreement on Trade- Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in Annex 1C to the WTO Agreement;
(gg) Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions means the Understanding on the Balance-of- Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(hh) WTO means the World Trade Organization;
(ii) and WTO Agreement means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994.
Article 1.3. Objectives
The objectives of this Agreement are to:
(a) establish a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic partnership framework to facilitate the expansion of regional trade and investment and contribute to global economic growth and development, taking into account the stage of development and economic needs of the Parties especially of Least Developed Country Parties;
(b) progressively liberalise and facilitate trade in goods among the Parties through, inter alia, progressive elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers on substantially all trade in goods among the Parties;
(c) progressively liberalise trade in services among the Parties with substantial sectoral coverage to achieve substantial elimination of restrictions and discriminatory measures with respect to trade in services among the Parties; and
(d) create a liberal, facilitative, and competitive investment environment in the region, that will enhance investment opportunities and the promotion, protection, facilitation, and liberalisation of investment among the Parties.
Chapter 2. Trade In Goods
Section A. General Provisions and Market Access for Goods
Article 2.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) consular transactions means any requirements that goods of a Party intended for export to the territory of another Party must first be submitted to the supervision of the consul of the importing Party in the territory of the exporting Party for the purpose of obtaining consular invoices or consular visas for commercial invoices, certificates of origin, manifests, shippersâ export declarations, or any other customs documentation required on or in connection with importation;
(b) customs duties means any customs or import duty and a charge of any kind imposed in connection with the importation of a good, but does not include any:
(i) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with paragraph 2 of Article Ill of GATT 1994;
(ii) anti-dumping or countervailing duty applied consistently with Article VI of GATT 1994, the AD Agreement, and the SCM Agreement; or
(iii) fees or other charges commensurate with the cost of services rendered;
(c) customs value of goods means the value of goods for the purposes of levying ad valorem customs duties on imported goods;
(d) duty-free means free of customs duty;
(e) 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 of the importing Party as a prior condition for importation into the territory of the importing Party; and
(f) originating good means a good that qualifies as an originating good in accordance with Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin).
Article 2.2. Scope
Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Chapter shall apply to trade in goods among the Parties.
Article 2.3. National Treatment on Internal Taxation and Regulation
Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Parties in accordance with Article Ill of GATT 1994. To this end, Article Ill of GATT 1994 is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.4. Reduction or Elimination of Customs Duties
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, each Party shall reduce or eliminate its customs duties on originating goods of other Parties in accordance with its Schedule in Annex | (Schedules of Tariff Commitments).
2. For greater certainty, in accordance with the WTO Agreement, originating goods of other Parties shall be eligible, at the time of importation, for the most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty for those goods in a Party, where that rate is lower than the rate of customs duty provided for in that Party's Schedule in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments). Subject to its laws and regulations, each Party shall provide that an importer may apply for a refund of any excess duty paid for a good if the importer did not make a claim for the lower rate at the time of importation.
3. Further to subparagraph 1(b) of Article 4.5 (Transparency), each Party shall make publicly available any amendments to its most- favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty, and the latest customs duty to be applied in accordance with paragraph 1, as soon as practicable but not later than the date of the application.
Article 2.5. Acceleration of Tariff Commitments (1)
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall preclude the Parties from amending this Agreement in accordance with Article 20.4 (Amendments), to accelerate or improve the tariff commitments set out in their Schedules in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments).
2. Two or more Parties (2) may, based on mutual consent, consult on the acceleration or improvement of tariff commitments set out in their Schedules in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments). An agreement to accelerate or improve the tariff commitments between these Parties shall be implemented through a modification to their Schedules in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments) in accordance with Article 20.4 (Amendments). Any such acceleration or improvement of tariff commitments shall be extended to all Parties.
3. A Party may, at any time, unilaterally accelerate or improve its tariff commitments set out in its Schedule in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments). Any such acceleration or improvement of its tariff commitment shall be extended to all Parties. Such Party shall inform the other Parties as early as practicable before the new preferential rate of customs duty takes effect.
4. For greater certainty, following a Party's unilateral acceleration or improvement of its tariff commitments referred to in paragraph 3, that Party may raise its preferential customs duty to a level not exceeding the preferential rate of customs duty set out in its Schedule in Annex | (Schedules of Tariff Commitments) for the relevant year. Such Party shall inform the other Parties of the date from which the new preferential rate of customs duty takes effect, as early as practicable before such date.
Article 2.6. Tariff Differentials
1. All originating goods subject to tariff differentials (3) shall be eligible for preferential tariff treatment applicable to the originating goods of an exporting Party pursuant to the importing Party's tariff commitments set out in its Schedule in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments) at the time of importation, provided that the exporting Party is the RCEP country of origin.
2. The RCEP country of origin for an originating good shall be the Party where the good acquired its originating status in accordance with Article 3.2 (Originating Goods). With regard to subparagraph (b) of Article 3.2 (Originating Goods), the RCEP country of origin for an originating good shall be the exporting Party, provided that the production process, other than the minimal operations set out in paragraph 5, for that originating good occurred in that exporting Party.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, for an originating good identified by an importing Party in its Appendix to its Schedule in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments), the RCEP country of origin shall be the exporting Party, provided that the good meets the additional requirement specified in that Appendix.
4. In the event that the exporting Party of an originating good is not established to be the RCEP country of origin in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3, the RCEP country of origin for that originating good shall be the Party that contributed the highest value of originating materials used in the production of that good in the exporting Party. In that case, that originating good shall be eligible for preferential tariff treatment applicable to that originating good of the RCEP country of origin.
5. For the purposes of paragraph 2, a "minimal operation" is any operation set out below:
(a) preserving operations to ensure that the good remains in good condition for the purposes of transport or storage;
(b) packaging or presenting goods for transportation or sale;
(c) simple (4) processes, consisting of sifting, screening, sorting, classifying, sharpening, cutting, slitting, grinding, bending, coiling, or uncoiling;
(d) affixing or printing of marks, labels, logos, or other like distinguishing signs on goods or their packaging;
(e) mere dilution with water or another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the good;
(f) disassembly of products into parts;
(g) slaughtering (5) of animals;
(h) simple painting and polishing operations;
(i) simple peeling, stoning, or shelling;
(j) simple mixing of goods, whether or not of different kinds; or
(k) any combination of two or more operations referred to in subparagraphs (a) through (j).
6. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 4, the importing Party shall allow an importer to make a claim for preferential tariff treatment at either:
(a) the highest rate of customs duty that the importing Party applies to the same originating good from any of the Parties contributing originating materials used in the production of such good, provided that the importer is able to prove such a claim. For greater certainty, originating materials refer only to those originating materials taken into account in the claim for originating status of the final good; or
(b) the highest rate of customs duty that the importing Party applies to the same originating good from any of the Parties.
7. Notwithstanding Article 20.8 (General Review), the Parties shall commence a review of this Article within two years of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and, thereafter, every three years or as agreed among the Parties to reduce or eliminate the requirements of this Article and the number of tariff lines and conditions provided in a Party’s Appendix to its Schedule in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments).
8. Notwithstanding paragraph 7, with respect to its Appendix to its Schedule in Annex I (Schedules of Tariff Commitments), a Party reserves the right to make amendments to its Appendix, including the additional requirement in this Appendix, in case of accession by another State or separate customs territory to this Agreement. Such amendments shall be subject to the agreement of all Parties and shall enter into force in accordance with Article 20.4 (Amendments) and Article 20.9 (Accession).
Article 2.7. Classification of Goods
The classification of goods in trade among the Parties shall be in conformity with the Harmonized System.
Article 2.8. Customs Valuation
For the purposes of determining the customs value of goods traded among the Parties, Article VII of GATT 1994, and Part I and the Interpretative Notes of Annex I of the Customs Valuation Agreement shall apply, mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.9. Goods In Transit
Each Party shall continue to facilitate customs clearance of goods in transit from or to another Party in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article V of GATT 1994 and the relevant provisions of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Article 2.10. Temporary Admission of Goods
1. Each Party shall allow, as provided for in its laws and regulations, goods to be brought into its customs territory conditionally relieved, totally or partially, from payment of import duties and taxes, if such goods:
(a) are brought into its customs territory for a specific purpose;
(b) are intended for re-exportation within a specific period; and
(c) have not undergone any change, except normal depreciation and wastage due to the use made of them.
2. Each Party shall, on request of the person concerned and for reasons its customs authority considers valid, extend the time limit for duty-free temporary admission provided for in paragraph 1 beyond the period initially fixed.
3. No Party shall condition the duty-free temporary admission of a good provided for in paragraph 1, other than to require that the good:
(a) be used solely by or under the personal supervision of a national or resident of another Party in the exercise of the business activity, trade, profession, or sport of that person;
(b) not be sold or leased while in its territory;
(c) be accompanied by a security or guarantee in an amount no greater than the customs duties, taxes, fees, and charges that would otherwise be owed on entry or final importation, releasable on exportation of the good;
(d) be capable of identification when imported and exported;
(e) be exported on the departure of the person referred to in subparagraph (a), or within such other period related to the purpose of the temporary admission as the Party may establish, unless extended;
(f) be admitted in no greater quantity than is reasonable for its intended use; and
(g) be otherwise admissible into the Party's territory under its laws and regulations.
4. If any condition that a Party imposes under paragraph 3 has not been fulfilled, the Party may apply the customs duty and any other charge that would normally be owed on the good, in addition to any other charges or penalties provided for in its laws and regulations.
Each Party shall permit a good temporarily admitted under this Article to be re-exported through a customs port (6) other than that through which it was admitted.
Article 2.11. Temporary Admission for Containers and Pallets
1. Each Party, as provided for in its laws and regulations, or the provisions of the related international agreements to which it is party, shall grant duty-free temporary admission for containers and pallets, regardless of their origin, in use or to be used in the shipment of goods in international traffic.
(a) For the purposes of this Article, "container" means an article of transport equipment (lift-van, movable tank, or other similar structure):
(i) fully or partially enclosed to constitute a compartment intended for containing goods;
(ii) of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use;
(iii) specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods, by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading;
(iv) designed for ready handling, particularly when being transferred from one mode of transport to another;
(v) designed to be easy to fill and to empty; and
(vi) having an internal volume of one cubic metre or more.
"Container" shall include the accessories and equipment of the container, appropriate for the type concerned, provided that such accessories and equipment are carried with the container. "Container" shall not include vehicles, accessories or spare parts of vehicles, or packaging or pallets. "Demountable bodies" shall be regarded as containers.