3. Until the completion of a Work Programme component, the implementing Party or Parties shall regularly monitor and evaluate the relevant component and provide periodic reports to each Party including a final component completion report.
Article 7. Review and Modification of Work Programme
1. At the direction of the Joint Committee, the Work Programme shall be reviewed within three years of the commencement of its implementation, and thereafter at regular intervals to assess its overall effectiveness in terms of assisting the developing country Parties to implement their PACER Plus obligations.
2. The Joint Committee shall, where appropriate, modify, renew or terminate the Work Programme, taking into account outcomes of reviews and the needs of the developing country Parties as mutually prioritised and determined by Participating Parties and available resources.
Article 8. Non-Application of Chapter 14 (Consultations and Dispute Settlement)
Chapter 14 (Consultations and Dispute Settlement) shall not apply to any matter arising under this Chapter.
Chapter 11. General Provisions and Exceptions
Article 1. General Exceptions
1. For the purposes of Chapter 2 (Trade in Goods), Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin and Verification Procedures), Chapter 4 (Customs Procedures), Chapter 5 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures) and Chapter 6 (Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Procedures), Article XX of the GATT 1994 shall be incorporated into and shall form part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. The Parties understand that the measures referred to in Article XX(b) of the GATT 1994 include environmental measures necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health, that measures referred to in Article XX(f) of the GATT 1994 include measures necessary to protect national works or specific sites of historical or archaeological value, or measures necessary to support creative arts of national value, (1) and that Article XX(g) of the GATT 1994 applies to measures relating to the conservation of living and non-living exhaustible natural resources.
3. For the purposes of Chapter 7 (Trade in Services), Article XIV of the GATS including its footnotes shall be incorporated into and shall form part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
4. The Parties understand that the measures referred to in Article XIV(b) of the GATS include environmental measures necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health.
5. For the purposes of Chapter 9 (Investment), subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between investments and investors of the Parties or of a non-Party where like conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on international trade or investment flows, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Party from adopting or enforcing measures:
(a) Necessary to protect public morals or to maintain public order; (2)
(b) Necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health;
(c) Necessary to ensure compliance with laws and regulations that are not inconsistent with this Agreement, including those relating to:
(i) The prevention of deceptive and fraudulent practices or to deal with the effects of a default on a contract;
(ii) The protection of the privacy of individuals in relation to the processing and dissemination of personal data and the protection of confidentiality of individual records and accounts; or
(iii) Safety; or
(d) Relating to the conservation of living or non-living exhaustible natural resources if such measures are made effective in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption.
6. The Parties understand that the measures referred to in paragraph 5(b) of this Article include environmental measures to protect human, animal or plant life or health, and that the measures referred to in paragraph 5(d) of this Article include environmental measures relating to the conservation of living and non-living exhaustible natural resources.
7. For the purposes of Chapter 7 (Trade in Services) and Chapter 9 (Investment), and subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between the Parties where like conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on trade in services or investment, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Party from adopting or enforcing measures:
(a) Necessary to protect national works or specific sites of historical or archaeological value, or measures necessary to support creative arts of national value; (3) or
(b) Relating to the conservation of living or non-living exhaustible natural resources.
Article 2. Security Exceptions
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:
(a) To require any Party to furnish any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests; or
(b) To prevent any Party from taking any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests:
(i) Relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;
(ii) Relating to the traffic in arms, ammunition, and implements of war and to such traffic in other goods and materials, or relating to the supply of services, as carried on directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying or provisioning a military establishment;
(iii) Taken so as to protect critical public infrastructures (4) including communications, power and water infrastructures from deliberate attempts intended to disable or degrade such infrastructures;
(iv) Taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations; or
(c) To prevent any Party from taking any action in pursuance of its obligations under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.
2. A Party taking action under this Article shall, to the fullest extent possible, inform the Joint Committee of measures that have been taken and of their termination.
Article 3. Measures to Safeguard the Balance of Payments
1. Where a Party is in serious balance of payments and external financial difficulties or under threat thereof, it may:
(a) In the case of trade in goods, in accordance with the GATT 1994, including Article XVIII:B, and the WTO Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement, adopt restrictive import measures;
(b) In the case of trade in services, adopt or maintain restrictions on trade in services for which it has undertaken commitments, including payments or transfers for transactions related to such commitments; and
In the case of investments, adopt or maintain restrictions on payments or transfers related to covered investments as defined in Article 1 (Definitions) of Chapter 9 (Investment).
2. Restrictions adopted or maintained under paragraph 1(b) or 1(c) shall:
(a) Be consistent with the IMF Articles of Agreement;
(b) Avoid unnecessary damage to the commercial, economic and financial interests of the other Parties;
(c) Not exceed those necessary to deal with the circumstances described in paragraph 1 of this Article;
(d) Be temporary and be phased out progressively as the situation specified in paragraph 1 of this Article improves;
(e) Be applied on a non-discriminatory basis such that the other Parties are treated no less favourably than any non-Party; and
(f) Take into account that particular pressures on the balance of payments of a Party in the process of economic development may necessitate the use of restrictions to ensure, inter alia, the maintenance of a level of financial reserves adequate for the implementation of its programme of economic development.
3. In determining the incidence of such restrictions, the Parties may give priority to economic sectors which are more essential to their economic development. However, such restrictions shall not be adopted or maintained for the purpose of protecting a particular sector.
4. Any restrictions adopted or maintained by a Party under paragraph 1 of this Article, or any changes therein, shall be notified promptly to the other Parties from the date such measures are taken.
5. The Party adopting or maintaining any restrictions under paragraph 1 of this Article shall promptly commence consultations with any interested Parties if requested in order to review the restrictions adopted or maintained by it.
Article 4. Prudential Measures
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Agreement, a Party shall not be prevented from taking measures for prudential reasons, (5) including for the protection of investors, depositors, policy holders or persons to whom a fiduciary duty is owed by a financial service supplier, or to ensure the integrity and stability of the financial system. If such measures do not conform with the provisions of the Agreement, they shall not be used as a means of avoiding the Party's commitments or obligations under the Agreement.
Article 5. Taxation Measures
1. Except as provided in this Article, nothing in this Agreement shall apply to taxation measures. For the purposes of this Article, taxes and taxation measures include excise duties, but do not include:
(a) A "Customs duty" as defined in Article 2 of Chapter 1 (Initial Provisions and General Definitions); or
(b) The measures listed in subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of that definition.
2. This Agreement shall only grant rights or impose obligations with respect to taxation measures where:
(a) Corresponding rights and obligations are also granted or imposed under the WTO Agreement; or
(b) They are granted or imposed under Article 11 of Chapter 9 (Investment).
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, nothing in the Articles referred to in that paragraph shall apply to:
(a) Any non-conforming provision of any existing taxation measure;
(b) The continuation or prompt renewal of any non-conforming provision of any existing taxation measure;
(c) An amendment to any non-conforming provision of any existing taxation measure, provided that the amendment does not decrease the conformity of the measure, as it existed immediately before the amendment, with any of those Articles;
(d) The adoption or enforcement of any new taxation measure aimed at ensuring the equitable or effective imposition or collection of taxes including any taxation measure that differentiates between persons based on their place of residence or incorporation, provided that the taxation measure does not arbitrarily discriminate between persons, goods or services of the Parties; (6) or
(e) A provision that conditions the receipt, or continued receipt, of an advantage relating to the contributions to, or income of, a pension trust, superannuation fund, or other arrangement to provide pension, superannuation, or similar benefits on a requirement that the Party maintain continuous jurisdiction, regulation, or supervision over such trust, fund, or other arrangement.
4. Article 13 of Chapter 9 (Investment) shall apply to taxation measures.
5. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of any Party under any tax convention. (7) In the event of any inconsistency relating to a taxation measure between this Agreement and any such tax convention that convention shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
6. If an issue arises as to whether any inconsistency exists between this Agreement and a tax convention between two or more Parties, the issue shall be referred to the competent authorities of the Parties. The competent authorities of the Parties shall have six months from the date of referral of the issue to make a determination as to the existence and extent of the inconsistency. If the competent authorities agree, such a period may be extended up to twelve months from the date of referral of the issue. No procedure concerning the measure giving rise to the issue may be initiated under Chapter 14 (Consultations and Dispute Settlement) or Chapter 9 (Investment) until the expiry of the six month period, or such other period as may have been agreed by the competent authorities pursuant to the previous sentence. A panel established to consider a dispute related to a taxation measure shall accept as binding a determination of the competent authorities of the Parties made under this paragraph. For the purpose of this Article, competent authorities shall include representatives of the tax administration of each Party.
7. Nothing in this Agreement shall oblige a Party to extend to any other Party the benefit of any treatment, preference or privilege arising from any tax convention by which the Party is bound.
Article 6. Treaty of Waitangi
1. Provided that such measures are not used as a means of arbitrary or unjustified discrimination against persons of any other Party or as a disguised restriction on trade in goods and services, nothing in this Agreement shall preclude the adoption by New Zealand of measures it deems necessary to accord more favourable treatment to Maori in respect of matters covered by this Agreement including in fulfilment of its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi.
2. The Parties agree that the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi, including as to the nature of the rights and obligations arising under it, shall not be subject to the dispute settlement provisions of this Agreement. Chapter 14 (Consultations and Dispute Settlement) shall otherwise apply to this Article. A panel established under Article 11 of Chapter 14 (Consultations and Dispute Settlement) may be requested by any other Party to determine only whether any measure (referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article) is inconsistent with its rights under this Agreement.
Chapter 12. Institutional Provisions
Article 1. Pacer Plus Joint Committee
1. The Parties hereby establish a Joint Committee consisting of representatives of the Parties.
2. The functions of the Joint Committee shall be to:
(a) Consider any matter relating to the implementation and operation of this Agreement and the associated Development and Economic Work Programme;
(b) Consider and recommend to the Parties any amendments to this Agreement;
(c) Supervise and coordinate the work of all subsidiary bodies established pursuant to this Agreement;
(d) Adopt, where appropriate, decisions and recommendations of subsidiary bodies established pursuant to this Agreement;
(e) Identify areas to be improved for promoting and facilitating trade in goods, services and investment among the Parties;
(f) Adopt procedures for the transposition of the tariff schedules in Annex 2-A (Schedules of Commitments on Tariffs) and technical revisions to Annex 3-B (Schedule of Product Specific Rules);
(g) Adopt recommendations on modifications of the rules of origin under Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin and Verification Procedures);
(h) As appropriate, decide on specific matters relating to the operation, application and implementation of this Agreement;
(i) Consider any other matter that may affect the operation of this Agreement or that is entrusted to the Joint Committee by the Parties;
(j) Carry out any other functions as the Parties may agree; and
(k) Undertake a general review of this Agreement with a view to furthering its objectives in three years from the date of entry into force, and every five years thereafter, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
3. The Joint Committee shall establish its rules and procedures at its first meeting.
4. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the Joint Committee shall convene its first meeting within one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement. Its subsequent meetings shall be convened at such frequency as the Parties may mutually determine, and as necessary to discharge its functions under this Agreement. Special meetings of the Joint Committee may be convened, as mutually agreed by the Parties within 60 days of the request of a Party.
5. The Joint Committee shall report regularly to relevant Ministers of Parties to this Agreement.
Article 2. Subsidiary Bodies
1. (a) The Parties hereby establish:
(i) A Committee on Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin and Customs Procedures to consider any matter arising under Chapter 2 (Trade in Goods), Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin and Verification Procedures) and Chapter 4 (Customs Procedures);
(ii) A Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade to consider any matter arising under Chapter 5 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures) and Chapter 6 (Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Procedures); and
(iii) A Committee on Services, Movement of Natural Persons and Investment to consider any matter arising under Chapter 7 (Trade in Services), Chapter 8 (Movement of Natural Persons) and Chapter 9 (Investment);
That shall comprise representatives of the Parties including those who retain the technical skills relevant to the matters under discussion.
(b) The terms of reference of each Committee shall be proposed by that Committee, in accordance with the Chapter(s) or Annexes of the Agreement within its mandate and be subject to the approval of and review by the Joint Committee.
(c) The Joint Committee may delegate any of its functions outlined in Article 1.2 to any of the Committees established under paragraph 1(a). Such delegated functions shall be added to the relevant Committee's terms of reference.
(d) Each Committee shall review the implementation by the Parties of the relevant Chapters or Annexes as that Committee considers appropriate and shall make recommendations to the Joint Committee to support the implementation of this Agreement through the Development and Economic Cooperation Work Programme.
(e) Unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, each Committee shall commence an initial review of the relevant Chapters and Annexes within two years of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and submit a final report to the Joint Committee, including any recommendations, within three years of the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. In the fulfilment of its functions, the Joint Committee may establish additional subsidiary bodies, including ad hoc bodies, and assign them with tasks on specific matters, or delegate its responsibilities to any subsidiary body established pursuant to this Agreement.
3. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, each subsidiary body established under this Article shall meet within one year of the date of entry into force of this Agreement or the establishment of that body, and thereafter, as and when required, as determined by the Joint Committee or by mutual agreement of the Parties. Meetings shall, wherever possible, be held in the margins of other relevant regional meetings, or following the meetings of the Joint Committee. Meetings may be held by teleconference or through any other means as mutually determined by the Parties.
Article 3. Mutual Agreement
1. All decisions of the Joint Committee and any subsidiary bodies shall be taken by mutual agreement.
2. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, the Joint Committee or subsidiary body shall be deemed to have acted by mutual agreement if no Party present at any meeting when a decision is taken formally objects to the proposed decision.
Article 4. Support for Attendance at Meetings
Consistent with the commitment of the developed country Parties to support the implementation of this Agreement, appropriate funding will be made available under Chapter 10 (Development and Economic Cooperation) for the participation of officials from Forum Island Countries to attend meetings of the Joint Committee and other subsidiary bodies. In determining the number of officials to be funded from the Forum Island Countries, account shall be taken of the issues on the agenda to be considered by the Joint Committee or the subsidiary bodies.
Article 5. Communications
1. Each Party shall designate a contact point to facilitate communications among the Parties on any matter relating to this Agreement. All official communications in this regard shall be in the English language.
2. On the request of another Party, the contact point shall identify the office or official responsible for the matter and assist, as necessary, in facilitating communication with the requesting Party.
Article Annex 12-A. Subsidiary Bodies
Committee on Trade In Goods, Rules of Origin and Customs Procedures
The functions of the Committee on Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin and Customs Procedures may include:
(a) Reviewing the implementation of, and measures taken pursuant to, the Chapters referred to in Article 2.1(a)(i);
(b) Considering any matter related to the implementation of the Chapters referred to in Article 2.1(a)(i) or of interest to a Party;
(c) Identifying and recommending measures to promote and facilitate improved market access;
(d) Reviewing, where appropriate, the implementation of the Development and Economic Cooperation Work Programme for the Chapters listed in Article 2.1(a)(i);
(e) Adopting procedures for the technical revision of the tariff schedules in Annex 2-A (Schedules of Commitments on Tariffs) and technical revisions to Annex 3-B (Schedule of Product Specific Rules);
(f) Discussing any proposed modifications of the rules of origin under Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin and Verification Procedures);
(g) Consulting on issues relating to rules of origin, customs procedures and administrative cooperation; and
(h) Reporting outcomes of discussions to the Joint Committee within a reasonable time after the conclusion of each meeting.
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade
The functions of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade may include:
(a) Reviewing the implementation of, and measures taken pursuant to, the Chapters referred to in Article 2.1(a)(ii);
(b) Considering any matter related to the implementation of the Chapters referred to in Article 2.1(a)(ii);
(c) Reviewing, where appropriate, the implementation of the Work Programme for the Chapters listed in Article 2.1(a)(ii); and
(d) Reporting outcomes of discussions to the Joint Committee within a reasonable time after the conclusion of each meeting.
Committee on Trade in Services, Movement of Natural Persons and Investment
The functions of the Committee on Trade in Services, Investment, and the Movement of Natural Persons may include:
(a) Reviewing the implementation of, and measures taken pursuant to, the Chapters referred to in Article 2.1(a)(iii);
(b) Considering any matter related to the implementation of the Chapters referred to in Article 2.1(a)(iii), or of interest to a Party;
(c) Identifying and recommending measures to promote further expansion of cross-border trade in services, investment, and the movement of natural persons among the Parties;
(d) Reviewing, where appropriate, the implementation of the Development and Economic Cooperation Work Programme for the Chapters listed in Article 2.1(a)(iii); and
(e) Reporting outcomes of discussions to the Joint Committee within a reasonable time after the conclusion of each meeting.
Chapter 13. Transparency
Article 1. Scope
1. This Chapter provides minimum standards on transparency that shall apply to any matters covered by this Agreement. Other Chapters may include higher or more specific standards that apply to their subject matter.
2. Any provisions in other Chapters addressing the same subject matter as this Chapter shall apply in addition to and shall supplement the provisions of this Chapter.
Article 2. Publication
1. Each Party shall ensure, wherever possible, that its laws, regulations, procedures, and administrative rulings of general application relating to any matter covered by this Agreement are promptly published or otherwise made publicly accessible to interested persons.
2. To the extent possible, each Party shall make the measures referred to in paragraph 1 available in electronic form, or online.
3. To the extent possible, each Party shall:
(a) Publish in advance any measure referred to in paragraph 1 that it proposes to adopt; and
(b) Where appropriate, provide all Parties with a reasonable opportunity to comment on such proposed measures. (1)