(i) the terms of an import licence for any product limit the permissible end users of the product; or
(ii) the Party imposes any of the following conditions on eligibility for obtaining a licence to import any product:
(A) membership in an industry association;
(B) approval by an industry association of the request for an import licence;
(C) a history of importing the product or similar products;
(D) minimum importer or end user production capacity;
(E) minimum importer or end user registered capital; or
(F) a contractual or other relationship between the importer and a distributor in the Party's territory.
(b) A notice that states, under subparagraph (a), that there is a limitation on permissible end users or a licence-eligibility condition shall:
(i) list all products for which the end-user limitation or licence- eligibility condition applies; and
(ii) describe the end-user limitation or licence-eligibility condition.
7. Each Party shall respond within 60 days to a reasonable enquiry from another Party concerning its licensing rules and its procedures for the submission of an application for an import licence, including the eligibility of persons, firms and institutions to make an application, the administrative body or bodies to be approached and the list of products subject to the licensing requirement.
8. If a Party denies an import licence application with respect to a good of another Party, it shall, on request of the applicant and within a reasonable period after receiving the request, provide the applicant with a written explanation of the reason for the denial.
9. No Party shall apply an import licensing procedure to a good of another Party unless it has, with respect to that procedure, met the requirements of paragraph 2 or 4, as applicable.
Article 2.13. Transparency In Export Licensing Procedures (7)
1. For the purposes of this Article:
export licensing procedure means a requirement that a Party adopts or maintains under which an exporter must, as a condition for exporting a good from the Party's territory, submit an application or other documentation to an administrative body or bodies, but does not include customs documentation required in the normal course of trade or any requirement that must be fulfilled prior to introduction of the good into commerce within the Party's territory.
2. Within 30 days of the date of entry into force of this Agreement for a Party, that Party shall notify the other Parties in writing of the publications in which its export licensing procedures, if any, are set out, including addresses of relevant government websites. Thereafter, each Party shall publish in the notified publications and websites any new export licensing procedure, or any modification of an export licensing procedure, that it adopts as soon as practicable but no later than 30 days after the new procedure or modification takes effect.
3. Each Party shall ensure that it includes in the publications it notifies under paragraph 2:
(a) the texts of its export licensing procedures, including any modifications it makes to those procedures;
(b) the goods subject to each licensing procedure;
(c) for each procedure, a description of:
(i) the process for applying for a licence; and
(ii) any criteria an applicant must meet to be eligible to apply for a licence, such as possessing an activity licence, 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 licence;
(e) the administrative body or bodies to which an application for a licence or other relevant documentation must be submitted;
(f) a description of or a citation to a publication reproducing in full 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 withdrawn or revised in a new publication;
(h) if the Party intends to use a licensing procedure to administer an export quota, the overall quantity and, if practicable, value of the quota and the opening and closing dates of the quota; and
(i) any exemptions or exceptions available to the public that replace the requirement to obtain an export licence, how to request or use these exemptions or exceptions and the criteria for them.
4. Except where doing so would reveal business proprietary or other confidential information of a particular person, on request of another Party that has a substantial trade interest in the matter, a Party shall provide, to the extent possible, the following information regarding a particular export licensing procedure that it adopts or maintains:
(a) the aggregate number of licences that the Party has granted over a recent period that the requesting Party has specified; and
(b) measures, if any, that the Party has taken in conjunction with the licensing procedure to restrict domestic production or consumption or to stabilise production, supply or prices for the relevant good.
5. Nothing in this Article shall be construed in a manner that would require a Party to grant an export licence, or that would prevent a Party from implementing its obligations or commitments under United Nations Security Council Resolutions, as well as multilateral non-proliferation regimes, including: the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies; the Nuclear Suppliers Group; the Australia Group; the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, done at Paris, January 13, 1993; the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, done at Washington, London, and Moscow, April 10, 1972; the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at London, Moscow and Washington, July 1, 1968; and the Missile Technology Control Regime.
Article 2.14. Administrative Fees and Formalities
1. Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with Article VIII:1 of GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, that all fees and charges of whatever character (other than export taxes, customs duties, charges equivalent to an internal tax or other internal charge applied consistently with Article I:2 of GATT 1994, and antidumping and countervailing duties) imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and do not represent an indirect protection to domestic goods or a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
2. No Party shall require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of a good of another Party.
3. Each Party shall make publicly available online a current list of the fees and charges it imposes in connection with importation or exportation.
4. No Party shall levy fees and charges on or in connection with importation or exportation on an ad valorem basis. (8)
5. Each Party shall periodically review its fees and charges, with a view to reducing their number and diversity if practicable.
Article 2.15. Export Duties, Taxes or other Charges
Except as provided for in Annex 2-C (Export Duties, Taxes or Other Charges), no Party shall adopt or maintain any duty, tax or other charge on the export of any good to the territory of another Party, unless such duty, tax or charge is adopted or maintained on that good when destined for domestic consumption.
Article 2.16. Publication
Each Party shall promptly publish the following information in a non- discriminatory and easily accessible manner, in order to enable interested parties to become acquainted with it:
(a) importation, exportation and transit procedures, including port, airport and other entry-point procedures, and required forms and documents;
(b) applied rates of duties, and taxes of any kind imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation;
(c) rules for the classification or the valuation of products for customs purposes;
(d) laws, regulations and administrative rulings of general application relating to rules of origin;
(e) import, export or transit restrictions or prohibitions;
(f) fees and charges imposed on or in connection with importation, exportation or transit;
(g) penalty provisions against breaches of import, export or transit formalities;
(h) appeal procedures;
(i) agreements or parts of agreements with any country relating to importation, exportation or transit;
(j) administrative procedures relating to the imposition of tariff quotas; and
(k) correlation tables showing correspondence between any new national nomenclature and the previous national nomenclature.
Article 2.17. Trade In Information Technology Products
Each Party shall be a participant in the WTO Ministerial Declaration on Trade in Information Technology Products (Information Technology Agreement), 13 December 1996, and have completed the procedures for modification and rectification of its Schedule of Tariff Concessions set out in the Decision of 26 March 1980, L/4962, in accordance with paragraph 2 of the Information Technology Agreement. (9) (10)
Article 2.18. Committee on Trade In Goods
1. The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Trade in Goods (Committee), composed of government representatives of each Party.
2. The Committee shall meet as necessary to consider any matters arising under this Chapter. During the first five years after entry into force of this Agreement, the Committee shall meet no less than once a year.
3. The Committee's functions shall include:
(a) promoting trade in goods between the Parties, including through consultations on accelerating tariff elimination under this Agreement and other issues as appropriate;
(b) addressing barriers to trade in goods between the Parties, other than those within the competence of other committees, working groups or any other subsidiary bodies established under this Agreement, especially those related to the application of non-tariff measures and, if appropriate, refer these matters to the Commission for its consideration;
(c) reviewing the future amendments to the Harmonized System to ensure that each Party's obligations under this Agreement are not altered, including by establishing, as needed, guidelines for the transposition of Parties' Schedules to Annex 2-D (Tariff Commitments) and consulting to resolve any conflicts between:
(i) amendments to the Harmonized System and Annex 2-D (Tariff Commitments); or
(ii) Annex 2-D (Tariff Commitments) and national nomenclatures;
(d) consulting on and endeavouring to resolve any differences that may arise between the Parties on matters related to the classification of goods under the Harmonized System and Annex 2-D (Tariff Commitments); and
(e) undertaking any additional work that the Commission may assign to it.
4. The Committee shall consult, as appropriate, with other committees established under this Agreement when addressing issues of relevance to those committees.
5. The Committee shall, within two years of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, submit to the Commission an initial report on its work under paragraphs 3(a) and 3(b). In producing this report, the Committee shall consult, as appropriate, with the Committee on Agricultural Trade established under Article 2.25 (Committee on Agricultural Trade) and the Committee on Textile and Apparel Trade Matters established under Chapter 4 (Textile and Apparel Goods) of this Agreement on portions of the report of relevance to those committees.
Section C. Agriculture
Article 2.19. Definitions
For the purposes of this Section:
agricultural goods means those goods referred to in Article 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture;
export subsidies shall have the meaning assigned to that term in Article 1(e) of the Agreement on Agriculture, including any amendment of that Article;
modern biotechnology means the application of:
(a) in vitro nucleic acid techniques, including recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and direct injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles; or
(b) fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family,
that overcome natural physiological reproductive or recombinant barriers and that are not techniques used in traditional breeding and selection; and
products of modern biotechnology means agricultural goods, as well as fish and fish products (11), developed using modern biotechnology, but does not include medicines and medical products.
Article 2.20. Scope
This Section shall apply to measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to trade in agricultural goods.
Article 2.21. Agricultural Export Subsidies
1. The Parties share the objective of the multilateral elimination of export subsidies for agricultural goods and shall work together to achieve an agreement in the WTO to eliminate those subsidies and prevent their reintroduction in any form.
2. No Party shall adopt or maintain any export subsidy on any agricultural good destined for the territory of another Party. (12)
Article 2.22. Export Credits, Export Credit Guarantees or Insurance Programmes
Recognising the ongoing work in the WTO in the area of export competition and that export competition remains a key priority in multilateral negotiations, Parties shall work together in the WTO to develop multilateral disciplines to govern the provision of export credits, export credit guarantees and insurance programmes, including disciplines on matters such as transparency, self-financing and repayment terms.
Article 2.23. Agricultural Export State Trading Enterprises
The Parties shall work together toward an agreement in the WTO on export state trading enterprises that requires:
(a) the elimination of trade distorting restrictions on the authorisation to export agricultural goods;
(b) the elimination of any special financing that a WTO Member grants directly or indirectly to state trading enterprises that export for sale a significant share of the Member's total exports of an agricultural good; and
(c) greater transparency regarding the operation and maintenance of export state trading enterprises.
Article 2.24. Export Restrictions - Food Security
1. Parties recognise that under Article XI:2(a) of GATT 1994, a Party may temporarily apply an export prohibition or restriction that is otherwise prohibited under Article XI:1 of GATT 1994 on foodstuffs (13) to prevent or relieve a critical shortage of foodstuffs, subject to meeting the conditions set out in Article 12.1 of the Agreement on Agriculture.
2. In addition to the conditions set out in Article 12.1 of the Agreement on Agriculture under which a Party may apply an export prohibition or restriction, other than a duty, tax or other charge, on foodstuffs:
(a) a Party that:
(i) imposes such a prohibition or restriction on the exportation or sale for export of foodstuffs to another Party to prevent or relieve a critical shortage of foodstuffs, shall in all cases notify the measure to the other Parties prior to the date it takes effect and, except when the critical shortage is caused by an event constituting force majeure, shall notify the measure to the other Parties at least 30 days prior to the date it takes effect; or
(ii) as of the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party, maintains such a prohibition or restriction, shall, within 30 days of that date, notify the measure to the other Parties.
(b) A notification under this paragraph shall include the reasons for imposing or maintaining the prohibition or restriction, as well as an explanation of how the measure is consistent with Article XI:2(a) of GATT 1994, and shall note alternative measures, if any, that the Party considered before imposing the prohibition or restriction.
(c) A measure shall not be subject to notification under this paragraph or paragraph 4 if it prohibits or restricts the exportation or sale for export only of a foodstuff or foodstuffs of which the Party imposing the measure has been a net importer during each of the three calendar years preceding the imposition of the measure, excluding the year in which the Party imposes the measure.
(d) If a Party that adopts or maintains a measure referred to in subparagraph (a) has been a net importer of each foodstuff subject to that measure during each of the three calendar years preceding imposition of the measure, excluding the year in which the Party imposes the measure, and that Party does not provide the other Parties with a notification under subparagraph (a), the Party shall, within a reasonable period of time, provide to the other Parties trade data demonstrating that it was a net importer of the foodstuff or foodstuffs during these three calendar years.
3. A Party that is required to notify a measure under paragraph 2(a) shall:
(a) consult, on request, with any other Party having a substantial interest as an importer of the foodstuffs subject to the measure, with respect to any matter relating to the measure;
(b) on the request of any Party having a substantial interest as an importer of the foodstuffs subject to the measure, provide that Party with relevant economic indicators bearing on whether a critical shortage within the meaning of Article XI:2(a) of GATT 1994 exists or is likely to occur in the absence of the measure, and on how the measure will prevent or relieve the critical shortage; and
(c) respond in writing to any question posed by any other Party regarding the measure within 14 days of receipt of the question.
4. A Party which considers that another Party should have notified a measure under paragraph 2(a) may bring the matter to the attention of that other Party. If the matter is not satisfactorily resolved promptly thereafter, the Party which considers that the measure should have been notified may itself bring the measure to the attention of the other Parties.
5. A Party should ordinarily terminate a measure subject to notification under paragraph 2(a) or 4 within six months of the date it is imposed. A Party contemplating continuation of a measure beyond six months from the date it is imposed shall notify the other Parties no later than five months after the date the measure is imposed and provide the information specified in paragraph 2(b). Unless the Party has consulted with the other Parties that are net importers of any foodstuff the exportation of which is prohibited or restricted under the measure, the Party shall not continue the measure beyond 12 months from the date it is imposed. The Party shall immediately discontinue the measure when the critical shortage, or threat thereof, ceases to exist.
6. No Party shall apply any measure that is subject to notification under paragraph 2(a) or 4 to food purchased for non-commercial humanitarian purposes.
Article 2.25. Committee on Agricultural Trade
1. The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Agricultural Trade, composed of government representatives of each Party.
2. The Committee on Agricultural Trade shall provide a forum for:
(a) promoting trade in agricultural goods between the Parties under this Agreement and other issues as appropriate;
(b) monitoring and promoting cooperation on the implementation and administration of this Section, including notification of export restrictions on foodstuffs as stipulated in Article 2.24 (Export Restrictions - Food Security), and discussing the cooperative work identified in Article 2.21 (Agricultural Export Subsidies), Article 2.22 (Export Credits, Export Credit Guarantees or Insurance Programmes) and Article 2.23 (Agricultural Export State Trading Enterprises);
(c) consultation among the Parties on matters related to this Section in coordination with other committees, working groups or any other subsidiary bodies established under this Agreement; and
(d) undertaking any additional work that the Committee on Trade in Goods and the Commission may assign.
3. The Committee on Agricultural Trade shall meet as necessary. During the first five years after entry into force of this Agreement, the Committee on Agricultural Trade shall meet no less than once a year.
Article 2.26. Agricultural Safeguards
Originating agricultural goods from any Party shall not be subject to any duties applied by a Party pursuant to a special safeguard taken under the Agreement on Agriculture.
Article 2.27. Trade of Products of Modern Biotechnology
1. The Parties confirm the importance of transparency, cooperation and exchanging information related to the trade of products of modern biotechnology.
2. Nothing in this Article shall prevent a Party from adopting measures in accordance with its rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement or other provisions of this Agreement.
3. Nothing in this Article shall require a Party to adopt or modify its laws, regulations and policies for the control of products of modern biotechnology within its territory.
4. Each Party shall, when available and subject to its laws, regulations and policies, make available publicly:
(a) any documentation requirements for completing an application for the authorisation of a product of modern biotechnology;
(b) a summary of any risk or safety assessment that has led to the authorisation of a product of modern biotechnology; and
(c) a list or lists of the products of modern biotechnology that have been authorised in its territory.
5. Each Party shall designate and notify a contact point or contact points for the sharing of information on issues related to low level presence (LLP) (14) occurrences, in accordance with Article 27.5 (Contact Points).
6. In order to address an LLP occurrence, and with a view to preventing a future LLP occurrence, on request of an importing Party, an exporting Party shall, when available and subject to its laws, regulations and policies:
(a) provide a summary of the risk or safety assessment or assessments, if any, that the exporting Party conducted in connection with an authorisation of a specific plant product of modern biotechnology;
(b) provide, if known to the exporting Party, contact information for any entity within its territory that received authorisation for the plant product of modern biotechnology and which the Party believes is likely to possess:
(i) any validated methods that exist for the detection of the plant product of modern biotechnology found at a low level in a shipment;
(ii) any reference samples necessary for the detection of the LLP occurrence; and
(iii) relevant information that can be used by the importing Party to conduct a risk or safety assessment or, if a food safety assessment is appropriate, relevant information for a food safety assessment in accordance with Annex 3 of the Codex Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants (CAC/GL 45-2003); and
(c) encourage an entity referred to in subparagraph (b) to share the information referred to in subparagraphs (b)(i), (b)(ii) and (b)(iii) with the importing Party.
7. In the event of an LLP occurrence, the importing Party shall, subject to its laws, regulations and policies:
(a) inform the importer or the importer's agent of the LLP occurrence and of any additional information that the importer will be required to submit to allow the importing Party to make a decision on the disposition of the shipment in which the LLP occurrence has been found;
(b) if available, provide to the exporting Party a summary of any risk or safety assessment that the importing Party has conducted in connection with the LLP occurrence; and
(c) ensure that the measures (15) applied to address the LLP occurrence are appropriate to achieve compliance with its laws, regulations and policies.
8. To reduce the likelihood of trade disruptions from LLP occurrences:
(a) each exporting Party shall, consistent with its laws, regulations and policies, endeavour to encourage technology developers to submit applications to Parties for authorisation of plants and plant products of modern biotechnology; and
(b) a Party authorising plant and plant products derived from modern biotechnology shall endeavour to:
(i) allow year-round submission and review of applications for authorisation of plants and plant products of modern biotechnology; and