Title
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COOPERATION COUNCIL FOR THE ARAB STATES OF THE GULF AND THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE
Preamble
The Governments of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait (hereinafter referred to jointly as the "GCC" or severally as the "GCC Member States") and the Government of the Republic of Singapore (hereinafter referred to as "Singapore";
hereinafter the Governments of each of the GCC Member States and the Government of the Republic of Singapore being referred to individually as a "Party" and collectively as "the Parties";
RECOGNISING the long-standing friendship and strong economic and political ties between the GCC Member States and Singapore, and wishing to strengthen these links through the creation of a free trade area, thus establishing close and lasting relations;
DETERMINED to promote and strengthen the multilateral trading system, as set up through the World Trade Organization, in a manner conducive to the development of regional and international cooperation, thereby contributing to the harmonious development and expansion of world trade;
CONSCIOUS of the dynamic and rapidly changing global environment brought about by globalisation and technological progress which presents various economic and strategic challenges and opportunities to the Parties;
DETERMINED to develop and strengthen their economic and trade relations through the liberalisation and expansion of trade in goods and services in their common interest and for their mutual benefit;
AIMING to promote transfer of technology and expand trade;
CONVINCED that the establishment of a free trade area will provide a more favourable climate for the promotion and development of economic and trade relations between the Parties;
HAVE AGREED, in pursuit of the above, to conclude the following Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "this Agreement"):
Chapter 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.1. ObjectivesThe Objectives of this Agreement Are:
(a) to achieve the liberalisation of trade in goods, in conformity with Article XXIV of the GATT 1994, pursuant to Chapter 2;
(b) to achieve the liberalisation of trade in services, in conformity with Article V of the GATS, pursuant to Chapter 5; and
(c) to achieve further liberalisation on a mutual basis of the government procurement markets of the Parties, pursuant to Chapter 6.
Article 1.2. General Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement:
(a) GCC Member States means the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait that are parties to the Charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, and any State which becomes a party to the Charter of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and accedes to this Agreement pursuant to Article 10.3;
(b) GATS means the General Agreement on Trade in Services in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;
(c) GATT 1994 means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement. For the purposes of this Agreement, references to articles in the GATT 1994 include its Notes and Supplementary Provisions;
(d) days means calendar days, including weekends and holidays;
(e) WTO means the World Trade Organization;
(f) WTO Agreement means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done at Marrakesh, 15 April 1994; and
(g) Joint Committee means the Joint Committee established pursuant to Article 1.11 of this Agreement.
Article 1.3. Geographical Scope
Without prejudice to Annex 3 to Chapter 3, this Agreement shall apply:
(a) to the land territory, internal waters, and the territorial sea of a Party, and the air-space above the territory in accordance with international law; as well as
(b) beyond the territorial sea, with respect to measures taken by a Party in the exercise of its sovereign rights or jurisdiction in accordance with international law.
Article 1.4. Taxation
1. Unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall not apply to any taxation measures.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of any Party under any tax convention. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any such convention, that convention shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
Article 1.5. Relation to other Agreements
1. Each Party reaffirms its rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement vis-a-vis another Party and/or other agreements to which any one or more of the GCC Members States and Singapore are party thereto.
2. This Agreement shall not apply or affect the trade relations among the GCC Member States nor, unless expressly provided in this Agreement, shall it grant to Singapore rights and privileges that a GCC Member State grants exclusively to other GCC Member States.
Article 1.6. Regional and Local Government
1. Each Party shall take such reasonable measures as may be available to it to ensure observance of the provisions of this Agreement by the regional and local governments and authorities and by non-governmental bodies in the exercise of governmental powers delegated by central, regional and local governments and authorities within its territories.
2. This provision is to be interpreted and applied in accordance with the principles set out in paragraph 3 of Article I of the GATS and paragraph 12 of Article XXIV of the GATT 1994.
Article 1.7. Transparency
1. Subject to Article 1.8, each Party shall, in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations, publish its laws, or otherwise make publicly available its laws, regulations, administrative rulings and judicial decisions of general application as well as international agreements to which the Party is a party, that may affect the operation of this Agreement.
2. Each Party shall promptly respond to specific questions by another Party and provide, upon request, information to that Party on matters referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 1.8. Confidential Information
1. Each Party shall, in accordance with its laws and regulations, maintain the confidentiality of information designated as confidential by another Party.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall require a Party to disclose confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement of the Party, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of any economic operator.
Article 1.9. General Exceptions
1. For the purposes of Chapters 2 and 3, Article XX of the GATT 1994 is incorporated into and forms part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. For the purposes of Chapter 5, Article XIV of the GATS, including its footnotes, is incorporated into and forms part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 1.10. Security Exceptions
1. Nothing In this Agreement shall be construed:
(a) to require any Party to furnish any information, the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests; or
(b) to prevent any Party from taking any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests:
(i) relating to fissionable and fusionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;
(ii) relating to the traffic in arms, ammunition and implements of war and to such traffic in other goods and materials as is carried on directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment;
(iii) in relation to Chapter 5, relating to the supply of services as carried out directly or indirectly for the purpose of provisioning a military establishment;
(iv) relating to the protection of critical public infrastructure, including, but not limited to, critical communications infrastructures, power infrastructures and water infrastructures, from deliberate attempts intended to disable or degrade such infrastructures;
(v) taken in time of domestic emergency, or war or other emergency in international relations; or
(c) to prevent any Party from taking any action in pursuance of its obligations under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.
2. The Joint Committee shall be informed, to the fullest extent possible, of measures taken under subparagraphs (b)(ii) and (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Article 1.11. Joint Committee
1. A Joint Committee shall be established under this Agreement.
2. The Joint Committee:
(a) shall be composed of representatives of the GCC Member States and Singapore; and
(b) may establish standing or ad hoc sub-committees or working groups and assign any of its powers thereto.
3. Unless otherwise mutually agreed by the Parties, the Joint Committee shall be convened in regular session at least once every two (2) years to review and assess the overall operation of this Agreement. The regular sessions of the Joint Committee shall be held alternately in the territories of the Parties.
4. The Joint Committee shall also hold special sessions within thirty (30) days from the date of a request thereof from any Party. 5. The functions of the Joint Committee shall be as follows:
(a) to review and assess the results and overall operation of this Agreement in the light of the experience gained during its application and its objectives;
(b) to consider any amendments to this Agreement that may be proposed by any Party, including the modification of concessions made under this Agreement;
(c) to endeavour to amicably resolve disputes between the Parties arising from the interpretation or application of this Agreement, or any other Agreement relating to market liberalisation to which they are both parties;
(d) to supervise and coordinate the work of all sub-committees and working groups established under this Agreement; and
(e) to carry out any other functions as may be agreed by the Parties.
6. The Joint Committee shall establish its own rules of working procedures.
Article 1.12. Communications
1. Each Party shall designate a contact point to receive and facilitate official communications among the Parties on any matter relating to this Agreement, except as otherwise provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 2.10 and paragraph 2 of Article 2.11.
2. All official communications in relation to this Agreement shall be either in the Arabic language or in the English language. The Parties agree that the choice of language of any communication shall be determined by considerations of efficiency and convenience.
Chapter 2. TRADE IN GOODS
Article 2.1. Scope and Coverage
This Chapter applies to trade In goods between the Parties.
Article 2.2. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
customs duty (1) refers to any duty or charge of any kind imposed in connection with the importation of a product, including any form of surtax or surcharge in connection with such importation, but does not include any:
(a) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with a Party's WTO obligations, including excise duty as well as goods and services tax;
(b) anti-dumping or countervailing duty that is applied consistently with the provisions of Article VI of the GATT 1994, the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994, and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement; or
(c) fee or other charge in connection with importation commensurate with the cost of services rendered and which does not represent a direct or indirect protection for domestic goods or a taxation of imports for fiscal purposes.
Article 2.3. National Treatment
1. The Parties shall accord national treatment in accordance with Article III of the GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes.
2. To this end, Article III of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and form part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 2.4. Customs Duties
1. Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, Singapore shall eliminate its customs duties applied on goods originating from GCC Member States in accordance with Annex 2 and GCC Member States shall eliminate its customs duties applied on goods originating from Singapore in accordance with Annex 1.
2. GCC Member States shall not increase an existing customs duty or introduce a new customs duty on the importation of goods originating in the territory of Singapore, or vice versa.
3. The Parties agree that this Agreement will not result in restricting existing trade flows.
Article 2.5. Temporary Admission
1. Each Party shall, in accordance with its respective domestic laws, grant temporary admission free of customs duties for the following goods:
(a) professional and scientific equipment, including their spare parts, owned and accompanied by a resident of a Party; and
(b) goods intended for display or use at exhibitions, fairs or other similar events, including commercial samples for the solicitation of orders.
2. A Party shall not impose any condition on the temporary admission of a good referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, other than to require that such good:
(a) be accompanied by a security deposit in an amount no greater than the charges that would otherwise be owed on importation, releasable on exportation of the good;
(b) be exported within three (3) months from the date it was temporarily admitted or such other period of time as is reasonably related to the purpose of temporary admission; and
(c) be capable of identification when exported.
3. If any condition that a Party imposes under paragraph 2 of this Article has not been fulfilled, that Party may apply the customs duty and any other charges that would normally be owed on importation of the good.
4. Each Party shall, at the request of the importer and for reasons deemed valid by its Customs Administration, extend the time limit for temporary admission beyond the period initially fixed.
5. Each Party shall relieve the importer of liability for failure to export a temporarily admitted good upon presentation of satisfactory proof to the Party's Customs Administration that the good has been destroyed within the original time limit for temporary admission or any lawful extension. Prior approval will have to be sought from the Customs Administration of the importing Party before the good can be so destroyed.
Article 2.6. Non-tariff Measures
1. No Party shall adopt or maintain any non-tariff measures on the importation of any good of the other Party or on the exportation of any good destined for the territory of another Party, except in accordance with its WTO rights and obligations or the provisions of this Agreement.
2. Each Party shall ensure the transparency of its non-tariff measures permitted under paragraph 1 of this Article and that such measures are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.
Article 2.7. Customs Valuation
The Parties shall determine the customs value of goods traded between them in accordance with the provisions of Article VII of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
Article 2.8. Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties, Subsidies and Safeguard Measures
The rights and obligations of each of the GCC Member States and Singapore on anti-dumping and countervailing duties, subsidies and safeguard measures shall be governed by Articles VI, XVI and XIX of the GATT 1994 respectively, and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, the Agreement on Safeguards and the Agreement on Agriculture in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
Article 2.9. Transparency
Article X of the GATT 1994 is incorporated into and form part of this Agreement.
Article 2.10. Technical Regulations, Standards and Conformity Assessment Procedures
1. The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures shall be governed by the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade in Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "the TBT Agreement").
2. The Parties shall strengthen their co-operation in the field of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, with a view to increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems and facilitating access to their respective markets.
3. Without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article, where a Party considers that another Party has taken measures which are likely to create, or have created, an obstacle to trade, the Parties agree to hold consultations within the framework of the Joint Committee in order to find an appropriate solution, which is in conformity with the TBT Agreement.
4. For the purposes of this Chapter, the Parties shall exchange names and addresses of their official contact points with expertise in technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures in order to facilitate technical consultations and the exchange of information.
Article 2.11. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
1. The rights and obligations of the Parties in respect of sanitary and phytosanitary measures shall be governed by the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as "the SPS Agreement").
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, the Parties shall exchange names and addresses of their official contact points with expertise in sanitary and phytosanitary matters in order to facilitate technical consultations and the exchange of information.
3. Without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article, where a Party considers that another Party has taken measures which are likely to create, or have created, an obstacle to trade, the Parties agree to hold consultations within the framework of the Joint Committee in order to find an appropriate solution in conformity with the SPS Agreement.
Article 2.12. Restrictions to Safeguard the Balance-of-Payments
1. The Parties shall endeavour to avoid the imposition of restrictive measures for balance-of-payments purposes.
2. Any such measures taken for trade in goods shall be in accordance with Article XII of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994, the provisions of which are incorporated into and form part of this Agreement.
Article 2.13. State Trading Enterprises
Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent a Party from maintaining or establishing a state trading enterprise in accordance with Article XVII of the GATT 1994.
Article 2.14. Revision Clause
Upon request by a Party, the Parties shall consult to consider accelerating the elimination of customs duties as set out in Annex 1 or incorporating into one Party's schedule, goods that are not subject to the elimination schedule. Further commitments between the Parties to accelerate the elimination of a customs duty on a good or to include a good in Annex 1 shall supersede any duty rate or staging category determined pursuant to their respective Schedules. These commitments shall enter into force after the Parties have exchanged notification certifying that they have completed the necessary internal legal procedures and on such dates as may be agreed between the Parties.
Chapter 3. RULES OF ORIGIN
Section A. ORIGIN DETERMINATION
Article 3.1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) aquaculture refers to the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other aquatic invertebrates and aquatic plants, from seedstock such as eggs, fry, fingerlings and larvae, by intervention in the rearing or growth processes to enhance production, such as, inter alia, regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators;
(b) consignment means goods which are either sent simultaneously from one exporter to one consignee or covered by a single transport document covering their shipment from the exporter to the consignee or, in the absence of such a document, by a single invoice;
(c) 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;
(d) good refers to a material or an article that has been produced or obtained, even if it is intended for later use in another production operation etc.;
(e) Harmonized System ("HS") means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its general rules and legal notes set out in the Annex to the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System;
(f) manufacture refers to any kind of working or processing, including assembly or specific operations;
(g) material refers to any ingredient, raw material, compound or part, etc., used in the production of a good;
(h) non-originating material means a material that does not qualify as originating under this Chapter; and
(i) production refers to growing, raising, mining, harvesting, fishing, aquaculture, trapping, hunting, manufacturing, processing, assembling or disassembling a good etc.
Article 3.2. Originating Goods
For the purposes of this Agreement, goods shall be deemed as originating goods of a Party and shall be eligible for preferential treatment provided they are consigned according to Article 3.14 and:
(a) are wholly obtained or produced in the territory of the exporting Party according to Article 3.3; or
(b) have undergone sufficient working or production according to Article 3.4.
Article 3.3. Wholly Obtained or Produced Goods
For the purposes of this Agreement, goods wholly obtained or produced in the territory of a Party shall be treated as originating goods of that Party. The following goods shall be considered as being wholly obtained or produced in the territory of a Party:
(a) mineral goods and natural resources extracted or taken from that Party's soil, waters, seabed or beneath the seabed;
(b) vegetable goods harvested or produced in the territory of that Party;
(c) live animals born and raised in the territory of that Party;