Title
Singapore - Australia Free Trade Agreement
Preamble
Australia and Singapore ("the Parties")
Conscious of their longstanding friendship and growing trade and investment relationship;
Desiring to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of their goods and services sectors and expand trade and investment between them;
Recognising that strengthening of their closer economic partnership will bring economic and social benefits and improve the living standards of their people;
Building on their rights, obligations and undertakings under the World Trade Organization, and other multilateral, regional and bilateral agreements and arrangements;
Recognising their commitment to securing trade liberalisation and an outward looking approach to trade and investment;
Mindful of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation goals of free and open trade and investment;
Conscious that a framework of rules for trade in goods and services, and investment will contribute to the promotion of closer links with other economies, especially in the Asia-Pacific region;
Recognising the need for good corporate governance and a predictable, transparent and consistent business environment to enable businesses to conduct transactions freely, use resources efficiently and take investment and planning decisions with certainty; and
Believing that their cooperative framework could be a dynamic one that also covers newer areas of economic cooperation;
Have agreed as follows:
Body
Chapter 01. Objectives and General Definitions
Article 1. Objectives
The objectives of the Parties in concluding this Agreement are:
(a) to strengthen the relationship between them;
(b) to liberalise trade in goods and services between them and to establish a framework conducive for bilateral investments;
(c) to support the wider liberalisation process in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation consistent with its goals of free and open trade and investment;
(d) to build upon their commitments at the World Trade Organization, and to support its efforts to create a predictable, and more free and open global trading environment;
(e) to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of their goods and services sectors and expand trade and investment between them;
(f) to establish a framework of transparent rules to govern trade and investment between them; and
(g) to explore newer areas of economic cooperation.
Article 2. General Definitions
For the purposes of this Agreement:
(a) "APEC" means Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation;
(b) "central level of government" means for Australia, the Commonwealth Government, and for Singapore, the national level of government;
(c) "covered investment" means, with respect to a Party, an investment in its territory of an investor of the other Party in existence as of the date of entry into force of this Agreement or established, acquired, or expanded thereafter;
(d) "customs administration" means the competent authority that is responsible under the laws of a Party for the administration of customs laws, regulations and, where applicable, policies, and means:
(i) for Australia, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection; and
(ii) for Singapore, the Singapore Customs;
(e) "customs duty" includes any duty or charge of any kind imposed on or in connection with the importation of a good, and any surtax or surcharge imposed in connection with such importation, but does not include any:
(i) charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with Article II:2 of GATT 1994;
(ii) fee or other charge in connection with the importation commensurate with the cost of services rendered; or
(iii) anti-dumping or countervailing duty;
(f) "days" means calendar days, including weekends and holidays;
(g) "GATS" means the General Agreement on Trade in Services, set out in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;
(h) "GATT 1994" means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(i) "goods" and "products" shall be understood to have the same meaning unless the context otherwise requires;
(j) "Harmonized System (HS)" means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, Section Notes, Chapter Notes and Subheading Notes as adopted and implemented by the Parties in their respective laws;
(k) "regional level of government" means for Australia, a state of Australia, the Australian Capital Territory, or the Northern Territory; for Singapore, the term "regional level of government" is not applicable;
(l) "remanufactured good" means a good classified in Chapters 84 to 90 or under heading 94.02 of the Harmonized System, that is entirely or partially composed of recovered materials and:
(i) has a similar life expectancy and performs the same as or similar to anew good; and
(ii) has a factory warranty similar to that applicable to such a new good;
(m) "territory" means:
(i) in respect of Australia, the territory of Australia:
(A) excluding all external territories other than the Territory of Norfolk Island, the Territory of Christmas Island, the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, the Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, and the Coral Sea Islands Territory; and
(B) including Australia's air space, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf over which Australia exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction in accordance with international law;
(ii) in respect of Singapore, its land territory, internal waters and territorial sea, as well as any maritime area situated beyond the territorial sea which has been or might in the future be designated under its national law, in accordance with international law, as an area within which Singapore may exercise sovereign rights or jurisdiction with regards to the sea, the sea-bed, the subsoil and the natural resources;
(n) "WTO" means the World Trade Organization; and
(o) "WTO Agreement" means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done at Marrakesh on April 15, 1994.
Chapter 02. Trade In Goods
Article 1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) "AD Agreement" means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(b) "advertising films and recordings" means recorded visual media or audio materials, consisting essentially of images or sound, showing the nature or operation of goods or services offered for sale or lease by a person of a Party, that are of a kind suitable for exhibition to prospective customers but not for broadcast to the general public;
(c) "Agreement on Agriculture" means the Agreement on Agriculture, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(d) "commercial samples of negligible value" means commercial or trade samples: having a value, individually or in the aggregate as shipped, of not more than one U.S. dollar or the equivalent amount in the currency of either Party; or so marked, torn, perforated or otherwise treated that they are unsuitable for sale or for use except as commercial samples;
(e) "consumed" means, with respect to a good:
(i) actually consumed; or
(ii) further processed or manufactured:
(A) so as to result in a substantial change in the value, form or use of the good; or
(B) in the production of another good;
(f) "distributor" means a person of a Party who is responsible for the commercial distribution, agency, concession or representation in the territory of that Party of goods of another Party;
(g) "duty-free" means free of customs duty;
(h) "enterprise" means any entity constituted or organised under applicable law, whether or not for profit, and whether privately or governmentally owned or controlled, including any corporation, trust, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, association or similar organisation;
(i) "export subsidy" means a subsidy as defined by Article 3 of the SCM Agreement and includes export subsidies listed in Article 9 of the Agreement on Agriculture;
(j) "goods" means any merchandise, product, article or material;
(k) "goods admitted for sports purposes" means sports requisites admitted into the territory of the importing Party for use in sports contests, demonstrations or training in the territory of that Party;
(l) "goods intended for display or demonstration" includes their component parts, ancillary apparatuses and accessories;
(m) "import licensing" means an administrative procedure requiring the submission of an application or other documentation, other than that generally required for customs clearance purposes, to the relevant administrative body of the importing Party as a prior condition for importation into the territory of that Party;
(n) "Import Licensing Agreement" means the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;
(o) "measure" includes any law, regulation, procedure, requirement or practice;
(p) "national" means:
(i) for Australia, a natural person who is an Australian citizen as defined in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, as amended from time to time, or any successor legislation;
(ii) for Singapore, a person who is a citizen of Singapore within the meaning of its Constitution and its domestic laws; or
(iii) a permanent resident of either Party;
(q) "performance requirement" means a requirement that:
(i) a given level or percentage of goods or services be exported;
(ii) domestic goods or services of the Party granting a waiver of customs duties or an import licence be substituted for imported goods;
(iii) a person benefiting from a waiver of customs duties or a requirement for an import licence purchase other goods or services in the territory of the Party that grants the waiver of customs duties or the import licence or accord a preference to domestically produced goods;
(iv) a person benefiting from a waiver of customs duties or a requirement for an import licence produce goods or supply services in the territory of the Party that grants the waiver of customs duties or the import licence, with a given level or percentage of domestic content; or
(v) relates in any way the volume or value of imports to the volume or value of exports or to the amount of foreign exchange inflows;
but does not include a requirement that an imported good be: (vi) subsequently exported;
(vii) used as a material in the production of another good that is subsequently exported;
(viii) substituted by an identical or similar good used as a material in the production of another good that is subsequently exported; or
(ix) substituted by an identical or similar good that is subsequently exported;
(r) "person" means a natural person or an enterprise;
(s) "person of a Party" means a national or an enterprise of a Party;
(t) "printed advertising materials" means those goods classified in Chapter 49 of the Harmonized System, including brochures, pamphlets, leaflets, trade catalogues, yearbooks published by trade associations, tourist promotional materials and posters, that are used to promote, publicise or advertise a good or service, are essentially intended to advertise a good or service, and are supplied free of charge;
(u) "Safeguards Agreement" means the Agreement on Safeguards, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement; and
(v) "SCM Agreement" means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.
Article 2. National Treatment on Internal Taxation and Regulation
Each Party shall accord national treatment to the goods of the other Party in accordance with Article III of the GATT 1994, including its interpretative notes. To this end, Article HI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and shall form part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 3. Customs Duties
1. Each Party shall eliminate all customs duties on goods originating in the territory of the other Party that meet the requirements for originating goods as set out in Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin). All customs duties on such goods shall thereby be free from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
2. The classification of goods traded between the Parties shall be in conformity with the Harmonized System (HS).
Article 4. Customs Value
The Parties shall determine the customs value of goods traded between them in accordance with Article VI of the GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994.
Article 5. Goods Re-entered after Repair and Alteration
1. Neither Party shall apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, that re-enters the Party's territory after that good has been temporarily exported from the Party's territory to the territory of the other Party for repair or alteration, regardless of whether that repair or alteration could have been performed in the territory of the Party from which the good was exported for repair or alteration or increased the value of the good.
2. Neither Party shall apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, admitted temporarily from the territory of the other Party for repair or alteration.
3. For the purposes of this Article, "repair or alteration" does not include an operation or process that:
(a) destroys a good's essential characteristics or creates a new or commercially different good; or
(b) transforms an unfinished good into a finished good.
Article 6. Duty-free Entry of Commercial Samples of Negligible Value and Printed Advertising Material
Each Party shall grant duty-free entry to commercial samples of negligible value and printed advertising material imported from the territory of the other Party, regardless of their origin, but may require that:
(a) commercial samples of negligible value be imported solely for the solicitation of orders for goods, or services provided from the territory, of another Party or a non-Party; or
(b) printed advertising material be imported in packets that each contain no more than one copy of the material and that neither that material nor those packets form part of a larger consignment.
Article 7. Temporary Admission of Goods
1. Each Party shall grant duty-free temporary admission for the following goods, regardless of their origin:
(a) professional equipment, including equipment for the press or television, software, and broadcasting and cinematographic equipment, that is necessary for carrying out the business activity, trade or profession of a person who qualifies for temporary entry pursuant to the laws of the importing Party;
(b) goods intended for display or demonstration;
(c) commercial samples and advertising films and recordings; and
(d) goods admitted for sports purposes.
2. Each Party shall, at the request of the person concerned and for reasons its customs authority considers valid, extend the time limit for duty-free temporary admission beyond the period initially fixed.
3. Neither Party shall condition the duty-free temporary admission of the goods referred to in paragraph 1, other than to require that those goods:
(a) be used solely by or under the personal supervision of a national of the other Party in the exercise of the business activity, trade, profession or sport of that national of the other Party;
(b) not be sold or leased while in its territory;
(c) be accompanied by a security in an amount no greater than the charges that would otherwise be owed on entry or final importation, releasable on exportation of the goods;
(d) be capable of identification when imported and exported;
(e) be exported on the departure of the national referred to in subparagraph (a), or within any other period reasonably related to the purpose of the temporary admission that the Party may establish, or within one year, unless extended;
(f) be admitted in no greater quantity than is reasonable for their intended use; and
(g) be otherwise admissible into the Party's territory under its laws.
4. Each Party shall grant duty-free temporary admission for containers and pallets regardless of their origin, that are in use or to be used in the shipment of goods in international traffic.
(a) For the purposes of this paragraph, "container" means an article of transport equipment that is: fully or partially enclosed to constitute a compartment intended for containing goods; substantial and has an internal volume of one cubic metre or more; of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use; used in significant numbers in international traffic; specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods by more than one mode of transport without intermediate reloading; and designed both for ready handling, particularly when being transferred from one mode of transport to another, and to be easy to fill and to empty, but does not include vehicles, accessories or spare parts of vehicles or packaging.
(b) For the purposes of this paragraph, "pallet" means a small, portable platform, which consists of two decks separated by bearers or a single deck supported by feet, on which goods can be moved, stacked, and stored, and which is designed essentially for handling by means of fork lift trucks, pallet trucks, or other jacking devices.
5. If any condition that a Party imposes under paragraph 3 has not been fulfilled, the Party may apply the customs duty and any other charge that would normally be owed on the good in addition to any other charges or penalties provided for under its law.
6. Each Party shall adopt and maintain procedures providing for the expeditious telease of goods admitted under this Article. To the extent possible, those procedures shall provide that when a good admitted under this Article accompanies a national of the other Party who is seeking temporary entry, the good shall be released simultaneously with the entry of that national.
7. Each Party shall permit a good temporarily admitted under this Article to be exported through a customs port other than the port through which it was admitted.
8. Each Party shall, in accordance with its laws, provide that the importer or other person responsible for a good admitted under this Article shall not be liable for failure to export the good on presentation of satisfactory proof to the importing Party that the good was destroyed within the period fixed for temporary admission, including any lawful extension.
9. Subject to Chapters 7 (Cross-Border Trade in Services) and 8 (Investment):
(a) each Party shall allow a container used in international traffic that enters its territory from the territory of the other Party to exit its territory on any route that is reasonably related to the economic and prompt departure of that container;
(b) neither Party shall require any security or impose any penalty or charge solely by reason of any difference between the customs port of entry and the customs port of departure of a container;
(c) neither Party shall condition the release of any obligation, including any security, that it imposes in respect of the entry of a container into its territory on the exit of that container through any particular customs port of departure; and
(d) neither Party shall require that the carrier bringing a container from the territory of the other Party into its territory be the same carrier that takes such container to the territory of the other Party.
Article 8. Import and Export Restrictions
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, neither Party shall 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 Article XI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes, and to this end Article XI of the GATT 1994 and its interpretative notes are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. The Parties understand that the GATT 1994 rights and obligations incorporated by paragraph 1 prohibit, in any circumstances in which any other form of restriction is prohibited, a Party from adopting or maintaining:
(a) export and import price requirements, except as permitted in enforcement of countervailing and anti-dumping duty orders and undertakings;
(b) import licensing conditioned on the fulfilment of a performance requirement; or
(c) voluntary export restraints inconsistent with Article VI of the GATT 1994, as implemented under Article 18 of the SCM Agreement and Article 8.1 of the AD Agreement.
3. For greater certainty, paragraph 1 shall apply to the importation of commercial cryptographic goods.
4. For the purposes of paragraph 3, "commercial cryptographic goods" means any good implementing or incorporating cryptography, if the good is not designed or modified specifically for government use and is sold or otherwise made available to the public.
5. In the event that a Party adopts or maintains a prohibition or restriction on the importation from or exportation to a non-Party of a good, no provision of this Agreement shall be construed to prevent that Party from:
(a) limiting or prohibiting the importation of the good of the non-Party from the territory of the other Party; or
(b) requiring, as a condition for exporting the good of that Party to the territory of the other Party, that the good not be re-exported to the non- Party, directly or indirectly, without being consumed in the territory of the other Party.
6. In the event that a Party adopts or maintains a prohibition or restriction on the importation of a good from a non-Party, it shall, on the request of the other Party, consult with the other Party a view to avoiding undue interference with or distortion of pricing, marketing, or distribution arrangements in that other Party.