Article 501. Definitions
For purposes of this Chapter:
(a) "domestic industry" means, with respect to an imported good, the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive good or those producers whose collective production of the like or directly competitive good constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of such good;
(b) "provisional measure" means a provisional safeguard measure described in Article 505;
(c) "safeguard measure" means a safeguard measure described in Article 502;
(d) "special safeguard measure" means a special safeguard measure described in Article 509;
(e) "serious damage" means a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry; and
(f) "transition period", in relation to a particular good, means the period from the entry into force of this Agreement until the date on which the customs duty on that good is to be eliminated in accordance with Annex 2.
Part II. Transitional Safeguard Measures
Article 502. Application of a Safeguard Measure
If, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty pursuant to this Agreement, an originating good of a Party is being imported into the other Party's territory in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive good, the other Party may, to the minimum extent necessary to prevent or remedy serious damage and facilitate adjustment, apply a safeguard measure, consisting of:
(a) the suspension of the further reduction of any rate of customs duty provided for under this Agreement on the good; or
(b) an increase of the rate of customs duty on the good to a level not to exceed the lesser of
(i) the most-favoured-nation (MFN) applied rate of customs duty in effect at the time the action is taken, or
(ii) the MFN applied rate of customs duty in effect on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 503. Scope and Duration of Transitional Safeguard Measures
1. A Party shall apply a safeguard measure only for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious damage and to facilitate adjustment. A Party may apply a safeguard measure for an initial period of no longer than two years. The period of a safeguard measure may be extended by up to two years provided that the conditions of this Chapter are met. The total period of a safeguard measure, including any extensions thereof, shall not exceed six years. Regardless of its duration or whether it has been subject to extension, a safeguard measure on a good shall terminate within two years following the end of the transition period for such good. No new safeguard measure may be applied to a good after that date.
2. Inorder to facilitate adjustment in a situation where the proposed duration of a safeguard measure is over one year, the Party applying the measure shall progressively liberalise it at regular intervals during the application of the measure, including at the time of any extension.
3. A Party shall not apply a safeguard or provisional measure more than once on the same good until a period of time has elapsed following the termination of the earlier safeguard or provisional measure equal to the duration of the earlier measure.
4. A Party may not apply a safeguard or provisional measure on a good that is subject to a measure that the Party has applied pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Safeguards Agreement, the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, or any other relevant provisions in the WTO Agreement, nor may a Party continue to maintain a safeguard or provisional measure on a good that becomes subject to a measure that the Party applies pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Safeguards Agreement, the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing or any other relevant provisions in the WTO Agreement.
5. On the termination of a safeguard measure, the Party that applied the measure shall apply the rate of customs duty set out in its Tariff Schedule as specified in Annex 2 on the date of termination as if the safeguard measure had never been applied.
Article 504. Investigation
1. A Party may apply or extend a safeguard measure only following an investigation by the Party's competent authorities to examine the effect of increased imports of an originating good of the other Party on the domestic industry, as reflected in changes in such relevant economic variables as production, productivity, levels of sales, utilisation of capacity, inventories, market share, exports, wages, employment, domestic prices, profits and investment, none of which is necessarily decisive. When factors other than increased imports of an originating good of the other Party resulting from the reduction or elimination of a customs duty pursuant to this Agreement are simultaneously causing damage to the domestic industry, such damage shall not be attributed to such increased imports.
2. An investigation under Paragraph 1 shall only take place pursuant to procedures previously established and made public in consonance with Chapter 14 of this Agreement. The investigation shall include reasonable public notice to all interested parties and public hearings or other appropriate means in which importers, exporters and other interested parties could present evidence and their views, including the opportunity to respond to the presentations of other parties and to submit their views, inter alia, as to whether or not the application of a safeguard measure would be in the public interest. Upon completion of an investigation, the competent authorities shall promptly publish a report setting forth their findings and reasoned conclusions reached on all pertinent issues of fact and law.
3. Any information which is by nature confidential or which is provided on a confidential basis shall, upon cause being shown, be treated as such by the competent authorities. Such information shall not be disclosed without permission of the party submitting it. Parties providing confidential information may be requested to furnish non-confidential summaries thereof or, if such parties indicate that such information cannot be summarised, the reasons why a summary cannot be provided. However, if the competent authorities find that a request for confidentiality is not warranted and if the party concerned is either unwilling to make the information public or to authorise its disclosure in generalised or summary form, the authorities may disregard such information unless it can be demonstrated to their satisfaction from appropriate sources that the information is correct.
Article 505. Provisional Measures
1. In highly unusual and critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which would be difficult to repair, a Party may apply a provisional safeguard measure pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that increased imports of an originating good of the other Party as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty pursuant to this Agreement have caused or are threatening to cause serious damage. The duration of such a provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which period the pertinent requirements of Articles 502, 503 and 504 shall be met. The duration of any such provisional measure shall be counted as part of the total period referred to in Article 503 (1). Any additional customs duties collected as a result of such a provisional measure shall be promptly refunded if the subsequent investigation referred to in Paragraph 1 of Article 504 does not determine that increased imports of an originating good of the other Party have caused or threatened to cause serious damage to a domestic industry. In such a case, the Party that applied the measure shall apply the rate of customs duty set out in its Tariff Schedule as specified in Annex 2 as if the provisional measure had never applied.
2. In determining whether such highly unusual and critical circumstances exist, a Party shall have regard to the rate of increase of imports of an originating good of the other Party, both in absolute and relative terms, and the overall level of the Party's imports of the good from the other Party as a share of total imports of the good, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a duty on the good pursuant to this Agreement.
Article 506. Notification and Consultation
1. A Party shall promptly notify the other Party, in writing, on:
(a) initiating an investigation under Article 504;
(b) making a finding of serious damage or actual threat thereof caused by increased imports of an originating good of the other Party as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty on the good pursuant to this Agreement;
(c) taking a decision to apply or extend a safeguard measure, or to apply a provisional measure; and
(d) taking a decision to modify a safeguard measure previously applied.
2. A Party shall provide to the other Party a copy of the public version of the report of its competent authorities required under Article 504 immediately as it is available.
3. In making a notification pursuant to Paragraph 1, the Party applying or extending a safeguard measure shall also provide evidence of serious damage or actual threat thereof caused by increased imports of an originating good of the other Party as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty pursuant to this Agreement, a precise description of the good involved, the details of the proposed measure including as appropriate the grounds for not selecting the measure described in Article 502 (a), the date of introduction, duration, and timetable for progressive liberalisation of the measure, if applicable. In the case of an extension of a measure, evidence that the domestic industry concerned is adjusting shall also be provided. Upon request, the Party applying or extending a safeguard measure shall provide additional information as the other Party may consider necessary.
4. A Party proposing to apply or extend a safeguard measure shall provide adequate opportunity for prior consultations with the other Party, with a view to, inter alia, reviewing the information provided under Paragraph 3, exchanging views on the measure, and reaching an agreement on compensation as set forth in Article 507 (1).
5. Where a Party applies a provisional measure referred to in Article 505, on request of the other Party, consultations shall be initiated immediately after such application.
6. The provisions on notification in this Chapter shall not require a Party to disclose confidential information the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.
Article 507. Compensation
1. A Party extending a safeguard measure for an overall period beyond three years shall, in consultation with the other Party, provide to the other Party mutually agreed trade liberalising compensation in the form of substantially equivalent concessions during the period of extension of the measure beyond the aforementioned three years. Such consultations shall begin within 30 days of the decision to extend the measure and, in accordance with Article 506 (4), shall take place prior to the extension.
2. Ifthe Parties are unable to reach agreement on compensation within 30 days after the consultations commence, the exporting Party shall be free to suspend the application of substantially equivalent concessions to the trade of the Party extending the safeguard measure.
3. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing at least 30 days before suspending concessions under Paragraph 2.
4. The obligation to provide compensation under Paragraph 1 and the right to suspend substantially equivalent concessions under Paragraph 2 shall terminate on the date of the termination of the safeguard measure.
Article 508. Global Safeguards
1. Each Party retains its rights and obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards and any other relevant provisions in the WTO Agreement. This Agreement does not confer any additional rights or obligations on the Parties with regard to such global safeguard measures, except that a Party taking such a measure may exclude imports of an originating good of the other Party from the action if such imports are not a cause of serious injury or threat thereof or of serious damage or actual threat thereof or of any other such factor as may be provided in Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, and any other relevant provisions in the WTO Agreement.
2. A Party considering the imposition of a global safeguard measure on an originating good of the other Party shall initiate consultations with that Party as far in advance of taking any such measure as practicable.
Part III. Special Safeguard Measures for Certain Sensitive Agricultural Products
Article 509. Standards for a Special Safeguard Measure
1. A Party may, in exceptional circumstances, apply a special safeguard measure to a limited number of specified sensitive agricultural goods, as set down in Annex 5.
2. The Parties shall endeavour to apply special safeguards measures in a manner that is consistent with their commitment under the terms of this Agreement to promote the expansion of bilateral trade in agricultural goods.
3. A Party may impose a special safeguard measure on a good only during the period set down in Annex 5 for that good.
4. Such a special safeguard measure may be applied to imports of an agricultural good listed in Annex 5 if the volume of imports of that originating good of the other Party entering the customs territory of the Party during any given calendar year exceeds the specified volume trigger level for that year. The applicable trigger levels are set out in Annex 5.
5. If the conditions in Paragraph 4 are met, a Party may increase the rate of customs duty applicable to the good for the remainder of that calendar year through the application of the customs duty for such good at the current MFN rate or the base rate, whichever is lower.
6. Any supplies of the good in question which were en route on the basis of a contract settled before the additional customs duty is imposed under the terms of this Article shall be exempted from any such additional customs duty, provided that they may be counted in the volume of imports of the good in question during the following year for the purposes of triggering the provisions of Paragraph 4 in that year.
7. Each Party shall apply any special safeguard measure in a transparent manner. A Party applying a special safeguard measure shall give notice in writing, including relevant data, to the other Party as far in advance as may be practicable and in any event within ten working days of the implementation of such action.
8. Upon request, the Party imposing the measure shall consult and cooperate in exchanging information as appropriate with the other Party with respect to the conditions of application of the measure.
9. A Party may not apply a special safeguard measure on a good that is subject to a measure that the Party has applied pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Safeguards Agreement or any other relevant provisions in the WTO Agreement or to a measure set forth in Articles 502-508, nor may a Party continue to maintain a special safeguard measure on a good that becomes subject to a measure that the Party applies pursuant to Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Safeguards Agreement or any other relevant provisions in the WTO Agreement, or to any measure set forth in Articles 502-508.
10. No later than three years following the entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall review the operation of this Article, including the appropriateness of the list and trigger levels, including the growth factors set down in Annex 5. The review shall take into account relevant international trade developments.
11. In the event that a Party enters into an agreement or arrangement with a non- Party following entry into force of this Agreement that does not provide for special safeguard measures on a good or goods covered in the relevant section of Annex 5 of this Agreement, and where the non-Party is a substantial supplier of the good or goods, the Parties shall, by mutual consent, enter into consultations on the scope for that good or those goods to be withdrawn from Annex 5.
Chapter 6. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Food Standards
Article 601. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are:
(a) to protect human, animal or plant life or health in the territory of each Party;
(b) to facilitate safe bilateral trade in food, plants and animals, including their products, and animal feed;
(c) to strengthen cooperation between Australian and Thai government agencies having responsibility for matters covered by this Chapter and to deepen mutual understanding of each Party's regulations and procedures; and
(d) to strengthen collaboration between the Parties in relevant international bodies implementing agreements or developing international standards, guidelines and recommendations relevant to the matters covered by this Chapter.
Article 602. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) "agricultural and food standard" means a mandatory requirement being either a sanitary or phytosanitary measure or other technical regulation, that is made pursuant to relevant laws administered by either Party;
(b) "sanitary or phytosanitary measure" (SPS measure) shall have the same meaning as in Annex A, paragraph 1, of the SPS Agreement; sanitary or phytosanitary measures include control, inspection and approval procedures, guidelines for use of which are given in Annex C of the SPS Agreement;
(c) "technical regulation" means a non-SPS measure which shall have the same meaning as in Annex 1 of the TBT Agreement; and
(d) "appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection" shall have the same meaning as in Annex A of the SPS Agreement.
Article 603. Scope
1. This Chapter shall apply to all sanitary and phytosanitary measures of a Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade in agricultural and food products traded between the Parties, regardless of the origin of those products.
2. It shall also apply to:
(a) all other agricultural and food standards related to agricultural and food products traded between the Parties;
(b) assessments of manufacturers or manufacturing processes of agricultural and food products exported from one Party to the other Party; and
(c) assessments of official control, inspection and approval systems related to agricultural and food products operated by the Parties.
Article 604. Obligations
1. The Parties reaffirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the SPS Agreement and the TBT Agreement to the extent that these rights and obligations are applicable to trade in agricultural and food products.
2. Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining, in accordance with its international rights and obligations:
(a) SPS measures necessary to achieve its appropriate level of protection of human, animal or plant life or health; and
(b) other technical requirements set out in a Party's laws, regulations and policies as appropriate to its national circumstances.
3. Each Party, consistent with Paragraphs 1 and 2, shall retain all authority under its laws to implement sanitary and phytosanitary measures and other standards related to this Chapter. This includes the authority to take appropriate measures for goods that do not conform to that Party's SPS measures and such other standards.
Article 605. Harmonisation
1. Noting their commitments under Article 604 (1), the Parties shall endeavour to work towards harmonisation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and other agricultural and food standards, on as wide a basis as possible, as provided for under Article 3 of the SPS Agreement and Article 2 of the TBT Agreement.
2. Harmonisation shall be pursued without requiring either Party to change its appropriate level of protection of human, animal or plant life or health, that the Party determines to be appropriate in accordance with the relevant provisions of Article 5 of the SPS Agreement.
Article 606. Equivalence
1. The Parties recognise that the principle of equivalence as set down in Article 4 of the SPS Agreement and Article 2 of the TBT Agreement, as applied to SPS measures and other agricultural and food standards, has mutual benefits for both exporting and importing countries.
2. The Parties shall follow the procedures for determining the equivalence of SPS measures and other agricultural and food standards, including control, inspection and approval procedures, developed by the relevant WTO bodies and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Office Internationale des Epizooties and the International Plant Protection Convention, as amended from time to time.
3. Compliance by an exported food product with a food standard that has been accepted as equivalent to a food standard 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 607. Control, Inspection and Approval Procedures
1. The Parties recognise that they operate different systems for giving effect to their international rights and obligations relating to control, inspection and approval procedures.
2. Each Party shall, on the request of the other Party, following the procedures set down from time to time by the relevant WTO bodies and the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Office Internationale des Epizooties or the International Plant Protection Convention, give consideration to accepting the relevant control, inspection and approval procedures of the other Party, provided that it is satisfied that these achieve the same outcomes as its own regulatory requirements.
3. Each Party shall on request and in accordance with its international obligations and applicable laws, regulations and policies, review its inspection, testing, certification and other relevant import and export approval systems or procedures to ensure these are reasonable and necessary, so as to further facilitate access of traded goods to its territory and minimise the costs of doing business.
4. The Parties shall cooperate on a product trace back system for the notification of non-compliance of imported consignments for commodities subject to SPS measures or other agricultural and food standards requirements, drawing on the guidelines of relevant international organisations where available.
5. In particular:
(a) where non-compliance with SPS measures or other agricultural and food standards arises, the importing Party shall notify the exporting Party of the consignment details;
(b) unless specifically required by laws, regulations or policies in effect at the time this Agreement enters into force, the importing Party shall avoid suspending trade based on one shipment, but in the first instance shall contact the exporting Party to ascertain how the problem has occurred. The Parties shall consult on what remedial action might be taken by the exporting Party to ensure that further shipments are not affected;
(c) the exporting Party shall investigate and advise the importing Party of its findings regarding the non-compliance referred to in Sub-paragraph (a), including any corrective action that will apply to future shipments. The Parties shall, upon the request of either Party, jointly examine the import or export control, inspection and approval procedures concerned; and on
(d) if, after investigation and review, the Parties mutually determine that the issue is an incident arising from an isolated technical problem, the importing Party shall separate the incident clearly from the overall institutional and procedural arrangements applying to relevant control, inspection and approval systems. In this event, the importing Party shall confine any treatment measures taken only to that particular shipment and shall also endeavour to ensure that the incident is not used as a basis for refusing to accept the arrangements applying to other shipments of the products concerned.
Article 608. Information Exchange and Cooperation
1. Recognising the importance of close and effective working relationships between the Parties' regulatory and other relevant agencies in giving effect to the objectives of this Chapter, the Parties shall enhance their consultation processes in order to facilitate cooperation.
2. In particular, each Party shall:
(a) establish an overall coordination contact point, as well as contact points for relevant specialised areas, to disseminate and exchange information expeditiously and to facilitate timely and favourable consideration of requests for information or clarification from the other Party. The overall coordination contact point shall be included in all consultations made pursuant to this Article;
(b) provide notice to the relevant contact points of the other Party of new or proposed changes to its SPS measures and other agricultural and food standards, as far in advance as practicable before the changes come into effect, where these are likely to affect, directly or indirectly, trade between the Parties;
(c) where considerations of public, animal or plant health and safety warrant more urgent action, notify the other Party no later than the date the changes enter into force;
(d) where it implements emergency management measures in response to a confirmed threat to human, plant or animal life or health, ensure that all pertinent information about the incident is provided to the other Party and the Parties shall consult expeditiously with the aim of minimising disruption to trade.
3. The Parties shall explore opportunities for further cooperation and collaboration on regulatory issues at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels consistent with the provisions of this Chapter.
4. The Parties shall enhance cooperation on priority proposals in relevant areas of technical assistance and capacity-building activities to ensure that existing or future opportunities for funding or other support are used effectively to further the objectives of this Chapter.
Article 609. Consultative Forum on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Food Standards
1. The Parties shall establish an Expert Group on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Food Standards as a consultative forum to promote the objective set out in Article 601 (c) and to reflect their commitments under Article 608 (1) to strengthen cooperation between regulatory agencies having responsibility for sanitary and phytosanitary measures and for food standards.
2. The Expert Group, along with the existing Joint Working Group on Agriculture, shall together form an integrated means of enhanced regular and comprehensive consultation and cooperation on agriculture and related matters so as to facilitate safe trade between the Parties.
3. The Expert Group shall meet as often as required and mutually determined by the Parties, but this shall not be less than once a year. In principle, the Parties shall meet biannually during the initial two year work program of the Expert Group. The Expert Group shall meet consecutively with the regular meetings of the Joint Working Group, alternately in each Party's territory.
4. The Parties may mutually determine an alternative process for addressing any matter and for this purpose shall make full use of the coordination and contact points established under Article 608 (2)(a).
5. The Expert Group may adopt a work program and work procedures independently of the established scope and modalities of the Joint Working Group. The Expert Group shall inform the Joint Working Group of the outcomes from its meetings.
6. The Expert Group may establish temporary task forces to address particular issues.
7. The Party hosting the Expert Group shall provide the chair for the meeting who shall be a representative from the agriculture ministry of the relevant Party. Delegations to the Expert Group may be composed of relevant technical and policy officials or other designated officials as each Party determines appropriate from time to time. Each Party shall ensure, reflecting the agenda agreed for each meeting, that appropriate representatives with responsibility for SPS measures and food standards participate in meetings of the Expert Group.
8. The Parties shall consult on dates and venues for planned meetings of the Expert Group and Joint Working Group well in advance. Agendas for meetings of the Expert Group shall be mutually determined at least 30 days prior to each meeting.
9. To achieve the objectives of Paragraph 2 on matters related to this Chapter, the Expert Group shall at its first meeting develop and implement a work program, with the initial phase to be completed and reviewed within two years of the signature of this Agreement, with the aim of:
(a) reviewing progress and monitoring the implementation of this Chapter on an ongoing basis;
(b) enhancing mutual understanding of each Party's sanitary and phytosanitary measures, agricultural and food standards, and related regulatory processes;
(c) consulting on matters related to the development or application of SPS measures and other agricultural and food standards that affect or may affect trade between the Parties;
(d) reviewing and assessing progress of each Party's priority market access interests, which at the time of signature of this Agreement are listed in Annex 6.1;
(e) consulting on requests for recognition of equivalence of SPS measures or other agricultural and food standards. In respect of control, inspection and approval arrangements, the priority sectors of each Party at the time of signature of this Agreement are listed in Annex 6.2;
(f) consulting on matters relating to the harmonisation of standards;
(g) consulting or coordinating positions on matters related to meetings of the WTO SPS Committee, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the Office Internationale des Epizooties, the International Plant Protection Convention or other forums dealing with human, plant or animal health;
(h) coordinating and prioritising capacity building and technical cooperation programs related to SPS measures and other relevant agricultural and food standards; and
(i) progressing resolution of disputes that arise in connection with the matters covered by this Chapter.
Article 610. Dispute Settlement
1. Matters arising under this Chapter that cannot be settled through consultations within the Expert Group established under Article 609 may be forwarded by either Party for consideration by the FTA Joint Commission.
2. Chapter 18 shall not apply to the provisions of this Chapter.
Chapter 7. Industrial Technical Barriers to Trade
Article 701. Definitions
All general terms concerning standards and conformity assessment used in this Agreement shall have the meaning given in the definitions contained in the International Organization for Standardization/ International Electrotechnical Commission Guide 2 (1996), which cover goods, processes, and services. This Chapter deals only with technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures related to products or processes and production methods. In addition, the following terms and definitions shall apply for the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) "conformity assessment" means any procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled;
(b) "equivalence" means the state wherein mandatory requirements applied in the exporting Party, though different from the mandatory requirements applied in the importing Party, meet the legitimate objective of the mandatory requirements applied in the importing Party;
(c) "mandatory requirements" means all mandatory standards and technical regulations in the laws, regulations and policies of the Parties;
(d) "standard" means a document approved by a recognised body that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a product, process or production method; and
(e) "technical regulation" means a document which lays down product characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a product, process or production method.
Article 702. Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are:
(a) to facilitate trade and investment between the Parties through collaborative efforts which minimise the impact of technical regulations and/or assessments of manufacturers or manufacturing processes on the goods traded between the Parties, in the most appropriate or cost-effective manner;
(b) to complement bilateral agreements and arrangements between the Parties relating to technical regulations; and
(c) to build on the mutual recognition arrangements developed within the voluntary sector and APEC context.
Article 703. Scope and Obligations
1. The Parties affirm with respect to each other their existing rights and obligations relating to technical regulations under the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and all other international agreements, including environmental and conservation agreements, to which the Parties are party.
2. Nothing in this Chapter shall prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining, in accordance with its international rights and obligations, and conditions set out in the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade:
(a) technical regulations necessary to ensure its national security requirements; and