Article 4.12. Expedited Shipments
1. Each Party, in accordance with its respective national laws, rules, and regulations, shall adopt or maintain expedited customs procedures for goods entered through air cargo facilities while maintaining appropriate customs control and selection. These procedures shall:
(a) provide for information necessary to release an express shipment to be submitted and processed before the shipment arrives;
(b) allow a single submission of information covering all goods contained in an express shipment, such as a manifest through, if possible, electronic means; (1)
(c) to the extent possible, provide for the release of certain goods with a minimum of documentation;
(d) under normal circumstances, provide for express shipments to be released as soon as possible after submission of the necessary customs documents, provided the shipment has arrived;
(e) apply to shipments of any weight or value recognizing that a Party may require formal entry procedures as a condition for release, including declaration and supporting documentation and payment of customs duties, based on the good's weight or value; and
(f) provide that, under normal circumstances, no customs duties will be assessed on express shipments valued at or below a fixed amount _set under the Party's law. (2)
2. Nothing in paragraph 1 shall affect the right of Parties to examine, detain, seize, confiscate, or refuse entry of goods, or to carry out post-clearance audits, including in connection with the use of risk management systems, and shall prevent Parties from requiring, as a condition for release, the submission of additional information and the fulfillment of non-automatic licensing requirements.
Article 4.13. Review and Appeal
1. Each Party shall ensure that any person to whom it issues a determination on a customs matter has access to:
(a) at least one level of administrative review of determinations by its Customs Administration independent (3) of either the official or office responsible for the decision under review; and
(b) judicial review of decisions taken at the final level of administrative review.
2. Each Party shall ensure that its procedures for appeal and review are carried out in a non-discriminatory and timely manner.
3. Each Party shall ensure that an authority conducting a review or appeal under paragraph 1 notifies the person in writing of its determination or decision in the review or appeal, and the reasons for the determination or decision.
Article 4.14. Customs Cooperation
1. With a view to further enhancing customs cooperation through the exchange of information and the sharing of best practices between the Customs Administration to secure and facilitate lawful trade, the Customs Administrations of the parties will endeavor to conclude and sign a Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement on Customs Mutual Assistance.
2. The Contracting Parties shall, for the purposes of applying Customs legislations and to give effect to the provisions of this arrangement, endeavor to:
(a) co-operate and assist each other in the prevention and investigation of offenses against Customs legislations;
(b) upon request, provide each other information to be used in the enforcement of Customs legislations; and
(c) co-operate in the research, development and application of new Customs procedures, in the training and exchange of personnel, sharing of best practices, and in other matters of mutual interest.
3. Assistance under this Chapter shall be provided in accordance with the domestic law of the requested party.
4. The parties shall exchange official contact points with a view to facilitating the effective implementation of this Chapter.
Article 4.15. Confidentiality
1. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require a Party to furnish or allow access to confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private. Any information received under this Chapter shall be treated as confidential in accordance with that Party's laws and regulations.
2. Each Party shall maintain, in accordance with its domestic laws, the confidentiality of information obtained pursuant to this Chapter and shall protect that information from disclosure that could prejudice the competitive position of the persons providing the information.
Article 4.16. Subcommittee on Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation
The Parties agree to establish a subcommittee on Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation (CPTF Subcommittee) under the CTG consisting of government representative of each Party's competent authorities.
Chapter 5. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Article 5.1. Definitions
1. The definitions in Annex A of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in Annex lA to the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "the SPS Agreement") shall apply.
2. In addition, for the purposes of this Chapter: Competent authority means government body(ies) of each Party responsible for developing and administering the sanitary and phytosanitary measures and matters referred to in this Chapter; and Emergency measure means a sanitary or phytosanitary measure that is applied by the importing Party to the other Party to address an urgent problem of human, animal or plant life or health protection that arises or threatens to arise in the Party applying the measure.
Article 5.2. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) protect human, animal, or plant life or health in the territories of the Parties while facilitating trade between them;
(b) Enhance the collaboration on the implementation of the SPS Agreement;
(c) strengthen communication, consultation, and cooperation between the Parties, and particularly between the Parties' competent authorities;
(d) ensure that sanitary and phytosanitary measures implemented by a Party do not create unjustified barriers to trade;
(e) enhance transparency in and understanding of the application of each Party's sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and
(f) encourage the Parties' participation in the development and adoption of international standards, guidelines, and recommendations.
Article 5.3. Scope
This Chapter shall apply to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures of a Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties.
Article 5.4. Article General Provisions
1. The Parties affirm their rights and obligations with respect to each other under the SPS Agreement.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit the rights and obligations that each Party has under the SPS Agreement.
3. No Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 14 (Dispute Settlement) with respect to the obligations described in this Chapter.
Article 5.5. Competent Authority and Contact Point
1. To facilitate communication on matters covered by this Chapter, each Party shall notify the other Party of its competent authority(ies) and contact point(s) within 30 days from the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. Each Party shall inform the other Party of any change in competent authority(ies) or in its contact point(s) within a reasonable period of time, not exceeding 20 days.
Article 5.6. Sub-Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
1. For the purposes of the effective implementation and operation of this Chapter, the Parties hereby establish a Sub-Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ("Sub-Committee on SPS Measures"), composed of government representatives of each Party responsible for sanitary and phytosanitary matters. The Sub-Committee on SPS Measures shall work subject to the direction of the Joint Committee established under Article 16.1 (Joint Committee).
2. The objectives of the Sub-Committee on SPS Measures are to:
(a) monitor the implementation and operation of this Chapter;
(b) consider sanitary and phytosanitary matters of mutual interest for cooperation; and
(c) enhance communication, coordination, and cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary matters.
3. The Sub-Committee on SPS Measures is intended to serve as a forum to:
(a) enhance mutual understanding of each Party's sanitary and phytosanitary measures and the regulatory and operational processes that relate to those measures; and
(b) exchange information on the implementation of this Chapter.
4. The Sub-Committee on SPS Measures shall establish its terms of reference at its first meeting and may revise those terms as needed, and shall thereafter meet as needed at its own discretion or at the direction of the Joint Committee.
5. If a Party considers that there is a disruption to trade on sanitary and phytosanitary grounds, it may request technical consultations with the other Party through the Sub-Committee on SPS Measures with a view to facilitating trade. On receiving a request under this paragraph, the other Party shall respond to such a request, and shall endeavour to provide any requested information and respond to questions pertaining to the matter, and if requested, enter into consultations within a reasonable period of time after receiving such a request. The Parties shall make every effort to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution through consultations within a period of time agreed upon by the Parties.
Article 5.7. Equivalence
1. The Parties recognize that the principle of equivalence, as provided for under Article 4 of the SPS Agreement, has mutual benefits for both Parties.
2. The Parties shall strengthen cooperation on equivalence and follow the procedures for determining the equivalence of SPS measures in accordance with Article 4 of the SPS Agreement while taking into account relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines and recommendations in accordance with Annex A of the SPS Agreement.
3. Compliance by an exported product with SPS measures or standards of the exporting Party that has been accepted as equivalent to SPS measures and standards of the importing Party shall not remove the need for that product to comply with any other relevant mandatory requirements of the importing Party.
Article 5.8. Adaptation to Regional Conditions, Including Pest-or Disease-Free Areas and Areas of Low Pest or Disease Prevalence
1. The Parties recognize that the principle of Adaptation to Regional Conditions, including Pest-or Disease-Free Areas and Areas of Low Pest or Disease Prevalence, as provided for under Article 6 of the SPS Agreement, has mutual benefits for both Parties.
2. The Parties shall strengthen cooperation on recognition of regional conditions and follow the procedures in accordance with the decisions adopted by the WTO SPS Committee and relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations in accordance with Annex A of the SPS Agreement.
Article 5.9. Risk Assessment
1. The Parties shall ensure that any SPS measure is applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health, is based on scientific principles, and is not maintained without sufficient scientific evidence.
2. The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation on risk assessment in accordance with the SPS Agreement while taking into account the relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines, and recommendations in accordance with Annex A of the SPS Agreement.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, where relevant scientific evidence is insufficient, a Party may provisionally adopt SPS measures on the basis of available pertinent information, including that from relevant international organizations. In such circumstances, the importing Party shall seek to obtain the additional information necessary taking into account available scientific evidence for a more objective assessment of risk and review the SPS measure within a reasonable period of time. To this end, the importing Party may request scientific and other relevant information from the exporting Party.
4. When conducting a risk assessment, the Parties shall:
(a) ensure that the risk analysis is documented and that it provides the exporting Party with an opportunity to comment, in a manner to be determined by the importing Party;
(b) consider risk management options that are not more trade restrictive than required to achieve its appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection; and
(c) select a risk management option that is not more trade restrictive than required to achieve its appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection, taking into account technical and economic feasibility.
5. On request of the exporting Party, the importing Party shall inform the exporting Party of the progress of a specific risk analysis request, and of any delay that may occur during the process.
6. Without prejudice to emergency measures, the importing Party shall not stop the importation of a good of the exporting Party solely for the reason that the importing Party is undertaking a review of a sanitary or phytosanitary measure, if the importing Party permitted importation of the good of the exporting Party at the time of the initiation of the review.
Article 5.10. Emergency Measures
If a Party adopts an emergency measure that is necessary for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health, the Party shall promptly notify the measure by using the WTO SPS notification submission system as a means of emergency notification. If a Party adopts an emergency measure, it shall review that measure periodically and make available the results of that review to the other Party upon request.
Article 5.11. Transparency
1. The Parties recognize the value of transparency in the adoption and application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and the importance of sharing information about such measures on an ongoing basis.
2. In implementing this Article, each Party should take into account relevant decisions of the WTO SPS Committee and international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
3. Each Party shall notify a proposed measure or changes to sanitary or phytosanitary measure that may have an effect on the trade of the other Party through the WTO SPS notification submission system and the contact points designated under Article 5.5 as a supplemental means of notification.
4. A Party shall provide to the other Party, on request, copies of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in the English language, if available, related to the importation of a good into that Party's territory.
Article 5.12. Cooperation and Capacity Building
1. The Parties shall explore opportunities for further cooperation, collaboration, including capacity building, technical assistance, and information exchange between them on sanitary and phytosanitary matters of mutual interest, consistent with this Chapter. The Parties shall cooperate to facilitate the implementation of this Chapter.
2. The Parties shall cooperate and may jointly identify work on sanitary and phytosanitary matters with the goal of eliminating unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.
Chapter 6. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
Article 6.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter: TBT Agreement means the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, contained in Annex lA to the WTO Agreement; and the definitions shall be those contained in Annex 1 of the TBT agreement.
Article 6.2. Objectives
The objective of this Chapter is to facilitate trade in goods, including by eliminating unnecessary technical barriers to trade, enhancing transparency, and promoting greater regulatory cooperation and good regulatory practices. Such objectives may include:
(a) ensuring that standards, technical regulation and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade;
(b) furthering cooperation pursuant to the TBT Agreement;
(c) promoting mutual understanding of each Party's standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedure and enhancing transparency;
(d) facilitating information exchange and cooperation among the Parties in the fields of standards, technical regulation and conformity assessment procedures; and
(e) addressing the issues that may arise under this Chapter.
Article 6.3. Scope
1. This Chapter shall apply to the preparation, adoption, and application of all standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures of central level government bodies that may affect trade in goods between the Parties.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, this Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) purchasing specifications prepared by a governmental body for its production or consumption requirements which are covered by government procurement; or
(b) sanitary or phytosanitary measures which are covered by Chapter 5 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures).
Article 6.4. Affirmation of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
The Parties affirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the TBT Agreement.
Article 6.5. Standards
1. Each Party shall use relevant international standards, guides, and recommendations, to the extent provided in Articles 2.4 and 5.4 of the TBT Agreement, as a basis for its technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
2. In determining whether an international standard, guide, or recommendation within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement exists, each Party shall base its determination on the principles set out in the "Decision of the Committee on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement", adopted on 13 November 2000 by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (Annex 2 to PART 1 of G/TBT/1/Rev14), and any subsequent version thereof. (1)
3. The Parties shall encourage cooperation between their respective national standardizing organizations in areas of mutual interest, in the context of their participation in international standardizing bodies, to ensure that international standards developed within such organizations are trade facilitating and do not create unnecessary obstacles to international trade.
Article 6.6. Technical Regulations
1. The Parties shall use international standards or the relevant parts of them as a basis for preparing their technical regulations, unless those international standards or relevant parts are ineffective or inappropriate for achieving the legitimate objective pursued. Each Party shall, upon request of the other Party, provide its reasons for not having used international standards or the relevant parts of them as a basis for preparing its technical regulations.
2. Each Party shall give positive consideration to a request by the other Party to negotiate arrangements for achieving the equivalence of technical regulations.
3. Each Party shall, upon request of the other Party, explain the reasons why it has not accepted a request by the other Party to negotiate such arrangements.
4. The Parties shall strengthen communications and coordination with each other, where appropriate, in the context of discussions on the equivalence of technical regulations and related issues in international fora, such as the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.
Article 6.7. Conformity Assessment Procedures
1. The Parties recognise that, depending on the specific sectors involved, a broad range of mechanisms exists to facilitate the acceptance in a Party's territory of the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted in the other Party's territory. Such mechanisms may include:
(a) recognizing existing international multilateral recognition agreements and arrangements among conformity assessment bodies;
(b) promoting mutual recognition of conformity assessment results by the other Party, through recognizing the other Party's designation of conformity assessment bodies;
(c) encouraging voluntary arrangements between conformity assessment bodies in the territory of each Party;
(d) accepting a manufacturer's or supplier's declaration of conformity where appropriate;
(e) harmonizing criteria for the designation of conformity assessment bodies, including accreditation procedures; or
(f) other mechanisms as mutually agreed by the Parties.
2. Each Party shall ensure, whenever possible, that the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted in the territory of the other Party are accepted, even when those procedures differ from its own, provided that those procedures offer a satisfactory assurance of applicable technical regulations or standards equivalent to its own procedures. Where a Party does not accept the results of a conformity assessment procedure conducted in the territory of the other Party, it shall, on request of the other Party, explain the reasons for its decision.
3. In order to enhance confidence in the consistent reliability of conformity assessment results, the Parties may consult on matters such as the technical competence of the conformity assessment bodies involved.
4. Each Party shall give positive consideration to a request by the other Party to negotiate agreements or arrangements for the mutual recognition of the results of their respective conformity assessment procedures. The Parties shall consider the possibility of negotiating agreements or arrangements for mutual recognition of the results of their respective conformity assessment procedures in areas mutually agreed upon.
5. The Parties shall endeavour to intensify their exchange of information on acceptance mechanisms with a view to facilitating the acceptance of conformity assessment results.
Article 6.8. Cooperation
1. The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in the field of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures with a view to:
(a) increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems;
(b) enhancing cooperation between the Parties' regulatory agencies on matters of mutual interests including health, safety and environmental protection;
(c) facilitating trade by implementing good regulatory practices; and
(d) enhancing cooperation, as appropriate, to ensure that technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures are based on international standards or the relevant parts of them and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.
2. In order to achieve the objectives set out in paragraph 1, the Parties shall, as mutually agreed and to the extent possible, cooperate on regulatory issues, which may include the:
(a) promotion of good regulatory practices based on risk management principles;
(b) exchange of information with a view to improving the quality and effectiveness of their technical regulations;
(c) development of joint initiatives for managing risks to health, safety, or the environment, and preventing deceptive practices; and
(d) exchange of market surveillance information where appropriate.
3. The Parties shall encourage cooperation between their respective organizations responsible for standardization, conformity assessment, accreditation, and metrology, with the view to facilitating trade and avoiding unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.
Article 6.9. Transparency
1. Each Party shall, on request of the other Party, provide information, including the objective of, and rationale for, a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure which the Party has adopted or proposes to adopt and may affect the trade between the Parties, within a reasonable period oftime as agreed between the Parties.
2. When a proposed technical regulation is submitted for public consultation or notified to the WTO, a Party shall give appropriate consideration to the comments received from the other Party, and, on request of the other Party, provide written answers to the comments made by the other Party.
3. The Parties shall ensure that all adopted technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures are publicly available.
4. When a Party detains an imported consignment, at the point of entry due to non-compliance with a technical regulation or a conformity assessment procedure, it shall notify the importer or its representative as well as the contact point of the other Party designated under Article 6.10, as soon as possible, the reasons for the detention.
Article 6.10. Contact Points
1. For the purposes of this Chapter, the Contact Points are:
(a) For Cambodia: the Institute of Standards of Cambodia, the Ministry of Industry, Sciences, Technology and Innovation, or its successor; and
(b) For the UAE: the Standards and Regulation Sector, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, or its successor.