Title

FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND SINGAPORE

Preamble

The Government of the Republic of Korea ("Korea") and the Government of the Republic of Singapore ("Singapore"), hereinafter referred to as "the Parties";

Conscious of their bonds of longstanding friendship and strong trade and investment relationship;

Recalling the establishment of a Joint Study Group to examine the benefits of a Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Government of the Republic of Singapore ("Korea-Singapore FTA") in October 2002;

Desiring to adopt the recommendations in the Joint Study Group Report that the Parties proceed to negotiate the Korea-Singapore FTA, and that the Joint Study Group Report should serve as a framework for negotiations on the FTA;

Reaffirming their commitment to securing trade liberalisation and an outward-looking approach to trade and investment;

Convinced that their economic integration would generate larger economies of scale, provide greater work opportunities, and enhance transparency for economic activities for their businesses as well as for other businesses in Asia;

Sharing the belief that a free trade agreement between the Parties would improve their attractiveness to capital and human resources, and create larger and new markets, to expand trade and investment not only between them but also in the region;

Affirming their commitment to fostering the development of open market economy in Asia, and to encouraging economic integration of Asian economies in order to further the liberalisation of trade and investment in the region;

Reaffirming that this Agreement shall contribute to the expansion and development of world trade under the multilateral trading system embodied in the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization ("the WTO Agreement");

Building on their respective rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement and other multilateral, regional and bilateral instruments of co-operation; and

Resolved to promote reciprocal trade and investment, and to avoid circumvention of benefits of regional trade integration, through the establishment of clear and mutually advantageous trade rules, and industry as well as regulatory co-operation;

HAVE AGREED as follows:

Body

Chapter 1. General Provisions

Article 1.1. Establishment of Free Trade Area

The Parties to this Agreement, consistent with Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and Article V of GATS, hereby establish a free trade area in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

Article 1.2. Objectives

The objectives of this Agreement, as elaborated more specifically through its principles and rules, including national treatment, most-favoured-nation treatment and transparency, are to:
(a) liberalise and facilitate trade in goods and services and expand investment between the Parties;
(b) establish a co-operative framework for strengthening the economic relations between the Parties;
(c) establish a framework conducive for a more favourable environment for their businesses and promote conditions of fair competition in the free trade area;
(d) establish a framework of transparent rules to govern trade and investment between the Parties;
(e) create effective procedures for the implementation and application of this Agreement; and
(f) establish a framework for further regional and multilateral co-operation to expand and enhance the benefits of this Agreement throughout Asia, and thereby, to encourage economic integration of Asian economies.

Article 1.3. Relation to other Agreements

1. The Parties reaffirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under existing bilateral and multilateral agreements to which both Parties are party, including the WTO Agreement.
2. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and other agreements to which both Parties are party, the Parties shall immediately consult with each other with a view to finding a mutually satisfactory solution, taking into consideration general principles of international law.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, if this Agreement explicitly contains provisions regarding such inconsistency as indicated in paragraph 2, those provisions shall apply.

Article 1.4. Reference to other Agreements

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, any reference to articles in GATT 1994 or GATS includes the interpretative notes, where applicable.
2. Any reference in this Agreement to any other treaty or international agreement shall be made in the same terms to its successor treaty or international agreement to which both Parties are party.

Chapter 2. General Definitions

Article Article

For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise specified:
Agreement means this free trade agreement between the Parties;
APEC means the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation;
citizen means:
(a) with respect to Korea, a Korean as defined in Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and its domestic laws; and
(b) with respect to Singapore, any person who is a citizen within the meaning of its Constitution and domestic laws;
Custom Valuation Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade 1994, which is part of the WTO Agreement;
days means calendar days including weekends and holidays;
enterprise means any corporation, company, association, partnership, trust, joint venture, sole-proprietorship or other legally recognised entity that is duly incorporated, constituted, set up, or otherwise duly organised under the law of a Party, including branches, regardless of whether or not the entity is organised for pecuniary gain, privately or otherwise owned, or organised with limited or unlimited liability;
existing means in effect at the time of entry into force of this Agreement;
GATS means the General Agreement on Trade in Services, which is a part of the WTO Agreement;
GATT 1994 means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, which is a part of the WTO Agreement;
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles means the recognised consensus or substantial authoritative support in the territory of a Party with respect to the recording of revenues, expenses, costs, assets and liabilities, the disclosure of information and the preparation of financial statements. These standards may encompass broad guidelines of general application as well as detailed standards, practices and procedures;
Harmonized System (HS) means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, Section Notes and Chapter Notes;
measure means any law, regulation, procedure or administrative action, requirement or practice;
national means a natural person who is a citizen or permanent resident of a Party;
permanent resident means any person who has the right of permanent residence in the territory of a Party;
person means a natural person or an enterprise; person of a Party means a national or an enterprise of a Party;
territory means:
(a) with respect to Korea, the land, maritime, and air space under its sovereignty, and those maritime areas, including the seabed and subsoil adjacent to the outer limit of the territorial sea over which it exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction in accordance with international law and its domestic law; and
(b) with respect to Singapore, its land territory and airspace above in accordance with international law, internal waters and territorial sea as well as the maritime zones beyond the territorial sea, including the seabed and subsoil, over which the Republic of Singapore exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction under its national laws and international law for the purpose of exploration and exploitation of the natural resources of such areas; and
WTO Agreement means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done on April 15, 1994.

Chapter 3. National Treatment and Market Access for Goods

Article 3.1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter: other duties or charges means any duty or charge of any kind, except customs duty, imposed on or in connection with the importation of goods of the other Party, but does not include any:
(a) duty imposed pursuant to Chapter 6 (Trade Remedies);
(b) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with Article III:2 of GATT 1994;
(c) fee or other charge in connection with importation commensurate with the cost of services rendered;
(d) premium offered or collected on an imported good arising out of any tendering system in respect of the administration of quantitative import restrictions, tariff rate quotas or tariff preference levels; or
(e) duty imposed pursuant to Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture.

Article 3.2. Scope and Coverage

This Chapter shall be applied to the trade in goods between the Parties.

Article 3.3. National Treatment

Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of GATT 1994. To this end, Article III of GATT 1994 is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement.

Article 3.4. Tariff Elimination

1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, each Party shall progressively eliminate its customs duties and other duties or charges on originating goods of the other Party in accordance with its Tariff Elimination Schedule set out in Annex 3A.
2. Upon request of a Party, the Parties shall consult to consider accelerating the elimination of customs duties as set out in their Tariff Elimination Schedules or incorporating into one Party's Tariff Elimination Schedule goods that are not subject to the Tariff Elimination Schedule. An agreement by the Parties to accelerate the elimination of customs duties on an originating good or to include a good in the Tariff Elimination Schedule shall supersede any duty rate or staging category determined pursuant to their Tariff Elimination Schedules for such good, shall be treated as an amendment to Annex 3A and shall enter into force in accordance with the procedure under Article 22.4.

Article 3.5. Customs Valuation

The Parties shall apply Article VII of GATT 1994 and the provisions of Part I of the Customs Valuation Agreement for the purposes of determining the customs value of goods traded between the Parties.

Article 3.6. Export Duty

Neither Party shall adopt or maintain any duties on goods exported from its territory into the territory of the other Party.

Article 3.7. Goods Re-entered after Repair or Process

In accordance with its domestic laws and regulations, each Party may exempt or reduce a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, that re-enters its territory after that good has been exported or if it was under a temporary exit from its territory to the territory of the other Party for repair or process, regardless of whether such repair or process could be performed in its territory.

Article 3.8. Import and Export Restrictions

1. Neither Party may adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of the other Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of the other Party, except in accordance with rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement, or except as otherwise provided in this Agreement.
2. In the event that a Party adopts or maintains a prohibition or restriction on the importation of a good from a non-Party, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the Party from limiting or prohibiting the importation from the territory of the other Party of such a good of that non-Party.
3. In the event that a Party adopts or maintains a prohibition or restriction on the importation of a good from a non-Party, the Parties, upon request of the other Party, shall consult with a view to avoiding undue interference with or distortion of pricing, marketing and distribution arrangements in the other Party.

Article 3.9. Customs User Fees

Customs user fees shall be limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and shall not represent an indirect protection for domestic products or a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes. They shall be based on specific rates that correspond to the real value of the service rendered.

Article 3.10. Balance of Payment Exception

1. Where a Party is in serious balance of payments and external financial difficulties or threat thereof, it may, in accordance with GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of GATT 1994, adopt restrictive import measures. The relevant provisions of GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of GATT 1994 are hereby incorporated into and made part of the Agreement.
2. The Party introducing a measure under this Article shall promptly notify the other Party.

Chapter 4. Rules of Origin

Article 4.1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:
customs value means:
(a) the price actually paid or payable for a good or material with respect to a transaction of the seller of the good, pursuant to the principles of Article 1 of the Customs Valuation Agreement, adjusted in accordance with Article 8 of the Customs Valuation Agreement; or
(b) in the event that there is no such value or such value of the good is unascertainable, the value determined in accordance with Articles 2 through 7 of the Customs Valuation Agreement;
F.O.B. means free on board value of a good payable by the buyer to the seller, regardless of the mode of transportation, not including any internal excise taxes reduced, exempted, or repaid when the good is exported; fungible goods or materials means goods or materials that are interchangeable for commercial purposes and whose properties are essentially identical;
good means any merchandise, product, article or material; goods wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or both of the Parties means:
(a) mineral goods extracted there;
(b) plants and plant products grown and harvested, picked or gathered there;
(c) live animals born and raised there;
(d) goods obtained from hunting or trapping conducted there;
(e) goods obtained from fishing within the outer limit of the territorial sea of one or both of the parties;
(f) products of sea-fishing and other products taken from the sea outside of the territorial sea of one or both of the Parties by vessels registered or recorded with a Party and flying its flag;
(g) goods produced on board factory ships from the goods referred to in paragraph (f), provided such factory ships are registered or recorded with one of the Parties and flying its flag;
(h) goods taken by a Party or a person of a Party from the seabed or beneath the seabed outside territorial waters, provided that the Party has rights to exploit such seabed;
(i) goods taken from outer space, provided that they are obtained by a Party or a person of a Party and not processed in the territory of a non-Party;
(j) waste and scrap derived from:
(i) production there; or
(ii) used goods collected there, provided that such goods are fit only for the recovery of raw materials; and
(k) goods produced in the territory of one or both of the Parties exclusively from goods referred to in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i) and (j), or from their derivatives, at any stage of production;
intermediate material means a material that is self-produced and used in the production of a good, and designated pursuant to Article 4.7;
material means a good that is used in the production of another good and physically incorporated into the good;
non-originating good or non-originating material means a good or material that does not qualify as originating under this Chapter;
originating material means a material that qualifies as originating under Article 4.2;
packing materials and containers for shipment means goods used to protect a good during its transportation, different from those containers or materials used for its individual sale;
producer means a person who grows, mines, raises, harvests, fishes, reproduces and breeds, traps, hunts, manufactures, processes, assembles or disassembles a good;
production means method of obtaining goods including growing,
raising, mining, harvesting, fishing, reproducing and breeding, trapping, hunting, manufacturing, processing, assembling or disassembling a good;
used means used or consumed in the production of goods; and
value of materials means:
(a) except in the case of packing materials and containers for shipment, for the purposes of calculating the regional value content of a good and for the purposes of applying the De Minimis rule, the value of a material that is used in the production of a good shall:
(i) for a material that is imported by the producer of the good, be the customs value of the material with respect to the importation including the costs of freight, insurance, packing and all other costs incurred in the international shipment of that material to the location of the producer, if not included;
(ii) for a material purchased in the territory where the good is produced, be the producer's price actually paid or payable for the material including the costs of freight, insurance, packing and all other costs incurred in transporting the material to the location of the producer, if not included; and
(iii) for an intermediate material, be determined by computing the sum of:
(A) all costs incurred in the production of the material, including general expenses; and
(B) an amount for profit;
(b) for the value of non-originating materials, the following expenses may be deducted from the value of the material:
(i) the duties, taxes and customs brokerage fees on the materials paid in the territory of one or more of the Parties, other than the duties and taxes that are waived, refunded, refundable or otherwise recoverable, including credit against duties or taxes paid or payable;
(ii) inland transportation costs incurred to transport the materials to the local producer;
(iii) the costs of waste and spoilage resulting from the use of the material in the production of the good, less the value of renewable scrap or byproduct; and
(iv) the cost of originating materials used in the production of the non-originating material in the territory of a Party.

Article 4.2. Originating Goods

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, an originating good means a good:
(a) wholly obtained or produced entirely in the territory of one or both of the Parties;
(b) that has satisfied the requirements specified in Annex 4A as well as other applicable requirements under this Chapter as a result of the production occurring entirely in the territory of one or both of the Parties;
(c) otherwise provided as an originating good under this Chapter; or
(d) produced entirely in the territory of one or both of the Parties exclusively from originating materials pursuant to this Chapter.
2. Product-specific rules, requiring that the materials used undergo a change in tariff classification or a specific manufacturing or processing operation, shall apply only to non-originating materials.

Article 4.3. Treatment of Certain Goods

1. The goods listed in Annex 4B shall be originating goods when the goods are imported into the territory of Singapore from the territory of Korea. The goods shall also be originating material for purposes of satisfying the requirements specified in this Chapter.
2. Upon request of a Party, the Parties shall have consultations on the operation or revision of this Article and Annex 4B.

Article 4.4. Outward Processing

1. Notwithstanding the relevant provisions of Article 4.2 and the product-specific requirements set out in Annex 4A, a good listed in Annex 4C shall be considered as originating even if it has undergone processes of production or operation outside the territory of a Party on a material exported from the Party and subsequently re-imported to the Party, provided that:
(a) the total value of non-originating inputs as set out in paragraph 2 does not exceed forty (40) per cent of the customs value of the final good for which originating status is claimed;
(b) the value of originating materials is not less than forty-five (45) per cent of the customs value of the final good for which originating status is claimed;
(c) the materials exported from a Party shall have been wholly obtained or produced in the Party or have undergone there processes of production or operation going beyond the non-qualifying operations in Article 4.16, prior to being exported outside the territory of the Party;
(d) the producer of the exported material and the producer of the final good for which originating status is claimed are the same;
(e) the re-imported good has been obtained through the processes of production or operation of the exported material; and
(f) the last process of production or operation4-1 takes place in the territory of the Party.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1(a), the total value of non-originating inputs shall be the value of any non-originating materials added in a Party as well as the value of any materials added and all other costs accumulated outside the territory of the Party, including transportation cost. 4-1 The last process of production or operation does not exclude the non-qualifying operations stipulated in Article 4.16

Article 4.5. Regional Value Content

When a regional value content is required to determine an originating good, the regional value content of a good shall be calculated on the basis of the following method: CV -VNM RVC = ----------------------x 100 CV where RVC is the regional value content, expressed as a percentage; CV is the customs value adjusted to an F.O.B. basis; and VNM is the value of non-originating materials used by the producer in the production of the good.

Article 4.6. Unassembled or Disassembled Goods

A good that is imported into the territory of a Party in an unassembled or disassembled form but is classified as an assembled good pursuant to the provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 2 of the General Rule for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System shall be considered as an originating good, if the good meets the requirements of Article 4.2.

Article 4.7. Intermediate Materials

Any self-produced material that is used in the production of a good may be designated by the producer of the good as an intermediate material for the purpose of calculating the regional value content of the good under Article 4.5, provided that where the intermediate material is subject to a regional value content requirement, no other self-produced material subject to a regional value content requirement used in the production of that intermediate material may itself be designated by the producer as an intermediate material.

Article 4.8. Neutral Elements

In order to determine whether a good originates it shall not be necessary to determine the origin of the following which might be used in its production and not incorporated into the good:
(a) fuel and energy;
(b) tools, dies and moulds;
(c) spare parts and materials used in the maintenance of equipment and buildings;
(d) lubricants, greases, compounding materials and other materials used in production or used to operate equipment and buildings;
(e) gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, safety equipment and supplies;
(f) equipment, devices and supplies used for testing or inspecting the goods; and
(g) any other goods that are not incorporated into the good but whose use in the production of the good can reasonably be demonstrated to be a part of that production.

Article 4.9. Accumulation

1. Originating materials from the territory of a Party incorporated in the production of a good in the territory of the other Party, shall be considered to originate in the territory of the other Party.
2. For the purpose of establishing that a good is originating, the producer of a good may accumulate one's production with the production, in the territory of one or both of the Parties by one or more producers, of materials incorporated in the production of the good, so that the production of those materials is considered as done by that producer, provided that the good complies with the criteria set out in Article 4.2.

Article 4.10. De Minimis

1. A good that does not undergo a change in tariff classification pursuant to Annex 4A shall be considered as originating if:
(a) the value of all non-originating materials used in its production that do not undergo the required change in tariff classification does not exceed ten (10) per cent of the customs value of the good; and
(b) the good meets all other applicable criteria set forth in this Chapter for qualifying as an originating good. The value of such non-originating materials shall, however, be included in the value of non-originating materials for any applicable regional value content requirement for the good.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to:
(a) a non-originating material used in the production of a good provided for in Chapters 1 through 14 of the Harmonized System; and
(b) a non-originating material used in the production of a good provided for in Chapters 15 through 24 of the Harmonized System unless the non-originating material is provided for in a different subheading from that of the good for which the origin is being determined under this Article.
3. A good provided for in Chapters 50 through 63 of the Harmonized System that is not an originating good, because certain fibres or yarns used in the production of the component of the good that determines the tariff classification of the good do not undergo an applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4A, shall nonetheless be considered as originating if the total weight of all such fibres or yarns in that component is not more than eight (8) per cent of the total weight of that component.

Article 4.11. Fungible Goods and Materials

1. The determination of whether fungible goods or materials are originating goods shall be made either by physical segregation of each good or material or through the use of any of the inventory management method, such as averaging, last-in, first-out, or first in, first-out, recognised in the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles of a Party in which the production is performed or otherwise accepted by the Party in which the production is performed.
2. Once a particular inventory management method is selected under paragraph 1, that method shall continue to be used for those fungible goods or materials throughout the fiscal year of the person that selected the inventory management method.

Article 4.12. Accessories, Spare Parts and Tools

1. Accessories, spare parts, or tools, delivered with a good that form part of standard accessories, spare parts or tools of the good, shall be considered as originating if the good is an originating good, and shall be disregarded in determining whether all the non-originating materials used in the production of the good undergo the applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4A, provided that:
(a) the accessories, spare parts or tools are not invoiced separately from the good; and
(b) the quantities and value of the accessories, spare parts or tools are customary for the good.
2. If the good is subject to a regional value-content requirement, the value of the accessories, spare parts or tools shall be taken into account as originating or non-originating materials, as the case may be, in calculating the regional value content of the good.

Article 4.13. Packaging Materials and Containers for Retail Sale

Packaging materials and containers in which a good is packaged for retail sale shall, if classified with the good, be disregarded in determining whether all the non-originating materials used in the production of the good undergo the applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4A, and, if the good is subject to a regional value content requirement, the value of such packaging materials and containers shall be taken into account as originating or non-originating materials, as the case may be, in calculating the regional value content of the good.

Article 4.14. Packing Materials and Containers for Shipment

Packing materials and containers in which a good is packed for shipment shall be disregarded in determining whether:
(a) the non-originating materials used in the production of the good undergo an applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 4A; and
(b) the good satisfies a regional value content requirement.

Article 4.15. Direct Consignment

A good shall not be considered to be an originating good of a Party by reason of having undergone production that satisfies the requirements of Article 4.2, if, subsequent to that production:
(a) the good is not transported directly to the territory of the other Party; or
(b) where the good is shipped through or transshipped in the territory of a country that is not a Party under this Agreement, the importer has failed to meet the requirements stipulated in paragraph (c) of Article 5.9.

Article 4.16. Non-qualifying Operations

Notwithstanding any provision in this Chapter, a good shall not be considered to have satisfied the requirements for an originating good in Article 4.2 merely by reason of going through certain operations or processes including, inter alia, the following :
(a) operations to ensure the preservation of products in good condition during transport and storage (such as drying, freezing, keeping in brine) and other similar operations;
(b) changes of packaging and breaking up and assembly of packages;
(c) affixing marks, labels and other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;
(d) disassembly;
(e) testing or calibrations;
(f) placing in bottles, cases, boxes and other simple packaging operations;
(g) simple cutting, including peeling, unshelling or unflaking, grain removing, removal of bones, crushing or squeezing, and macerating;
(h) simple mixing;
(i) simple assembly of parts to constitute a complete product;
(j) simple making-up of sets of articles;
(k) slaughter of animals;
(l) quality check or grinding;
(m) elimination of dust from broken or damaged parts, application of oil, paint for rust treatment or other protecting materials;
(n) salifying or sweetening;
(o) dilution with water or with any other aqueous, ionized or salted solution;
(p) division of bulk shipment; and
(q) a combination of two or more operations referred to in paragraphs (a) through (p) , carried out in the territory of the Parties, when non-originating materials are used in those operations.

Article 4.17. Interpretation and Application

For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) the basis for tariff classification in this Chapter is the Harmonised System as amended on January 1, 2002;
(b) in applying the Customs Valuation Agreement for the determination of the origin of a good under this Chapter:
(i) the principles of the Customs Valuation Agreement shall apply to domestic transactions, with such modifications as may be required by the circumstances, as would apply to international transactions;
(ii) the provisions of this Chapter shall take precedence over the Customs Valuation Agreement to the extent of any difference; and
(iii) the definitions in Article 4.1 shall take precedence over the definitions in the Customs Valuation Agreement to the extent of any difference; and
(c) all costs referred to in this Chapter shall be recorded and maintained i n accordance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles applic able in the territory of the Party in which the good is produced.

Article 4.18. Consultations and Modifications

1. The Parties shall consult and co-operate to ensure that this Chapter is applied in an effective and uniform manner.
2. The Parties shall consult to review the rules of origin and discuss necessary amendments to this Chapter and its Annexes, as provided in Article 22.1 or upon the request of a Party, taking into account developments in technology, production processes, and other related matters including the recommended amendments to the Harmonized System.

Chapter 5. Customs Procedures

Article 5.1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:
certificate of origin means respective forms used for purposes of claiming preferential tariff treatment in the importing Party, certifying that an exported good qualifies as an originating good in accordance with Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin), on the basis of documentary evidence or reliable information;
certification body means a body referred to in Annex 5A;
customs administration means the competent authority that is responsible under the law of a Party for the administration of customs laws and regulations;
exporter means a person located in the territory of a Party from where a good is exported by such a person;
importer means a person located in the territory of a Party where a good is imported by such a person;
identical goods means "identical goods" as defined in the Customs Valuation Agreement;
producer is as defined in Article 4.1;
production is as defined in Article 4.1;
Cost and Production Statement means a declaration made by the producer, in the calculation of the regional value content, the HS tariff classifications of the product and its non-originating material used, to determine the originating status of the good. The declaration should be signed by a designated authority, generally the managing director or accountant of the company. The declaration may be made by the importer or exporter, if he or she has pertinent information to the production of the good. Notwithstanding the above, the producer shall not be required to provide the information to the importer or the exporter;
value means value of a good or material for purposes of calculating customs duties or for purposes of applying Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin);
Declaration for Preference means an application for claiming preferential tariff treatment declared, on the basis of a certificate of origin or any other documentary evidence of origin, by an importer to the customs administration as part of the import application that an imported good qualifies as an originating good in accordance with Chapter 4.

Article 5.2. Certificate of Origin

1. The Parties shall adopt two respective forms of the certificate of origin as set out in Annex 5B and Annex 5C, which may be revised by agreement between the Parties.
2. The respective certificate of origin, referred to in paragraph 1, shall be issued by the certification bodies of the exporting Party.
3. The issued certificate of origin shall be valid for twelve (12) months from the date of issue.
4. Each Party shall inform, through its customs administration, the other Party of the names and addresses of the authorised signatories issuing this certificate of origin and shall provide specimen impressions of signatures and official seals used by such signatories. Any change in names, addresses, signatures or official seals shall be promptly notified to the other Party.
5. Each Party shall:
(a) require an exporter in its territory to complete and sign an application for certificate of origin for any good which an importer may claim preferential tariff treatment on importation of the good into the territory of the other Party; and (b) provide that where an exporter in its territory is not the producer of the good, the exporter may complete and sign an application for a certificate of origin on the basis of:
(i) the exporter's knowledge that the good qualifies as an originating good; or
(ii) the exporter's reasonable reliance on the producer's written representation that the good qualifies as an originating good.
6. The certificate of origin shall be issued in the English language.
7. Each Party shall provide that a certificate of origin that has been issued by authorised body designated by each Party is applicable to a single importation of a good into its territory.
8. In cases where a certificate of origin has not been issued at the time of exportation or soon thereafter due to involuntary errors or omissions or other valid causes, the certificate of origin may be issued retrospectively but not later than one year from the date of shipment.

Article 5.3. Claims for Preferential Treatment

1. Each Party shall require an importer in its territory that claims preferential tariff treatment for a good imported into its territory from the territory of the other Party to:
(a) make a declaration for preference as part of the import application prescribed by its legislation, based on importer's knowledge or information including a valid certificate of origin, that the good qualifies as an originating good;
(b) submit the certificate of origin or other documentary evidence of origin at the time of the declaration referred to in subparagraph (a), to its customs administration upon request; and
(c) promptly make a corrected declaration and pay any duties owing, where the importer has reason to believe that a certificate of origin on which a declaration was based contains information that is incorrect.
2. Each Party shall provide that the importing Party applies preferential tariff treatment only in cases where an importer proves the accuracy of origin of the imported goods through documentary evidence or any other relevant information in accordance with its laws and regulations.
3. A Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to an imported good if the importer fails to comply with requirements of this Chapter.
4. The importing Party shall grant preferential tariff treatment to goods imported after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, in cases where the importer does not have the certificate of origin or other documentary evidence of origin at the time of importation, provided that:
(a) the importer had, at the time of importation, indicated to the customs administration of the importing Party his intention to claim preferential tariff treatment; and
(b) the certificate of origin or other documentary evidence of origin is submitted to its customs administration within such period from the date of payment of customs duties in accordance with the domestic laws and regulations in the importing Party.

Article 5.4. Obligations Relating to Exportations

1. Each Party shall provide that an exporter or a producer in its territory shall submit a copy of the certificate of origin or other documentary evidence of origin to its customs administration upon request.
2. Each Party shall provide that a false statement by an exporter or a producer in its territory that a good to be exported to the territory of the other Party qualifies as an originating good shall be penalised for a contravention of its customs laws and regulations regarding the making of a false statement or representation. Furthermore, each Party may apply such measures as the circumstances may warrant where an exporter or a producer in its territory fails to comply with any requirement of this Chapter.

Article 5.5. Record Keeping Requirement

1. Each Party shall provide that an exporter and a producer in its territory that has obtained a certificate of origin shall maintain in its territory, for five (5) years after the date on which the certificate of origin was issued or for such longer period as the Party may specify, all records relating to the origin of a good for which preferential tariff treatment was claimed in the territory of the other Party, including records associated with:
(a) the purchase of, cost of, value of, shipping of, and payment for, the good that is exported from its territory;
(b) the sourcing of, the purchase of, cost of, value of, and payment for, all materials, including neutral elements, used in the production of the good that is exported from its territory; and
(c) the production of the good in the form in which the good is exported from its territory.
2. Each Party shall provide that an importer claiming preferential tariff treatment for a good imported into the Party's territory shall maintain in that territory, for five (5) years after the date of importation of the good or for such longer period as the Party may specify, such documentation, including a copy of the certificate of origin, as the Party may require relating to the importation of the good. 3. The records to be maintained in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 shall include electronic records and shall be maintained in accordance with the domestic laws and practices of each Party.

Article 5.6. Waiver of Certificate of Origin

1. Notwithstanding paragraph 1(b) of Article 5.3, a certificate of origin shall not be required for:
(a) an importation of a good whose aggregate customs value does not exceed USD 1,000 or its equivalent amount in the Party's currency, or such higher amount as it may establish; or
(b) an importation of a good into the territory of the importing Party, for which the importing Party has waived the requirement for a certificate of origin in accordance with its domestic laws and practices; provided that the importation does not form part of one or more importations that may reasonably be considered to have been undertaken or arranged for the purpose of avoiding the certification requirements of Articles 5.2 and 5.3.
2. The importing Party may request the importer in paragraph 1 to provide relevant documents to certify that the good qualifies as an originating good.

Article 5.7. Verifications for Preferential Tariff Treatment

1. For the purposes of determining whether a good imported into its territory from the territory of the other Party is eligible for preferential tariff treatment, the importing Party may, through its customs administration, conduct a verification, which may be in sequence, by means of:
(a) request for a certificate of origin from the importer;
(b) request for Cost and Production Statement and information from the importer for cases where the importer is able to prepare it on the basis of the importer's own documentary evidence or information;
(c) request for Cost and Production Statement and information from an exporter or a producer in the territory of the other Party through the other Party's customs administration;
(d) visit to the premises of an exporter or a producer in the territory of the other Party to review the records referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 5.5 and observe the facilities used in the production of the good, or to that effect any facilities used in the production of the materials; or
(e) such other procedure as the Parties may agree to.
2. The importer, exporter or producer that receives a written request pursuant to subparagraphs (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph 1 shall answer and return it within a period of thirty (30) days from the date on which it was received. During this period, the importer, exporter or producer may have one opportunity to make a written request to the Party conducting the verification for an extension of the answering period, for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days.
3. In the case where the importer, exporter, or producer does not return the written request for information made by the importing Party within the given period or its extension, or that the information provided is false or incomplete, the Party may deny preferential tariff treatment.
4. Prior to conducting a verification visit pursuant to subparagraph 1(d), a Party shall, through its customs administration:
(a) deliver a written notification of its intention to conduct the visit to:
(i) the exporter or producer whose premises are to be visited; and
(ii) the customs administration of the other Party; and
(b) obtain the written consent of the exporter or producer whose premises are to be visited.
5. Where an exporter or producer has not given its written consent to a proposed verification visit within thirty (30) days from the receipt of notification pursuant to paragraph 4, the notifying Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to the relevant good.
6. Each Party shall provide that, upon receipt of notification pursuant to paragraph 4, such an exporter or producer may, within fifteen (15) days of receiving the notification, have one opportunity to request to the Party conducting the verification for a postponement of the proposed verification visit, for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days. This extension shall be notified to the customs administration of the importing and exporting Parties.
7. A Party shall not deny preferential tariff treatment to a good solely because a verification visit was postponed pursuant to paragraph 6.
8. After the conclusion of a verification visit, the Party conducting the verification, shall provide the exporter or producer whose good was verified, with a written determination of whether the good is eligible for preferential tariff treatment, based on the relevant law and findings of fact.
9. Where verifications by a Party show that an exporter or producer repeatedly makes false or unsupported representations that a good imported into the Party's territory qualifies as an originating good, the Party may suspend the preferential tariff treatment to be accorded to subsequent shipment of identical good exported or produced by such a person until that person establishes that the shipment complies with Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin), in accordance with its domestic laws, regulations or practices. The importing Party shall inform the customs administration of the exporting Party on the evidence and details of the suspension made.

Article 5.8. Advance Rulings

1. Prior to the importation of a good into its territory, each Party, through its customs administration, shall provide for the issuance of written advance rulings to an importer of the good in its territory or to an exporter or producer of the good in the other Party's territory concerning tariff classification, questions arising from the application of the Customs Valuation Agreement and country of origin so as to determine whether the good qualifies as an originating good.
2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain procedures for the issuance of advance rulings, including:
(a) the provision that an importer or its agent in its territory or an exporter or producer or their agent in the territory of the other Party may request such a ruling prior to the importation in question;
(b) a detailed description of the information required to process a request for an advance ruling; and
(c) the provision that the advance ruling be based on the facts and circumstances presented by the person requesting the ruling.
3. Each Party shall provide that its customs administrations:
(a) may request, at any time during the course of evaluating an application for an advance ruling, additional information necessary to evaluate the application;
(b) shall issue the advance ruling expeditiously, and in any case within ninety (90) days of obtaining all necessary information; and (c) shall provide, upon request of the person who requested the advance ruling, a full explanation of the reasons for the ruling.
4. The importing Party may modify or revoke the issued ruling:
(a) if the ruling was based on an error of fact;
(b) if there is a change in the material facts or circumstances on which the ruling was based;
(c) to conform with an amendment to this Agreement; or
(d) to conform with a judicial or administration decision or a change in its domestic laws and regulations.
5. Each Party shall provide that any modification or revocation of an advance ruling is effective on the date on which the modification or revocation is issued, or on such a later date as may be specified therein, and shall not be applied to importations of a good that have occurred prior to that date, unless the person to whom the advance ruling was issued has not acted in accordance with its terms and conditions.
6. Notwithstanding paragraph 5, the issuing Party shall postpone the effective date of such modification or revocation for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days where the person to whom the advance ruling was issued demonstrates that it has relied in good faith to its detriment on that ruling.
7. Each Party shall provide that where it issues an advance ruling to a person that has misrepresented or omitted material facts or circumstances or failed to act in accordance with the terms and conditions of the ruling, the Party may impose penalties or deny the preferential tariff treatment as the circumstances may warrant.
8. A good that is subject to an origin verification process or any instance of review or appeal in the territory of one of the Parties may not be the subject of an advance ruling.
9. Subject to paragraph 10, each Party shall apply an advance ruling to importations into its territory of the relevant good from the date of its issuance or from such later date as may be specified in the ruling.
10. The importing Party shall apply the advance ruling for three (3) years from the date of issuance of the ruling.

Article 5.9. Denial of Preferential Tariff Treatment

Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, each Party may, notwithstanding the requirements of Articles 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6 and 5.7 and any other legal requirements imposed under its law have been satisfied, deny the applicable preferential tariff treatment to an originating good imported into its territory:
(a) if the declared origin of the imported good is not supported by documentary evidence presented by an importer in its territory, or an exporter or a producer in the territory of the other Party;
(b) if an exporter or a producer in the territory of the other Party does not allow the customs administration of the importing Party access to information required to make a determination of whether the goods or the materials is originating by the following or other means:
(i) denial of access to its records and/or documents;
(ii) failure to respond to a cost and production statement or information requested; or
(iii) failure to maintain records or documentation relevant to determine the origin of the good in accordance with the requirement of this Chapter;
(c) if, where the good is shipped through or transshipped in the territory of a country that is not a Party under this Agreement, the importer of the good does not provide, on the request of that Party's customs administration:
(i) a copy of the customs control documents that indicate, to the satisfaction of the importing Party's customs administration, that the goods remained under customs control while in the territory of such non-Parties;
(ii) any other information given by the customs administration of such non-Parties or other relevant entities, which evidences that they have not undergone, in such non-Parties, operation other than unloading, reloading, crating, packing, repacking or any other operation necessary to keep them in good condition; or
(iii) any other information or commercial documents given by the importer which evidence that they have not undergone, in such non-Parties, operation other than unloading, reloading, crating, packing, repacking or any other operation necessary to keep them in good condition; or
(d) if, within thirty (30) days after the request of the customs administration of the importing Party, the producer, exporter or importer of a good, which has undergone processes of production or operation outside the territory of a Party, fails to submit all the necessary documentary evidence to prove that the good satisfies all the requirements set out in Article 4.4, including that has been obtained from the performer of the processes of production or operation outside the territory of the Party. Notwithstanding the above, the producer, exporter or importer of a good may have one opportunity to make a written request to the customs administration of the importing Party for an extension of the submission period, for a period not exceeding thirty (30) days.

Article 5.10. Temporary Admission and Goods In Transit

1. Each Party shall continue to facilitate the procedures for the temporary admission of goods traded between the Parties in accordance with the Customs Convention on the A.T.A. Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods.
2. Each Party shall continue to facilitate customs clearance of goods in transit from or to the territory of the other Party.

Article 5.11. Review and Appeal

1. Each Party shall grant substantially the same rights of review and appeal of determinations of origin and advance rulings by its customs administration, as it provides to importers in its territory, to any person:
(a) who has obtained a certificate of origin or completed a cost and production statement for a good that has been the subject of a determination of origin under this Chapter; or
(b) who has received an advance ruling pursuant to Article 5.8.
2. Each Party shall provide that the rights of review and appeal referred to in paragraph 1 shall include access to:
(a) at least one level of administrative review5-1 independent of the official or 5-1 For Singapore, the level of administrative review may include the Ministry supervising the Customs administration. office responsible for the determination under review; and
(b) in accordance with its domestic law, judicial or quasi-judicial review of the determination or decision taken at the final level of administrative review5-2 .

Article 5.12. Penalties

Each Party shall maintain measures imposing criminal or administrative penalties, whether solely or in combination, for violations of its laws and regulations relating to this Chapter.

Article 5.13. Customs Co-operation

The Parties shall co-operate through their respective customs administrations on:
(a) Verification of Origin:
(i) The Parties shall co-operate through their respective customs administrations in the origin verification process of a good, for which the customs administration of the importing Party may request the other Party's customs administrations to co-operate in this process of verification in its own territory; and
(ii) A Party may, if it considers necessary, station customs liaison officers in the local embassy to work with the host government, for information exchange pertaining to origin verification;
(b) Paperless Customs Clearance:
(i) The Parties shall, as they deem fit, simplify and streamline customs procedures through the domestic integration of customs systems with other controlling agencies, with a view to enhancing paperless customs clearance; (ii) The Parties shall endeavour to provide an electronic environment that supports business transactions between their respective customs administrations and their trading communities; and 5-2 The review of the determination or decision taken at the final level of administrative review in Singapore may take the form of a common law judicial review. (iii) The Parties shall exchange views and information on realising and promoting paperless customs clearance between their respective customs administrations and their trading communities;
(c) Risk Management:
(i) The Parties shall adopt risk management approach in its customs activities based on its identified risk of goods in order to facilitate the clearance of low risk consignments, while focusing its inspection activities on high-risk goods; and (ii) The Parties shall exchange information on risk management techniques in the performance of their customs procedures;
(d) Sharing of Best Practices and Information:
(i) The Parties may, as they deem fit, organise training programmes in customs-related issues, which should include training for customs officials as well as users that directly participate in customs procedures; and
(ii) The Parties may, as they deem fit, facilitate initiatives for the exchange of information on best practices in relation to customs procedures and matters in accordance with their respective domestic customs laws; and
(e) Transparency:
(i) Each Party shall ensure that its laws, regulations, guidelines, procedures, and administrative rulings governing customs matters are promptly published, either on the Internet or in print form;
(ii) Each Party shall designate, establish, and maintain one or more inquiry points to address inquiries from interested persons pertaining to customs matters, and shall make available on the Internet information concerning procedures for making such inquiries; and
(iii) For the purposes of certainty, nothing in this Article or in any part of this Agreement shall require any Party to publish law enforcement procedures and internal operational guidelines including those related to conducting risk analysis and targeting methodologies.

Article 5.14. Implementation of Obligations

1. The provisions in this Chapter must be implemented by the Parties by the time that this Agreement enters into force.
2. Each Party must implement all its obligations through the institution of legal or administrative changes and where necessary amend its domestic laws to support the implementation of the obligations undertaken.

Article 5.15. Customs Contact Points and Ad Hoc Customs Committee

1. Each Party shall discharge all its obligations that are undertaken in accordance with this Chapter.
2. Each Party shall designate the contact point set out in Annex 5D for all matters relating to this Chapter and Chapter 4 (Rules of Origin).
3. Upon the receipt of any matter raised by the customs administration of a Party, the customs administration of the other Party shall assign its own experts to look into the matter and to respond with its findings and proposed solution for resolving the matter within a reasonable time.
4. The Parties shall endeavour to resolve any matter raised under this Article through consultations between contact points. If the matter cannot be so resolved, the matter shall be referred to a customs committee established on an ad hoc basis pursuant to Article 22.1.

Article 5.16. Confidentiality

1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to require a Party to furnish or allow access to confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, be contrary to the public interest, or prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.
2. Each Party shall, in accordance with its domestic laws, maintain the confidentiality of information collected pursuant to this Chapter and protect it from disclosure that could prejudice the competitive position of the persons providing the information.

Article 5.17. Review

The Parties shall review the certification system agreed under this Chapter for issuing the certificate of origin at the review as provided in Article 22.1.

Chapter 6. Trade Remedies

Article 6.1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter: domestic industry means the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive products operating within the territory of a Party, or those whose collective output of the like or directly competitive products constitute a major proportion of the total domestic production of those products;
global safeguard measure means a measure applied under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards;
serious injury means a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry;
substantial cause means a cause which is important and not less than any other cause; and
threat of serious injury means serious injury that, on the basis of facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility, is clearly imminent.

Article 6.2. Anti-dumping Measures

1. The Parties maintain their rights and obligations under Article VI of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994 ("WTO Agreement on Anti-dumping").
2. Anti-dumping actions taken pursuant to Articles VI of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Anti-dumping shall not be subject to Chapter 20 (Dispute Settlement).
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the Parties shall observe the following practices in anti-dumping cases between them in order to enhance transparency in the implementation of the WTO Anti-dumping Agreement:
(a) when anti-dumping margins are established on the weighted average basis, all individual margins, whether positive or negative, should be counted toward the average; and
(b) if a decision is taken to impose an anti-dumping duty pursuant to Article 9.1 of the WTO Agreement on Anti-dumping, the Party taking such a decision, should apply the ‘lesser duty' rule, by imposing a duty which is less than the dumping margin where such lesser duty would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry.

Article 6.3. Countervailing Measures

1. The Parties maintain their rights and obligations under Article VI of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
2. Countervailing measures taken pursuant to Article VI of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures shall not be subject to Chapter 20 (Dispute Settlement).

Article 6.4. Bilateral Safeguard Measures

1. Subject to paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, if, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, an originating good of the other Party is being imported into the territory of a Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions that the imports of such originating good from the other Party constitute a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof, to a domestic industry producing a like or directly competitive good, such Party may:
(a) suspend further reduction of any rate of customs duty provided for under this Agreement for such originating good; or
(b) increase the rate of customs duty on such originating good to a level not to exceed the lesser of:
(i) the most-favoured-nation ("MFN") applied rate of duty on the good in effect at the time the action is taken; and
(ii) the MFN applied rate of duty on the good in effect on the day immediately preceding the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. A Party shall take a measure only following an investigation by that Party's competent authorities in accordance with Article 3 and paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards. To this end, Article 3 and paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards are incorporated into and made a part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis. The investigation shall in all cases be completed within one year following its date of initiation.
3. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing upon initiation of an investigation provided for in paragraph 2 and shall consult with the other Party as far in advance of taking any such measure as practicable, with a view to reviewing the information arising from the investigation, exchanging views on the measure and reaching an agreement on compensation as set out in paragraph 8. If a Party takes a provisional measure pursuant to paragraph 7, the Party shall also notify the other Party prior to taking such measure, and shall initiate consultations with the other Party immediately after such measure is taken.
4. No measure may be maintained:
(a) except to the extent and for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment; or
(b) for a period exceeding two (2) years;
except that the period may be extended by up to two (2) years if the competent authorities determine, in conformity with the procedures set out in paragraphs 1 through 3, that the measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting.
5. Where the expected duration of the measure is over one year, the Party applying such measure shall progressively liberalise it at regular intervals during the period of application.
6. Upon the termination of the measure, the rate of customs duty shall be the rate which would have been in effect but for the measure.
7. In critical circumstances, where delay would cause damage which would be difficult to repair, a Party may take a measure described in paragraph 1 on a provisional basis pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that imports from the other Party have increased as the result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, and such imports constitute a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry. The duration of such provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which time the requirements of paragraph 2 shall be met. Any tariff increases shall be promptly refunded if the investigation provided for in paragraph 2 does not result in a finding that the requirements of paragraph 1 are met. The duration of any provisional measure shall be counted as part of the period described in paragraph 4.
8. The Party applying a measure described in paragraph 1 shall provide to the other Party mutually agreed trade liberalising compensation in the form of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects or equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the measure. If the Parties are unable to agree on compensation within thirty (30) days in the consultations under paragraph 3, the Party against whose originating good the measure is applied may take action with respect to originating goods of the other Party that has trade effects substantially equivalent to the measure. The Party taking such action shall apply the action only for the minimum period necessary to achieve the substantially equivalent effects, and in any event, only while the measure under paragraph 1 is being applied.

Article 6.5. Global Safeguard Measures

1. The Parties maintain their rights and obligations under Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards.
2. Actions taken pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be subject to Chapter 20 (Dispute Settlement).

Chapter 7. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Article 7.1. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

1. The Parties shall not apply their sanitary and phytosanitary measures in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.
2. The Parties shall ensure that any sanitary and phytosanitary 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.
3. The principles set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be applied in accordance with the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures which is hereby incorporated into and made part of this Agreement.
4. To provide a means of consultation and exchange of information between the Parties on sanitary and phytosanitary matters and enable the response to queries from one Party to the other within a reasonable time, the Parties shall maintain and communicate through the following contact points7-1:
(a) for Korea, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; and
(b) for Singapore, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority. 7-1 The communications and essential information exchanged between the Parties shall be in the English language. Particulars relating to the contact points shall be exchanged at the earliest possible, after the entry into force of this Agreement. The Parties understand that the communications between the Parties can be made via fax, e-mail or any other means agreed to by the Parties.

Chapter 8. Technical Barriers to Trade and Mutual Recognition

Article 8.1. Objective

The objectives of this Chapter are to increase and facilitate trade between the Parties through:
(a) the full implementation of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade ( "WTO TBT Agreement");
(b) enhancing bilateral co-operation by deepening their mutual understanding and awareness of their respective standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment systems; and
(c) creating and improving the business climate so as to increase business opportunities.

Article 8.2. Scope and Modalities

1. This Chapter applies to standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that may directly or indirectly affect trade in goods between the Parties and/or assessments of manufacturers or manufacturing processes.
2. The Parties shall intensify their joint work in the field of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures and/or assessments of manufacturers or manufacturing processes, with a view to facilitating market access. In particular, the Parties shall seek to identify initiatives that are appropriate for particular issues or sectors. Such initiatives may include co-operation on regulatory issues, such as, alignment to international standards, reliance on supplier's declaration of conformity, and use of accreditations to qualify conformity assessment bodies.
3. In this respect, the Parties recognise that a broad range of mechanisms exists to facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results, including:
(a) agreements on mutual acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures with respect to specified regulations conducted by bodies located in the territory of the other Party;
(b) accreditation procedures for qualifying conformity assessment bodies;
(c) government designation of conformity assessment bodies;
(d) recognition by a Party of the results of conformity assessments performed in the other Party's territory;
(e) voluntary arrangements between conformity assessment bodies from each Party's territory; and
(f) the importing Party's acceptance of a supplier's declaration of conformity. To this end, the Parties shall intensify their exchanges of information on the variety of mechanisms to facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results. Any such arrangements shall be formalised in a Sectoral Annex, as appropriate.
4. In accordance with Article 2.4 of the WTO TBT Agreement, where technical regulations are required and relevant international standards exist or their completion is imminent, the Parties shall use them, or the relevant parts of such standards, as a basis for their Mandatory Requirements, except when such international standards or relevant parts of such standards would be an ineffective or inappropriate means for the legitimate objectives pursued, for instance, as a result of fundamental climatic or geographical factors or fundamental technological problems.
5. In determining whether an international standard, guide, or recommendation within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5, and Annex 3 of the WTO TBT Agreement exists, each Party shall apply the principles set out in "Section IX (Decision of the Committee on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with relation to Articles 2 and 5, and Annex 3 of the Agreement) in the Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the Committee since 1 January 1995", G/TBT/1/Rev.8, 23 May 2002 and its Revision issued by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.
6. This Chapter does not apply to sanitary and phytosanitary measures as defined in the WTO Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures which are covered by Chapter 7 (Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures).

Article 8.3. Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Chapter, all general terms concerning standards, and conformity assessment used in this Chapter shall have the meaning given in the definitions contained in the International Organisation for Standardisation/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) Guide 2:2004 "Standardization and related activities – General vocabulary" and ISO/IEC 17000:2004 "Conformity assessment – Vocabulary and general principles" published by the ISO and IEC, unless the context otherwise requires and as appropriate.

2. In addition, the following terms and definitions shall apply to this Chapter and its Sectoral Annexes unless a more specific meaning is given in the specified Sectoral Annex:
accept means the use of the results of conformity assessment procedures as a basis for regulatory actions such as approvals, licences, registrations and post-market assessments of conformity assessment;
acceptance has an equivalent meaning to accept;
certification body means a body, including product or quality systems certification bodies, that may be designated by a Party in accordance with this Chapter to conduct certification on compliance with its or the other Party's standards and/or specifications to meet relevant mandatory requirements;
confirmation means the confirmation of the compliance of the manufacturing or test facility with the criteria for confirmation by a competent authority of a Party pursuant to the mandatory requirements of the other Party;
competent authority means an authority of a Party with the power to conduct inspection or audits on facilities in its territory to confirm their compliance with mandatory requirements;
conformity assessment means any procedure concerned with determining directly or indirectly whether products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes fulfil relevant standards and/or specifications to meet relevant mandatory requirements set out in the respective Party's mandatory requirements. The typical examples of conformity assessment procedures are sampling, testing, inspection, evaluation, verification, certification, registration, accreditation and approval, or their combinations;
conformity assessment body ("CAB") means a body that conducts conformity assessment procedures;
designation means the authorisation by a Party's designating authority of its CAB to undertake specified conformity assessment procedures pursuant to the mandatory requirements of the other Party;
designate has an equivalent meaning to "designation";
Designating Authority means a body established in the territory of a Party with the authority to designate, monitor, suspend or withdraw designation of conformity assessment bodies to conduct conformity assessment procedures within its jurisdiction in accordance with the other Party's mandatory requirements;
mandatory requirements means a Party's applicable laws, regulations and administrative provisions; mutual recognition means that each Party, on the basis that it is accorded reciprocal treatment by the other Party:
(a) accepts the test reports of conformity assessment procedures of the other Party to demonstrate conformity of products and/or manufacturers/manufacturing processes with its mandatory requirements when the conformity assessment procedures are undertaken by conformity assessment bodies designated by the other Party in accordance with this Chapter, i.e., mutual recognition of test reports; or
(b) accepts the certification of results of conformity assessment procedures of the other Party to demonstrate conformity of products and/or manufacturers/manufacturing processes with its mandatory requirements when the conformity assessment procedures are undertaken by conformity assessment bodies designated by the other Party in accordance with this Chapter, i.e., mutual recognition of certification of conformity assessment;
registered conformity assessment body ("registered CAB") means a CAB registered pursuant to Article 8.5;
registration means the authorisation by a Party's Designating Authority of a CAB proposed by the other Party to undertake specified conformity assessment procedures pursuant to the Party's mandatory requirements;
Regulatory Authority means an entity that exercises a legal right to determine the mandatory requirements, control the import, use or supply of products within a Party's territory and may take enforcement action to ensure that products marketed within its territory comply with that Party's mandatory requirements including assessments of manufacturers/manufacturing processes of products;
Sectoral Annex is an Annex to this Chapter which specifies the implementation arrangements in respect of a specific product sector;
stipulated requirements means the criteria set out in a Sectoral Annex for the designation of CAB;
technical regulations shall have the same meaning as in the WTO TBT Agreement;
test facility means a facility, including independent laboratories, manufacturers' own test facilities or government testing bodies, that may be designated by one Party's Designating Authority in accordance with this Chapter to undertake tests according to the other Party's mandatory requirements; and
verification means an action to verify in the territories of the Parties, by such means as audits or inspections, compliance with the stipulated requirements for designation or criteria for confirmation by a conformity assessment body or a manufacturing or test facility respectively.

3. For the purposes of this Chapter the singular should be read to include the plural and vice-versa, when appropriate.

Article 8.4. Origin

This Chapter applies to all products and/or assessments of manufacturers or manufacturing processes of products traded between the Parties, regardless of the origin of those products, unless otherwise specified in a Sectoral Annex, or unless otherwise specified by any mandatory requirement of a Party.

Article 8.5. Mutual Recognition of Conformity Assessment

Scope
1. This Article shall apply to:
(a) mandatory requirements and/or assessments of manufacturers or manufacturing processes, maintained by the Parties to fulfill their legitimate objectives and appropriate level of protection; and
(b) the conformity assessment bodies and conformity assessment procedures for products as may be specified in the Sectoral Annexes.
2. For the purposes of this Article, a Sectoral Annex shall include inter alia:
(a) provisions on scope and coverage;
(b) applicable laws, regulations and administrative provisions, i.e., mandatory requirements of each Party concerning the scope and coverage;
(c) applicable laws, regulations and administrative provisions of each Party stipulating the requirements covered by this Article, all the conformity assessment procedures covered by this Article to satisfy such requirements and the stipulated requirements or criteria for designation of conformity assessment bodies or the confirmation of the manufacturing or test facilities covered by this Article; and
(d) the list of Designating Authorities or competent authorities. 
Obligations 
3. Each Party shall accept, in accordance with the provisions of this Article, the results of conformity assessment procedures required by the mandatory requirements of that Party specified in the relevant Sectoral Annex, including certificates and marks of conformity, that are conducted by the registered CABs of the other Party.
4. Korea shall accept the results of conformity assessment procedures to demonstrate conformity of products with its mandatory requirements when the conformity assessment procedures are undertaken by CABs designated by Singapore's Designating Authority and registered by Korea's Designating Authority in accordance with this Article.
5. Singapore shall accept the results of conformity assessment procedures to demonstrate conformity of products with its mandatory requirements when the conformity assessment procedures are undertaken by CABs designated by Korea's Designating Authority and registered by Singapore's Designating Authority in accordance with this Article.
Designating Authorities
6. For the purposes of this Article, each Party shall:
(a) unless otherwise provided in the relevant Sectoral Annex, designate a single Designating Authority to designate CABs to conduct conformity assessment procedures for products traded between the Parties, whether imports or exports;
(b) then notify the other Party of such designation and any subsequent changes thereof;
(c) notify the other Party of any scheduled changes concerning its Designating Authority; and
(d) ensure that its Designating Authority:
(i) has the necessary power to designate, monitor (including verification), withdraw the designation of, suspend the designation of, and lift the suspension of the designation of, the CABs that conduct conformity assessment procedures within its territory based upon the requirements set out in the other Party's mandatory requirements as specified in the relevant Sectoral Annex; and
(ii) consults, as necessary, with the relevant counterpart in the other Party to ensure the maintenance of confidence in conformity assessment procedures including processes. The consultations may include joint participation in audits related to conformity assessment procedures or other assessments of registered CABs, where such participation is appropriate, technically possible and within reasonable cost.
Registration of CABs
7. The following procedures shall apply to the registration of a CAB:
(a) each Party shall make a proposal that a CAB of that Party designated by its Designating Authority be registered under this Article, by presenting its proposal in writing, supported by the necessary documents, to the other Party and the TBT Joint Committee established in accordance with Article 8.7 ("TBT Joint Committee");
(b) the other Party shall consider whether the proposed CAB complies with the stipulated and mandatory requirements specified in the relevant Sectoral Annex and communicate, to the Party making the proposal and the TBT Joint Committee in writing, the other Party's position regarding the registration of that CAB along with estimated date of registration within ninety (90) days from the date of receipt of the proposal referred to in paragraph (a). In such consideration, such other Party should assume that the proposed CAB complies with the aforementioned criteria. The TBT Joint Committee shall, within ninety (90) days from the date of receipt of the position of such other Party, decide whether to register the proposed CAB. Following the TBT Joint Committee's decision, a Party's Designating Authority shall inform the other Party about the date of registration of the proposed CAB within seven (7) days from the date of receipt of the TBT Joint Committee's decision; and
(c) In the event that the TBT Joint Committee cannot decide to register the proposed CAB, the TBT Joint Committee may decide to conduct joint verification with or request the proposing Party to conduct a verification of the proposed CAB with the prior consent of the CAB. After the completion of such verification, the TBT Joint Committee may reconsider the proposal.
8. The proposing Party shall provide the following information in its proposal for registration of a CAB and keep such information up-to-date:
(a) the name and address of the CAB;
(b) the products or processes the CAB is designated to assess;
(c) the conformity assessment procedures the CAB is designated to conduct; and
(d) the designation procedure and necessary information used to determine the compliance of the CAB with the stipulated requirements for designation.
9. Each Party shall ensure that its Designating Authority withdraws the designation of its CAB registered by the Designating Authority of the other Party when its Party's Designating Authority considers that the CAB no longer complies with the stipulated and mandatory requirements of the other Party set out in the relevant Sectoral Annex. The withdrawal of the designation shall be notified in writing to the other Party and the TBT Joint Committee. Each Party shall terminate the registration of a CAB when the Designating Authority of the other Party withdraws the designation of its CAB. The date of termination of registration of the CAB shall be the date of receipt of notification for withdrawal from the other Party.
10. Each Party shall propose the termination of the registration of its CAB when that Party considers that the CAB no longer complies with the stipulated requirements and mandatory requirements of that Party specified in the relevant Sectoral Annex. Proposal for terminating the registration of that CAB shall be made to the TBT Joint Committee and the other Party in writing. The registration of that CAB shall be terminated upon receipt by the Parties of the decision of the TBT Joint Committee.
11. In the case of a registration of a new CAB, the other Party shall accept the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted by that CAB from the date of the registration. In the event that the registration of a CAB is terminated, the other Party shall accept the results of the conformity assessment procedures conducted by that CAB prior to the termination, without prejudice to paragraphs 18 and 19.
12. Each Party shall notify the other Party of any scheduled changes concerning its designated CABs.
13. The Parties shall notify the general public of the registration of CABs, on a sector-by-sector basis.
Verification and Monitoring of Conformity Assessment Bodies
14. Each Party shall ensure that its Designating Authority:
(a) shall undertake through appropriate means such as audits, inspections or monitoring, that the registered CABs designated by the Party fulfill the stipulated and mandatory requirements set out in the Sectoral Annex. When applying the stipulated requirements for designation of the CABs, the Designating Authority of a Party should take into account the bodies' understanding of and experience relevant to the mandatory requirements of the other Party;
(b) shall monitor and verify that the registered CABs designated by a Party maintain the necessary technical competence to demonstrate the conformity of a product with the standards, and/or specifications to meet the mandatory requirements of the other Party.
This may include participation in appropriate proficiency-testing programmes and other comparative reviews such as mutual recognition agreements between non-governmental entities, so that confidence in their technical competence to undertake the required conformity assessment is maintained; and
(c) shall exchange information concerning the procedures such as accreditation systems used to designate CABs and to ensure that the registered CABs designated by a Party are technically competent and comply with the relevant stipulated requirements.
15. When in doubt, a Party may request other designating Party in writing whether or not a registered CAB complies with the stipulated requirements for that Party's designation as set out in the mandatory requirements in the Sectoral Annex and/or request for a verification of the CAB to be conducted in accordance with that Party's mandatory requirements.
16. A Party may, with the prior consent of the other Party, participate at its own expense, in the verification process of the CAB conducted by the Designating Authority of the other Party, provided that there is prior consent of such CABs, in order to maintain a continuing understanding of that other Party's procedures for verification.
17. Each Party shall encourage its registered CABs to co-operate with the CABs of the other Party.
Suspension and Lifting the Suspension of Designation of Conformity Assessment Bodies
18. In case of suspension of the designation of a registered CAB, the Party, shall immediately notify the other Party and the TBT Joint Committee of the suspension. The registration of that CAB shall be suspended from the date of receipt of the decision of the TBT Joint Committee. The other Party shall accept the results of the conformity assessment procedures conducted by that CAB prior to the suspension of the designation.
19. In the case of lifting of suspension of the designation of a registered CAB, the Party shall immediately notify the other Party and the TBT Joint Committee of the lifting of suspension. The lifting of suspension of the registration of that CAB shall be effective from the date of the receipt of the decision of the TBT Joint Committee. The other Party shall accept the results of the conformity assessment procedures conducted by that CAB from the date of lifting of the suspension of the registration.
Challenge
20. Each Party shall have the right to challenge a registered CAB's technical competence and compliance with the relevant stipulated requirements specified in the Sectoral Annex. This right shall be exercised only in exceptional circumstances and when supported by relevant expert analysis and/or evidence. A Party shall exercise this right by notifying the other Party and the TBT Joint Committee in writing.
21. Except in urgent circumstances, the Party shall, prior to a challenge exercised under paragraph 20, enter into consultations with the other Party with a view to seeking a mutually satisfactory solution. In urgent circumstances, consultations shall take place immediately after the right to challenge has been exercised. In all cases, consultations shall be conducted with a view to resolving all issues and seeking a mutually satisfactory solution within twenty (20) days or as specified in the relevant Sectoral Annex. If this is not achieved, the TBT Joint Committee shall be convened to resolve the matter.
22. Unless the TBT Joint Committee decides otherwise, the registration of the challenged CAB shall be suspended by the relevant Designating Authority for the relevant scope of designation from the date when its technical competence or compliance is challenged, until either:
(a) the challenging Party is satisfied as to the competence and compliance of the CAB; or
(b) the designation of that CAB has been withdrawn.
23. The Sectoral Annex may provide for additional procedures such as verification and time limits to be followed in relation to a challenge. This may involve the TBT Joint Committee being activated. Where the TBT Joint Committee decides to conduct a joint verification, it shall be conducted in a timely manner by the Parties with the participation of the Designating Authority that designated the challenged CAB and with the prior consent of the CAB. The result of such joint verification shall be discussed in the TBT Joint Committee with a view to resolving the issue within twenty (20) days or the time limit specified in the Sectoral Annex.
24. The results of conformity assessment procedures undertaken by a challenged CAB on or before the date of its suspension or withdrawal shall remain valid for acceptance for the purposes of paragraphs 4 and 5.

Article 8.6. Confidentiality

1. A Party shall not be required to disclose confidential proprietary information to the other Party except where such disclosure would be necessary for the other Party to demonstrate the technical competence of its designated CAB and conformity with the relevant stipulated requirements.
2. A Party shall, in accordance with its applicable laws and regulations, protect the confidentiality of any proprietary information disclosed to it in connection with conformity assessment procedures and/or designation activities.
3. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require either Party to furnish or allow access to information the disclosure of which it considers would:
(a) be contrary to its essential security interests;
(b) be contrary to the public interest as determined by its domestic laws, regulations and administrative provisions;
(c) be contrary to any of its domestic laws, regulations and administrative provisions including but not limited to those protecting personal privacy or the financial affairs and accounts of individual customers of financial institutions;
(d) impede law enforcement; or
(e) prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular public or private enterprises.

Article 8.7. TBT Joint Committee

1. A TBT Joint Committee shall be established on the date of entry into force of this Agreement and it shall be responsible for the effective implementation of this Chapter.
2. The TBT Joint Committee shall be led by co-chairs from both Parties. The co-chairs shall be the initial contact point for the exchange of information. For this purpose, the Parties shall, through the co-chairs:
(a) broaden their exchange of information;
(b) notify any change in their mandatory requirements in accordance with their WTO obligations; and
(c) give favourable consideration to any written request for consultation. Each Party shall respond to a written request for information from the other Party in print or electronically without undue delay, and in any case within fifteen (15) days from the date of the request, at no cost or at reasonable cost.
3. The TBT Joint Committee shall comprise representatives from both Parties.
4. The TBT Joint Committee shall make decisions and adopt recommendations by consensus. The TBT Joint Committee shall meet, under the co-chairmanship of both Parties, when necessary to discharge its function, including upon the request of either Party.
5. The TBT Joint Committee shall:
(a) be responsible for administering and facilitating the effective functioning of this Chapter and applicable Sectoral Annex(es), including:
(i) facilitating the extension of this Chapter, such as the addition of new Sectoral Annexes or an increase in the scope of existing Sectoral Annexes;
(ii) resolving any questions or disputes relating to the interpretation or application of this Chapter and applicable Sectoral Annex(es);
(iii) deciding on the registration of a CAB, suspension of registration of a CAB, lifting of suspension of registration of a CAB, and termination of registration of a CAB with reference to Article 8.5;
(iv) maintaining, unless the TBT Joint Committee decides otherwise, a list of registered CABs on a sector-by-sector basis; (v) establishing appropriate modalities of information exchange referred to in this Chapter;
(vi) appointing experts from each Party for joint verification referred to in paragraph 16 of Article 8.5;
(vii) discharging such other functions as provided for in this Chapter; and (viii) where appropriate, develop a work programme and mechanisms for cooperation in the areas of technical issues of mutual interest; and (b) determine its own operational procedures.
6. In case a problem is not resolved through the TBT Joint Committee, the Parties shall have final recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 20 (Dispute Settlement).
7. The TBT Joint Committee may, where necessary, establish ad hoc groups to undertake specific tasks relating to this Chapter.
8. Any decision made by the TBT Joint Committee shall be notified promptly in writing to each Party.
9. Each Party shall, as applicable, bring into effect the relevant decisions of the TBT Joint Committee.

Article 8.8. Preservation of Regulatory Authority

1. Each Party retains all authority under its laws to interpret and implement its mandatory requirements.
2. This Chapter shall not:
(a) prevent a Party from adopting or maintaining, in accordance with its international rights and obligations, mandatory requirements, as appropriate to its particular national circumstances;
(b) prevent a Party from adopting mandatory requirements to determine the level of protection it considers necessary to ensure the quality of its imports, or for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health, or the environment, or for the prevention of deceptive practices or to fulfil other legitimate objectives, at the levels it considers appropriate;
(c) limit the authority of a Party to take all appropriate measures whenever it ascertains that products may not conform to its mandatory requirements. Such measures may include withdrawing the products from the market, prohibiting their placement on the market, restricting their free movement, initiating a product recall, initiating legal proceedings or otherwise preventing the recurrence of such problems including through a prohibition on imports. If a Party takes such measures, it shall notify the other Party and the TBT Joint Committee, within fifteen (15) days of taking the measures, giving its reasons;
(d) oblige a Party to accept the standards or technical regulations or mandatory requirements of the other Party;
(e) entail an obligation upon a Party to accept the results of the conformity assessment procedures and/or assessment of manufacturers or manufacturing processes of products and their mandatory requirements of any third country save where there is an expressed agreement between the Parties to do so; and
(f) be construed so as to affect the rights and obligations of either Party as a member of the WTO TBT Agreement.

Article 8.9. Territorial Application

This Chapter shall apply to the territory of Korea and to the territory of Singapore.

Article 8.10. Language

1. Written communication between the Parties including between the TBT Joint Committee's co-chairs shall be in English.
2. A Party shall make every endeavour to provide, in English and in a timely manner, information on mandatory requirements and other information or documents such as certificates, documentary evidence etc., necessary for the implementation of this Chapter and its Sectoral Annex(es).
3. The TBT Joint Committee meetings shall be conducted in English.
4. The decisions and records of the TBT Joint Committee shall be drawn up in English.

Article 8.11. Sectoral Annexes

1. The Parties shall conclude, as appropriate, Sectoral Annexes which shall provide the implementing arrangements for this Chapter.
2. The Parties shall:
(a) specify and communicate to each other the applicable articles or annexes contained in the mandatory requirements set out in the Sectoral Annexes;
(b) exchange information concerning the implementation of the mandatory requirements specified in the Sectoral Annexes;
(c) notify each other of any scheduled changes in its mandatory requirements whenever they are made; and
(d) notify each other of any scheduled changes concerning their Designating Authorities and the registered CABs.
3. A Sectoral Annex shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the Parties have exchange notes confirming the completion of their respective (domestic legal) procedures for the entry into force of that Sectoral Annex.
4. A Party may terminate a Sectoral Annex in its entirety by giving the other Party six (6) months' advance notice in writing unless otherwise stated in the relevant Sectoral Annex. However, a Party shall continue to accept the results of conformity assessment for the duration of the six-month notice period.
5. Where urgent problems of safety, health, consumer or environment protection or national security arise or threaten to arise for a Party, that Party may suspend the operation of any Sectoral Annex, in whole or in part, immediately. In such a case, the Party shall immediately advise the other Party of the nature of the urgent problem, the products covered and the objective and rationale of the suspension.
6. If a Party introduces new or additional conformity assessment procedures with the same product coverage to satisfy the requirements set out in the mandatory requirements specified in the Sectoral Annex, the Sectoral Annex shall be amended to set out the applicable laws, regulations and administrative provisions stipulating such new or additional conformity assessment procedures.
7. In case of conflict between the provisions of a Sectoral Annex and this Chapter, the provisions of the Sectoral Annex shall prevail.

Chapter 9. Cross-border Trade In Services

Article 9.1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:
cross-border provision of services or cross-border trade in services means the provision of a service:
(a) from the territory of a Party into the territory of the other Party;
(b) in the territory of a Party by a person of that Party to a person of the other Party; or
(c) by a national of a Party in the territory of the other Party; but does not include the provision of a service in the territory of a Party by an investment as defined in Article 10.1;
financial services is as defined in Chapter 12 (Financial Services);
professional services means services, the provision of which requires specialised postsecondary education, or equivalent training or experience, and for which the right to practice is granted or restricted by a Party, but does not include services provided by trades-persons or vessel and aircraft crew members; and service provider of a Party means a person of a Party that seeks to provide or provides a service (9-1).