a) Interested parties to the investigation shall send copies of each of the public reports, documents and exhibits or non-confidential summaries to the other interested parties on the same day they are submitted to the investigating authority, and
b) The competent authority shall implement mechanisms that allow the interested parties to become aware of the existence of such proceedings within two (2) working days of their filing and shall have agile and brief mechanisms that allow access to them when the notified interested parties so require.
2. In accordance with the provisions of the legislation of each Party, timely access shall be given to the information contained in the administrative record of an investigation under the terms of this Chapter. The following shall not be given access to information whose disclosure could result in substantial and irreversible economic or financial harm to the owner of such information, as well as to governmental information required by law and other public policy provisions and information contained in internal communications of the investigating authority, of the investigating authority with other governmental entities or government-to-government communications of a confidential nature.
Article 7-16. Confidential Information.
1. For the purposes of investigations, the following information shall be considered confidential information, if it is submitted by the interested parties, because its disclosure or dissemination to the public may cause damage to their competitive position:
a) the production processes of the merchandise in question;
b) production costs and the identity of the components;
c) distribution costs;
d) the terms and conditions of sale, except those offered to the public;
e) sales prices per transaction and per product, except for price components such as dates of sales and distribution of the product, as well as transportation if based on public itineraries;
f} description of the type of individual customers, distributors or suppliers;
g) if applicable, the exact amount of the dumping margin on individual sales;
h) the amounts of adjustments for terms and conditions of sale, volume or quantities, variable costs and tax burdens proposed by the interested party; and
i) any other information specific to the company in question.
2. The competent authority shall establish or maintain procedures for the handling of confidential information supplied in the course of the proceeding, and shall require the interested parties supplying such information to provide non-confidential written summaries thereof or, where appropriate, the reasons for their failure to do so. If the interested parties do not submit such summaries, the competent authority may disregard such information unless it is convincingly demonstrated to them, from an appropriate source, that the information is correct.
Article 7-17. Transparency.
In order to provide transparency in the investigation procedures and to ensure a full and ample opportunity for interested parties to defend their interests, the Parties shall endeavor to reform their domestic legislation on unfair trade practices to the extent possible in order to have the following mechanisms in place:
a) a mechanism that provides timely access for representatives of interested parties during the procedure to all information contained in the administrative record, including confidential information, provided that the requirements established by domestic legislation are met;
b) a confidentiality undertaking to which the representatives of the parties concerned will be bound, strictly prohibiting the use of the information for personal gain and its dissemination to persons who are not authorized to know it; and
c) specific sanctions for breaches of commitments adopted by stakeholder representatives.
Article 7-18. Establishment of Countervailing Duties.
No Party shall impose a preliminary countervailing duty until 90 working days after the date of publication of the initial determination in its respective official publication.
Article 7-19. New Exporter Procedure.
1. If a product is subject to definitive countervailing duties in the territory of an importing Party, exporters or producers in the exporting country that have not exported that product to the importing Party during the period of investigation and demonstrate that they are not related to any of the exporters or producers subject to countervailing duties for reasons other than a refusal to cooperate, may request the investigating authority to conduct a new exporter review for a determination of an individual margin of dumping or the amount of subsidization.
2. The new exporter proceeding shall be initiated at the request of a party and shall be concluded within a maximum period of 6 (six} months from the publication of the public notice of initiation. During the review, no countervailing duties shall be levied on imports from such exporters or producers. Nevertheless, the competent authority may suspend the customs valuation and/or request guarantees to ensure that, should such a review lead to an affirmative determination of dumping or of the amount of the subsidy and that the exporter benefited from the subsidy, countervailing duties may be levied retroactively from the date of the initiation of the review.
3. The investigating authority shall only issue an initiation and a final determination. The review shall only include the analysis of the individual margin of dumping that corresponds, or the amount of the subsidy and that the exporter benefited from the subsidy. The applicant for the proceeding shall demonstrate that the volume of exports to the territory of the importing Party during the review period is representative. The information submitted by the new exporter or producer may be subject to verification by the investigating authority.
Article 7-20. Imports from Third Countries.
1. If a Party considers that the other Party is importing from third markets under conditions of dumping or subsidies that affect its exports, it may request consultations, through the Commission, in order to know the actual conditions of entry of such goods, so that the consulting Party may evaluate the advisability of requesting the initiation of an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation against the third country.
2. The consulted Party shall give adequate consideration and response within a period not to exceed 15 working days. The consultations shall be held in the place agreed upon by the Parties and both their development and conclusions shall be made known to the Commission.
Article 7-21. Clarification Procedure.
Once a preliminary or definitive countervailing duty has been imposed, the interested parties may request the authority that issued the act to resolve whether a certain good is subject to the measure imposed, or to clarify any aspect of the resolution provided.
Article 7-22. Reimbursement or Reimbursement.
If in the final determination a decrease or revocation of an antidumping duty is determined or as a result of the final decision of an arbitration panel or a national court, issued in accordance with Chapter XVIII (Dispute Settlement), it is declared that the application of an antidumping duty by a Party is incompatible with the provisions on the matter, the importing Party shall cease to apply or shall adjust the antidumping duty in question to the respective goods of the complaining Party. In the event that the application of the countervailing duty ceases or the adjustment of the countervailing duty proceeds, the difference or the total amount collected for such concept, as the case may be, shall be promptly reimbursed, together with the corresponding fiscal interest, or the guarantees that have been presented shall be released, within a maximum period of 60 days from the publication of the resolution by which the countervailing duty is reduced or revoked.
Annex 7-01. Competent Authority
For the purposes of this chapter, the term "competent investigating authority" shall mean:
a) in the case of Mexico, the Ministry of Economy, or its successor; and
b) in the case of Uruguay, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, or its successor.
Annex 7-01.1. Official media outlets
For the purposes of this chapter, the term "official organs of diffusion" shall be understood as "official organs of diffusion":
a) In the case of Mexico, Diario Oficial de la Federación; and
b) In the case of Uruguay, Diario Oficial de la República Oriental del Uruguay.
Chapter VIII. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Article 8-01. General Provisions.
1. The objective of this chapter is to facilitate trade in agricultural goods, fish, fishery products and forestry products originating in the Parties, and therefore establishes provisions based on the principles and disciplines of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization.
2. For the purposes of this chapter, the term "SPS Agreement" means the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which is part of the WTO Agreement.
3. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to comply with their rights and obligations under the SPS Agreement and the provisions of the Agreement with respect to the adoption and application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures that regulate or may directly and indirectly affect trade in animals, plants, their products and by-products.
Article 8-02. Rights and Obligations of the Parties.
1. The Parties shall adopt, maintain or apply their sanitary and phytosanitary measures only to the extent necessary to achieve their appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection, taking into account technical and economic feasibility.
2. Parties may apply or maintain sanitary or phytosanitary measures that provide a higher level of protection than would be achieved by a measure based on an international standard, guideline or recommendation, provided that there is scientific justification for doing so.
3. Sanitary or phytosanitary measures shall not constitute a disguised restriction on trade or have the purpose or effect of creating unnecessary barriers to trade between the Parties.
Article 8-03. Equivalence.
1. Each Party shall accept as equivalent the sanitary or phytosanitary measures of the other Party, even if they differ from its own, provided that it is demonstrated that they achieve the importing Party's appropriate level of protection.
2. The Parties shall consult on the recognition of equivalence of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, considering the standards, guidelines and recommendations established by the competent international organizations and the decisions adopted by the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO on the matter; to this end, they shall facilitate access to their territories, at the request of a Party, for inspections, tests and other relevant procedures.
Article 8-04. Risk Assessment.
1. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures shall be based on an assessment appropriate to the circumstances of the risks to human, animal or plant life or health, taking into account relevant standards, guidelines and recommendations developed by relevant international organizations.
2. In establishing their appropriate level of protection, they shall take into account the objective of minimizing negative effects on trade and shall avoid making arbitrary or unjustifiable distinctions in the levels they consider appropriate in different situations, if such distinctions result in discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade.
3. The Parties agree to the following procedure for expediting the sanitary risk assessment process:
a) the exporting Party shall submit, by means of a technical dossier, to the importing Party, the information necessary to carry out the risk assessment;
b) the importing Party, within a term of no more than two (2) months, shall analyze the technical file and shall proceed to issue the observations it considers pertinent or propose the date for the verification visit. In the first case, the exporting Party shall respond to the observations of the importing Party by sending, if applicable, the updated technical file to the importing Party, which shall propose the date for the inspection and verification visit within a term not to exceed one month;
c) the official technician or technicians of the importing Party shall carry out the technical visit of inspection and verification, in coordination with the sanitary authorities of the exporting Party. The importing Party, in a term no longer than 3 (three) months, shall send the corresponding report and the opinion with the result of the risk evaluation. Said term shall include the analysis and processing of necessary additional information requested by the importing Party;
d) the financing of the inspection and verification visit shall be the responsibility of the interested parties of the exporting Party;
e) the importing Party undertakes to modify its sanitary regulations and to establish the conditions to be included in the corresponding sanitary certificates, within a period of no more than three (3) months from the date of issuance of the favorable opinion; and
f) This procedure may be modified by mutual agreement of the Parties within the Committee, established in Article 8-10, and shall be recorded in writing and shall indicate the entry into force of the modified procedure.
4. For the purposes of the phytosanitary risk assessment, the Parties agree that, once the exporting Party has submitted to the importing Party the information necessary to carry out such assessment, both Parties shall agree on a deadline for the completion of such assessment. Upon completion of the risk assessment, the importing Party shall establish, maintain or modify, as appropriate, its phytosanitary measures based on the results of the risk assessment, immediately notifying the exporting Party, without prejudice to the provisions of Annex B of the SPS Agreement.
Article 8-05. Recognition of Pest or Disease Free Areas.
1. The Parties shall recognize pest-free and disease-free areas in accordance with Article 6 of the SPS Agreement.
2. The Parties shall establish agreements on specific requirements, compliance with which will allow a commodity produced in a pest-free or disease-free area of the territory of the exporting Party to be introduced into the territory of the importing Party if it achieves the level of protection required by the importing Party.
3. With regard to animal health, the Parties agree on the following procedure to expedite the process of recognizing disease-free zones or regions, which will, in tum, facilitate bilateral trade in agricultural products:
a) the exporting Party shall request in writing to the importing Party the recognition of a disease free zone or region, sending the technical dossier that confirms compliance with the requirements established in the applicable international standards in force at the time, which shall include the official declaration of the disease free zone or region;
b) the importing Party, within a term of no more than 2 (two} months, shall analyze the technical file and shall proceed to issue the observations that it considers pertinent or propose the date for the verification visit to the proposed zone or region. In the first case, the exporting Party shall reply to the observations of the importing Party, sending, if applicable, the updated technical file to the importing Party, who shall propose the date of the inspection visit within a term not exceeding one month;
c) the official technician or technicians of the importing Party shall carry out the technical verification visit, in coordination with the animal health authorities of the exporting Party. The importing Party, within a term no longer than three months, shall send the corresponding report and the opinion with the result of the evaluation. Said term shall include the analysis and processing of the necessary complementary information that may have been requested by the importing Party;
d) The financing of the verification visit shall be the responsibility of the interested parties of the exporting Party;
e) the importing Party undertakes to modify its animal health regulations and to establish the conditions to be included in the corresponding animal health certificates, within a period not exceeding three months from the issuance of the favorable opinion, in order to eliminate the restrictions inherent to the disease from which the recognized zone or region is free; and
f) This procedure may be modified by mutual agreement of the Parties within the Committee, established in Article 8-10, and shall be recorded in writing and shall indicate the entry into force of the modified procedure.
4. In phytosanitary matters, the Parties shall recognize free areas (zones) in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article and the corresponding standards of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) in force at the time. Likewise, they shall recognize free places and production sites in accordance with the provisions of the corresponding standards of the IPPC in force at the time.
Article 8-06. Sanitary Inspections and Verifications.
The Parties shall allow the importation of products and by-products of animal origin from processing plants and other facilities, once these are approved according to their respective national legislation on sanitary matters, taking into account the relevant standards, guidelines and recommendations developed by the competent international organizations.
Article 8-07. Phytosanitary Certification and Verification.
1. Shipments of plants, plant products or other regulated articles shall be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Competent National Agency of the exporting Party, which shall contain the phytosanitary requirements of the importing Party and shall conform to the model specified in the IPPC and the corresponding guidelines of the IPPC in force at the time. Such certificates shall be valid for 45 days from the date of issue.
2. The importing Party shall notify the exporting Party of instances of non-compliance with phytosanitary certification and emergency actions taken in accordance with the relevant provisions of the IPPC in force at the time.
Article 8-08. Food Safety.
No Party may attribute to the consumption of certain natural or processed food imported from the other Party, the cause of an outbreak of disease or other adverse effect on human health in its territory, if it does not have reliable evidence that the contamination of such food occurred prior to its entry into its territory and when it was under the responsibility of the exporting Party.
Article 8-09. Transparency.
1. The Parties shall notify each other of the adoption or application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in accordance with Annex B of the SPS Agreement.
2. Additionally, they will notify:
a) changes occurring in the field of animal health, such as the emergence of exotic and List A diseases of the Office International of Epizooties, immediately;
b) the occurrence of an outbreak or spread of phytosanitary pests that may constitute an immediate or potential risk to trade between the Parties, immediately;
c) scientific findings of epidemiological importance and significant changes in relation to pests and diseases not included in subparagraphs a) and b) that may affect trade between the Parties, within a maximum period of 10 days;
d) emergency food control situations where a risk of serious adverse effects on human health associated with the consumption of certain foods (even if the agents causing such effects have not been identified} is detected and clearly identified immediately, in accordance with the relevant Codex Alimentarius standard in force at the time; and
e) the causes or reasons why a product of the exporting Party is rejected by the importing Party, within 7 (seven) days and in accordance with the relevant international standards in force at the time.
Article 8-10. Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
1. The Parties agree to establish the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).
2. The Committee shall be composed of the authorities with responsibilities in this area. The Committee shall meet at least once a year and may determine those cases in which extraordinary meetings shall be held. The venues of the meetings shall alternate, with the host Party chairing the Committee.
3. At the first meeting of the Committee, both Parties shall notify each other of their competent authorities for animal and plant health and food safety.
4. The Committee shall submit to the Commission such reports as it deems pertinent or as may be requested by the Commission.
5. The functions of the Committee shall include:
a) to oversee compliance with and enforcement of the provisions of this chapter;
b) serve as a forum for consultation to address problems that may arise from the application of specific sanitary and phytosanitary measures by either Party for the purpose of agreeing on immediate and mutually acceptable solutions;
consider and propose, if necessary, possible modifications to the specific provisions applicable between the Parties contained in Articles 8-04, 8-05, 8-06, 8-06, 8-07, 8-08 and 8-09 and any sanitary or phytosanitary issue necessary to facilitate trade in agricultural goods between the Parties;
d) facilitate the recognition of equivalence of Party-specific sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and
e) consider, if necessary, the establishment of specific understandings on animal health, plant health and food safety that involve greater technical and operational detail.
6. For the fulfillment of its functions, the Committee may form ad hoc working groups in those cases in which it deems it necessary.
Article 8-11. Settlement of Disputes.
Once the consultation procedure has been exhausted in accordance with Article 8-10(5)(b), any Party that considers the result of such consultations unsatisfactory may have recourse to the dispute settlement mechanism of this Agreement whenever it believes that the other Party is not complying with any of the provisions set forth in this Chapter.
Chapter IX. STANDARDS, TECHNICAL REGULATIONS AND CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES
Article 9-01. Definitions.
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
TBT Agreement: the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, which is part of the WTO Agreement;
Potential harm assessment: the Assessment of the possibility of adverse effects;
compatibility: to bring different standards-related measures, approved by different standards bodies, but with the same scope, to such a level that they are identical, equivalent or have the effect of allowing goods or services to be used interchangeably or for the same purpose;
Standardization-related measures: a standard, technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure; standard: a document approved by a recognized institution, which provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for goods or related processes and production methods or for related services or methods of operation, and compliance with which is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labeling requirements applicable to a good, process or method of production or operation;
international standard: a standardization measure, or other guideline or recommendation, adopted by an international standardization body and made available to the public;
legitimate objective: among others, the guarantee of safety or the protection of human, animal, plant or environmental life or health, or the prevention of practices that may mislead consumers, including matters relating to the identification of goods or services, considering among other aspects, where appropriate, fundamental factors of a climatic, geographical, technological, infrastructure or scientific justification;
standardizing body: a body whose standardization activities are recognized by the parties;
international standardizing bodies: a standardizing body open to participation by the relevant bodies of at least all Members of the TBT Agreement, including the International Organization for Standardization, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union, or any other body designated by the Parties;
conformity assessment procedure: any procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that the relevant requirements of technical regulations or standards are fulfilled and includes, among others, sampling, testing and inspection, evaluation, verification and assurance of conformity, registration, accreditation and approval procedures, separately or in various combinations;
technical regulation: a document that, for the purpose of achieving legitimate objectives, establishes the characteristics of goods or their related processes and production methods, or the characteristics of services or their related methods of operation, including the applicable administrative provisions, and whose observance is mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labeling requirements applicable to a good, process or method of production or operation; and
services: any service within the scope of application of this treaty, which is subject to measures relating to standardization.
Article 9-02. General Provision.
In cases not provided for in the definitions of the preceding article, the definitions contained in the TBT Agreement shall apply to this chapter.
Article 9-03. Scope of Application.
This Chapter applies to measures relating to the standardization of the Parties, as well as to measures that may affect, directly or indirectly, trade in goods or services between the Parties.
Article 9-04. Rights and Obligations of the Parties.
1. The Parties shall be governed by the rights and obligations contracted in the TBT Agreement. They may also adopt the necessary measures to ensure their legitimate objectives and to guarantee the application and compliance of the measures related to standardization, avoiding that such measures constitute unjustified or unnecessary obstacles to trade.
2. In order to facilitate trade, the Commission shall promote the elimination of barriers to trade that may result from the application of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, without reducing the level of prevention of deceptive practices or the protection of human health and/or safety, animal or plant life or health, the environment or consumers.
3. To achieve this, the Parties shall adopt, whenever possible, measures relating to international standardization, under the terms established in the TBT Agreement.
4. When these standards, guidelines or recommendations do not constitute an effective or adequate means to achieve their legitimate objectives, such as fundamental factors of a climatic, geographical, technological or infrastructural nature, or for scientifically justified reasons or because the level of protection considered adequate by the Party is not obtained, the Parties may not consider them as a basis for the development of their standardization measures.
Article 9-05. Compatibility and Equivalence.
1. At the request of a Party, the other Party shall, to the extent possible and by appropriate means, endeavor to promote the compatibility of the specific technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that exist in its territory with the technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that apply to products identified in the territory of that Party.
2. Each Party shall favorably consider accepting as equivalent the technical regulations of the other Party, even if they differ from its own, provided that it is satisfied that such regulations adequately fulfill the legitimate objectives of its own technical regulations.
3. Each Party shall give favorable consideration to the request of the other Party to negotiate, whenever possible, agreements for mutual recognition of the results of conformity assessment procedures, adopting, to the extent possible, recognized international practices in this area.
Article 9-06. Evaluation of Potential Damages.
1. In the pursuit of its legitimate objectives, each Party may carry out assessments of the potential harm that may be caused by any good being traded or any service provider between the Parties to the protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, the environment and consumers.
2. In making such an assessment, each Party shall take into account, among other factors: available scientific evidence or technical information; intended end use; processes or methods of production, insofar as these influence the characteristics of the final goods; processes or methods of operation, inspection, sampling or testing or environmental conditions, avoiding arbitrary or unjustifiable distinctions between similar goods at the level of protection it considers necessary.
3. Each Party shall provide to the other, upon request, relevant documentation regarding such assessment processes, the factors it took into consideration in carrying out the assessment and in establishing the levels of protection it considers necessary.
Article 9-08. Notification, Publication and Delivery of Information.
1. When proposing the adoption or modification of any measure relating to standardization, except those set forth in paragraph 2.10 of the TBT Agreement, each Party shall notify the other in writing of the proposed measure that is not in the nature of a law or regulation of law and allow a reasonable period of time for each Party to comment in writing and, upon request, discuss and take into account the comments, as well as the results of the discussions.
2. For the purposes of this article, the competent notifying authorities shall be those indicated in Annex 9-07 to this article.
3. Each Party shall annually advise the other Party of its plans and programs of standards-related measures. Each Party shall maintain a list of its standards-related measures, which, upon request, shall be made available to the other Party.
4. Where a Party permits persons in its territory who are not members of the government to be present during the process of developing its standards-related measures, it shall also permit persons from the territory of the other Party who are not members of the government to be present.
Article 9-09. Technical Cooperation.
1. At the request of one Party, the other shall:
a) provide it with advice, information and technical assistance on mutually agreed terms and conditions, to strengthen standardization-related measures, as well as its activities, processes and systems in this area;
b) provide it with information on its technical cooperation programs related to standardization measures in areas of particular interest; and
c) consult it during the development of any technical standard, technical regulation and/or conformity assessment procedure or prior to its adoption or change or its application.
2. Each Party shall encourage bodies with recognized standardization activities in its territory to cooperate in standardization activities with those of the other Party in its territory, as appropriate.
Article 9-10. Limitations on the Provision of Information.
Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require a Party to provide any information the dissemination of which would be contrary or detrimental to the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises.
Article 9-11. Bilateral Meetings.
1. At the request of a Party, the Parties shall hold bilateral meetings as soon as possible after receipt of the request: