1. Provided that such measures are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between the Parties where the same conditions prevail or a disguised restriction on trade, nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining measures:
(a) necessary to protect public morals, order, or safety;
(b) necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health;
(c) necessary to protect intellectual property; or
(d) relating to goods or services of handicapped persons, of philanthropic institutions, or of prison labor.
2. The Parties understand that paragraph 1(b) includes environmental measures necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health.
Article 9.15. Committee on Procurement
The Parties hereby establish a Committee on Procurement comprising representatives of each Party. On request of a Party, the Committee shall meet to address matters related to the implementation of this Chapter, such as:
(a) cooperation relating to the development and use of electronic communications in government procurement systems, including developments that may allow procuring entities to reduce the time limits for tendering set out in Article 9.5.2;
(b) exchange of statistics and other information to assist the Parties in monitoring the implementation and operation of this Chapter;
(c) consideration of further negotiations aimed at broadening the coverage of this Chapter; and
(d) efforts to increase understanding of their respective government procurement systems, with a view to maximizing access to government procurement opportunities, especially for small business suppliers. To that end, a Party may ask the other Party to provide trade-related technical assistance, including training of government personnel or interested suppliers on specific elements of that Party's government procurement system, in coordination with the Committee on Trade Capacity Building, as appropriate.
Article 9.16. Definitions
For purposes of this Chapter:
build-operate-transfer contract and public works concession contract mean any contractual arrangement the primary purpose of which is to provide for the construction or rehabilitation of physical infrastructure, plant, buildings, facilities, or other government-owned works and under which, as consideration for a supplier's execution of a contractual arrangement, a procuring entity grants to the supplier, for a specified period, temporary ownership, or a right to control and operate, and demand payment for the use of, such works for the duration of the contract;
commercial goods and services means goods and services of a type of goods and services that are sold or offered for sale to, and customarily purchased by, non-governmental buyers for non- governmental purposes; it includes goods and services with modifications customary in the commercial marketplace, as well as minor modifications not customarily available in the commercial marketplace;
conditions for participation means any registration, qualification, or other pre-requisites for participation in a procurement;
in writing and written mean any worded or numbered expression that can be read, reproduced, and later communicated, including electronically transmitted and stored information;
multi-use list means a list of suppliers that a procuring entity has determined satisfy the conditions for participation in that list, and that the procuring entity intends to use more than once;
offsets means any conditions or undertakings that require use of domestic content, domestic suppliers, the licensing of technology, investment, counter-trade, or similar actions to encourage local development or to improve a Party's balance-of-payments accounts;
open tendering means a procurement method where all interested suppliers may submit a tender;
procurement official means any person who performs procurement functions; procuring entity means an entity listed in Annex 9.1;
selective tendering means a procurement method where only the suppliers satisfying the conditions for participation are invited by the procuring entity to submit tenders;
services includes construction services, unless otherwise specified;
supplier means a person that provides or could provide goods or services to a procuring entity; and
technical specification means a tendering requirement that:
(a) sets out the characteristics of:
(i) goods to be procured, including quality, performance, safety and dimensions, or the processes and methods for their production; or
(ii) services to be procured, or the processes or methods for their provision, including any applicable administrative provisions; or
(b) addresses terminology, symbols, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements, as they apply to a good or service.
Chapter Ten. Investment
Section A. Investment
Article 10.1. Scope and Coverage (1)
1. This Chapter applies to measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to:
(a) Investors of another Party;
(b) Covered investments; and
(c) with respect to Articles 10.9 and 10.11, all investments in the territory of the Party.
2. A Party's obligations under this Section shall apply to a state enterprise or other person when it exercises any regulatory, administrative, or other governmental authority delegated to it by that Party, such as the authority to expropriate, grant licenses, approve commercial transactions, or impose quotas, fees, or other charges.
3. For greater certainty, this Chapter does not bind any Party in relation to any act or fact that took place or any situation that ceased to exist before the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 10.2. Relation to other Chapters
1. In the event of any inconsistency between this Chapter and another Chapter, the other Chapter shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
2. A requirement by a Party that a service supplier of another Party post a bond or other form of financial security as a condition of the cross-border supply of a service does not of itself make this Chapter applicable to measures adopted or maintained by the Party relating to such cross-border supply of the service. This Chapter applies to measures adopted or maintained by the Party relating to the posted bond or financial security, to the extent that such bond or financial security is a covered investment.
3. This Chapter does not apply to measures adopted or maintained by a Party to the extent that they are covered by Chapter Twelve (Financial Services).
Article 10.3. National Treatment
1. Each Party shall accord to investors of another Party treatment no less favorable than that it accords, in like circumstances, to its own investors with respect to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, and sale or other disposition of investments in its territory.
2. Each Party shall accord to covered investments treatment no less favorable than that it accords, in like circumstances, to investments in its territory of its own investors with respect to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, and sale or other disposition of investments.
3. The treatment to be accorded by a Party under paragraphs 1 and 2 means, with respect to a regional level of government, treatment no less favorable than the most favorable treatment accorded, in like circumstances, by that regional level of government to investors, and to investments of investors, of the Party of which it forms a part.
Article 10.4. Most-Favored-Nation Treatment
1. Each Party shall accord to investors of another Party treatment no less favorable than that it accords, in like circumstances, to investors of any other Party or of any non-Party with respect to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, and sale or other disposition of investments in its territory.
2. Each Party shall accord to covered investments treatment no less favorable than that it accords, in like circumstances, to investments in its territory of investors of any other Party or of any non-Party with respect to the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, and sale or other disposition of investments. (2)
Article 10.5. Minimum Standard of Treatment (3)
1. Each Party shall accord to covered investments treatment in accordance with customary international law, including fair and equitable treatment and full protection and security.
2. For greater certainty, paragraph 1 prescribes the customary international law minimum standard of treatment of aliens as the minimum standard of treatment to be afforded to covered investments. The concepts of "fair and equitable treatment" and "full protection and security" do not require treatment in addition to or beyond that which is required by that standard, and do not create additional substantive rights. The obligation in paragraph 1 to provide:
(a) "fair and equitable treatment" includes the obligation not to deny justice in criminal, civil, or administrative adjudicatory proceedings in accordance with the principle of due process embodied in the principal legal systems of the world; and
(b) "full protection and security" requires each Party to provide the level of police protection required under customary international law.
3. A determination that there has been a breach of another provision of this Agreement, or of a separate international agreement, does not establish that there has been a breach of this Article.
Article 10.6. Treatment In Case of Strife
1. Notwithstanding Article 10.13.5(b), each Party shall accord to investors of another Party, and to covered investments, non-discriminatory treatment with respect to measures it adopts or maintains relating to losses suffered by investments in its territory owing to armed conflict or civil strife.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, if an investor of a Party, in the situations referred to in paragraph 1, suffers a loss in the territory of another Party resulting from:
(a) requisitioning of its covered investment or part thereof by the latter's forces or authorities; or
(b) destruction of its covered investment or part thereof by the latter's forces or authorities, which was not required by the necessity of the situation,
the latter Party shall provide the investor restitution, compensation, or both, as appropriate, for such loss. Any compensation shall be prompt, adequate, and effective in accordance with Article 10.7.2 through 10.7.4, mutatis mutandis.
3. Paragraph 1 does not apply to existing measures relating to subsidies or grants that would be inconsistent with Article 10.3 but for Article 10.13.5(b).
Article 10.7. Expropriation and Compensation (4)
1. No Party may expropriate or nationalize a covered investment either directly or indirectly through measures equivalent to expropriation or nationalization (âexpropriationâ), except:
(a) for a public purpose (5);
(b) in a non-discriminatory manner;
(c) on payment of prompt, adequate, and effective compensation; and
(d) in accordance with due process of law and Article 10.5.
2. The compensation referred to in paragraph 1(c) shall:
(a) be paid without delay;
(b) be equivalent to the fair market value of the expropriated investment immediately before the expropriation took place ("the date of expropriation");
(c) not reflect any change in value occurring because the intended expropriation had become known earlier; and
(d) be fully realizable and freely transferable.
3. If the fair market value is denominated in a freely usable currency, the compensation referred to in paragraph 1(c) shall be no less than the fair market value on the date of expropriation, plus interest at a commercially reasonable rate for that currency, accrued from the date of expropriation until the date of payment.
4. If the fair market value is denominated in a currency that is not freely usable, the compensation referred to in paragraph 1(c) "converted into the currency of payment at the market rate of exchange prevailing on the date of payment" shall be no less than:
(a) the fair market value on the date of expropriation, converted into a freely usable currency at the market rate of exchange prevailing on that date, plus
(b) interest, at a commercially reasonable rate for that freely usable currency, accrued from the date of expropriation until the date of payment.
5. This Article does not apply to the issuance of compulsory licenses granted in relation to intellectual property rights in accordance with the TRIPS Agreement, or to the revocation, limitation, or creation of intellectual property rights, to the extent that such issuance, revocation, limitation, or creation is consistent with Chapter Sixteen (Intellectual Property Rights).
Article 10.8. Transfers
1. Each Party shall permit all transfers relating to a covered investment to be made freely and without delay into and out of its territory. Such transfers include:
(a) contributions to capital;
(b) profits, dividends, capital gains, and proceeds from the sale of all or any part of the covered investment or from the partial or complete liquidation of the covered investment;
(c) interest, royalty payments, management fees, and technical assistance and other fees;
(d) payments made under a contract, including a loan agreement;
(e) payments made pursuant to Article 10.6.1 and 10.6.2 and Article 10.7; and
(f) payments arising out of a dispute.
2. Each Party shall permit transfers relating to a covered investment to be made in a freely usable currency at the market rate of exchange prevailing at the time of transfer.
3. Each Party shall permit returns in kind relating to a covered investment to be made as authorized or specified in a written agreement between the Party and a covered investment or an investor of another Party.
4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 through 3, a Party may prevent a transfer through the equitable, non-discriminatory, and good faith application of its laws relating to:
(a) bankruptcy, insolvency, or the protection of the rights of creditors;
(b) issuing, trading, or dealing in securities, futures, options, or derivatives;
(c) criminal or penal offenses;
(d) financial reporting or record keeping of transfers when necessary to assist law enforcement or financial regulatory authorities; or
(e) ensuring compliance with orders or judgments in judicial or administrative proceedings.
Article 10.9. Performance Requirements
1. No Party may, in connection with the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, or sale or other disposition of an investment of an investor of a Party or of a non-Party in its territory, impose or enforce any requirement or enforce any commitment or undertaking: (6)
(a) to export a given level or percentage of goods or services;
(b) to achieve a given level or percentage of domestic content;
(c) to purchase, use, or accord a preference to goods produced in its territory, or to purchase goods from persons in its territory;
(d) to relate in any way the volume or value of imports to the volume or value of exports or to the amount of foreign exchange inflows associated with such investment;
(e) to restrict sales of goods or services in its territory that such investment produces or supplies by relating such sales in any way to the volume or value of its exports or foreign exchange earnings;
(f) to transfer a particular technology, a production process, or other proprietary knowledge to a person in its territory; (7) or
(g) to supply exclusively from the territory of the Party the goods that such investment produces or the services that it supplies to a specific regional market or to the world market.
2. No Party may condition the receipt or continued receipt of an advantage, in connection with the establishment, acquisition, expansion, management, conduct, operation, or sale or other disposition of an investment in its territory of an investor of a Party or of a non-Party, on compliance with any requirement:
(a) to achieve a given level or percentage of domestic content;
(b) to purchase, use, or accord a preference to goods produced in its territory, or to purchase goods from persons in its territory;
(c) to relate in any way the volume or value of imports to the volume or value of exports or to the amount of foreign exchange inflows associated with such investment; or
(d) to restrict sales of goods or services in its territory that such investment produces or supplies by relating such sales in any way to the volume or value of its exports or foreign exchange earnings.
3. (a) Nothing in paragraph 2 shall be construed to prevent a Party from conditioning the receipt or continued receipt of an advantage, in connection with an investment in its territory of an investor of a Party or of a non-Party, on compliance with a requirement to locate production, supply a service, train or employ workers, construct or expand particular facilities, or carry out research and development, in its territory.
(b) Paragraph 1(f) does not apply:
(i) when a Party authorizes use of an intellectual property right in accordance with Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement, or to measures requiring the disclosure of proprietary information that fall within the scope of, and are consistent with, Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement; or
(ii) when the requirement is imposed or the commitment or undertaking is enforced by a court, administrative tribunal, or competition authority to remedy a practice determined after judicial or administrative process to be anticompetitive under the Party's competition laws. (8)
(c) Provided that such measures are not applied in an arbitrary or unjustifiable manner, and provided that such measures do not constitute a disguised restriction on international trade or investment, paragraphs 1(b), (c), and (f), and 2(a) and (b), shall not be construed to prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining measures, including environmental measures:
(i) necessary to secure compliance with laws and regulations that are not inconsistent with this Agreement,
(ii) necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health, or
(iii) related to the conservation of living or non-living exhaustible natural resources.
(d) Paragraphs 1(a), (b), and (c), and 2(a) and (b), do not apply to qualification requirements for goods or services with respect to export promotion and foreign aid programs.
(e) Paragraphs 1(b), (c), (f), and (g), and 2(a) and (b), do not apply to procurement.
(f) Paragraphs 2(a) and (b) do not apply to requirements imposed by an importing Party relating to the content of goods necessary to qualify for preferential tariffs or preferential quotas.
4. For greater certainty, paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply to any commitment, undertaking, or requirement other than those set out in those paragraphs.
5. This Article does not preclude enforcement of any commitment, undertaking, or requirement between private parties, where a Party did not impose or require the commitment, undertaking, or requirement.
Article 10.10. Senior Management and Boards of Directors
1. No Party may require that an enterprise of that Party that is a covered investment appoint to senior management positions natural persons of any particular nationality.
2. A Party may require that a majority of the board of directors, or any committee thereof, of an enterprise of that Party that is a covered investment, be of a particular nationality, or resident in the territory of the Party, provided that the requirement does not materially impair the ability of the investor to exercise control over its investment.
Article 10.11. Investment and Environment
Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent a Party from adopting, maintaining, or enforcing any measure otherwise consistent with this Chapter that it considers appropriate to ensure that investment activity in its territory is undertaken in a manner sensitive to environmental concerns.
Article 10.12. Denial of Benefits
1. A Party may deny the benefits of this Chapter to an investor of another Party that is an enterprise of such other Party and to investments of that investor if persons of a non-Party own or control the enterprise and the denying Party:
(a) does not maintain diplomatic relations with the non-Party; or
(b) adopts or maintains measures with respect to the non-Party or a person of the non-Party that prohibit transactions with the enterprise or that would be violated or circumvented if the benefits of this Chapter were accorded to the enterprise or to its investments.
2. A Party may deny the benefits of this Chapter to an investor of another Party that is an enterprise of such other Party and to investments of that investor if the enterprise has no substantial business activities in the territory of any Party, other than the denying Party, and persons of a non-Party, or of the denying Party, own or control the enterprise.
Article 10.13. Non-Conforming Measures
1. Articles 10.3, 10.4, 10.9, and 10.10 do not apply to:
(a) any existing non-conforming measure that is maintained by a Party at:
(i) the central level of government, as set out by that Party in its Schedule to Annex I,
(ii) a regional level of government, as set out by that Party in its Schedule to Annex I, or
(iii) a local level of government;
(b) the continuation or prompt renewal of any non-conforming measure referred to in subparagraph (a); or
(c) an amendment to any non-conforming measure referred to in subparagraph (a) to the extent that the amendment does not decrease the conformity of the measure, as it existed immediately before the amendment, with Article 10.3, 10.4, 10.9, or 10.10.
2. Articles 10.3, 10.4, 10.9, and 10.10 do not apply to any measure that a Party adopts or maintains with respect to sectors, subsectors, or activities, as set out in its Schedule to Annex II.
3. No Party may, under any measure adopted after the date of entry into force of this Agreement and covered by its Schedule to Annex II, require an investor of another Party, by reason of its nationality, to sell or otherwise dispose of an investment existing at the time the measure becomes effective.