1. The Parties recall the obligations deriving from membership of the ILO and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its Follow-up adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 86th Session in 1998 to respect, promote and realise the principles concerning the fundamental rights, namely:
(a) freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
(b) elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;
(c) effective abolition of child labour; and
(d) elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
2. The Parties recall the obligations deriving from membership of the ILO to effectively implement the ILO Conventions, which they have ratified and to make continued and sustained efforts towards ratifying the fundamental ILO Conventions as well as the other conventions that are classified as "up-to-date" by the ILO.
3. The Parties reaffirm their commitment, under the Ministerial Declaration of the UN Economic and Social Council on Full Employment and Decent Work of 2006, to recognise the importance of full and productive employment and decent work for all as key elements of sustainable development for all countries and as a priority objective of international cooperation and to promote the development of international trade in a way that is conducive to full productive employment and decent work for all.
4. The Parties shall promote decent work and reaffirm in this regard the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 97th session in 2008.
5. The Parties shall pay particular attention to developing and enhancing measures for:
(a) occupational safety and health, including compensation in case of occupational injury or illness;
(b) decent working conditions for all, with regard to, inter alia, wages and earnings, working hours and other conditions of work;
(c) effective labour inspection systems; and
(d) equality of treatment in respect of working conditions.
6. The Parties reaffirm that the violation of fundamental principles and rights at work, shall not be invoked or otherwise used as a legitimate comparative advantage and that labour standards shall not be used for protectionist trade purposes.
Article 8.6. Multilateral Environmental Agreements and Environmental Principles
1. The Parties recognise the importance of international environmental governance and multilateral environmental agreements as a response of the international community to global or regional environmental challenges and stress the need to enhance the mutual supportiveness between trade and environmental policies.
2. The Parties reaffirm their commitment to the effective implementation in their laws, policies and practices of the multilateral environmental agreements to which they are a party, as well as their adherence to environmental principles reflected in the international instruments, referred to in Article 8.1 (Context and Objectives).
Article 8.7. Promotion of Trade and Investment Favouring Sustainable Development
1. The Parties shall strive to facilitate and promote foreign investment, trade in and dissemination of goods and services beneficial to the environment, including environmental technologies, renewable energy, energy efficient and eco-labelled goods, organic production and services. Related non-tariff barriers will be addressed as part of these efforts.
2. The Parties shall strive to facilitate and promote foreign investment, trade in and dissemination of goods and services that contribute to sustainable development, including goods and services that are the subject of schemes such as fair and ethical trade.
3. The Parties shall encourage corporate social responsibility practices, as well as cooperation between enterprises in relation to goods, services and technologies that are beneficial to the environment and contribute to sustainable development in its economic, environmental and social dimension.
4. The Parties shall promote sustainable consumption and production patterns.
5. To this end, the Parties agree to exchange views and may consider, jointly or bilaterally, cooperation in this area.
Article 8.8. Trade and Biological Diversity
1. The Parties recognise the importance of the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and the role of trade in pursuing these objectives.
2. To this end, the Parties commit to:
(a) promote the inclusion of animal and plant species in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) where a species is threatened or may be threatened with extinction;
(b) implement effective measures to combat illegal wildlife trade;
(c) prevent or control the introduction and spread of invasive alien species in connection with trade activities; and
(d) cooperate where applicable on issues concerning trade and the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, including initiatives to reduce demand for illegal wildlife products.
Article 8.9. Trade and Sustainable Management of Fisheries
1. The Parties recognise the importance of ensuring the conservation and sustainable management of living marine resources and marine ecosystems and the role of trade in pursuing these objectives.
2. To this end, the Parties commit to:
(a) implement comprehensive, effective and transparent policies and measures to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and aim to exclude IUU products from trade flows;
(b) promote the use of FAO's Voluntary Guidelines for Catch Documentation Schemes;
(c) cooperate bilaterally and in relevant international fora in the fight against IUU fishing with the aim of achieving sustainable fisheries management by inter alia facilitating the exchange of information on IUU fishing activities; and
(d) continue to engage constructively in the fisheries subsidies negotiations in the WTO with a view to adopting an agreement on comprehensive and effective disciplines, that prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU fishing, recognising that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations.
Article 8.10. Sustainable Forest Management and Associated Trade
1. The Parties recognise the importance of effective forest law and governance in order to ensure sustainable forest management and thereby contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss resulting from deforestation and degradation of natural forest and peatlands including from land-use change for economic activities.
2. With the aim of contributing to sustainable forest management, the Parties commit to promote trade in goods which derive from sustainably managed forests. To this end, the Parties undertake to, inter alia:
(a) promote the effective use of CITES with regard to endangered timber species;
(b) promote the development and use of certification schemes for forest products from sustainably managed forests;
(c) combat illegal logging by improving forest law enforcement and governance and by ensuring that only legally sourced timber is traded among the Parties; and
(d) cooperate on issues relating to sustainable forest management through existing bilateral arrangements if applicable and in the relevant multilateral fora in which they participate, in particular in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) as encouraged by the Paris Agreement.
Article 8.11. Trade and Climate Change
1. The Parties recognise the importance of achieving the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement in order to address the urgent threat of climate change and the role of trade in achieving these objectives.
2. Pursuant to paragraph 1, the Parties shall:
(a) effectively implement the UNFCCC;
(b) effectively implement the Paris Agreement under which each Party's successive nationally determined contribution will represent a progression beyond the Party's then current nationally determined contribution and reflect its highest possible ambition, reflecting its common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances;
(c) promote the contribution of trade to the transition to a low-carbon-, sustainable and climate resilient economy; and
(d) cooperate bilaterally, regionally and in international fora, as appropriate, on trade-related climate change issues.
Article 8.12. Cooperation In International Fora
The Parties shall strive to strengthen their cooperation on trade and investment related labour and environmental issues of mutual interest in relevant bilateral, regional and multilateral fora in which they participate.
Article 8.13. Implementation and Consultations
1. The Parties shall designate contact points for the purpose of implementing this Chapter.
2. A Party may through the contact points referred to in paragraph 1 request consultations at experts level or consultations within the Joint Committee regarding any matter arising under this Chapter. The Parties shall make every attempt to reach a mutually satisfactory solution of the matter. Subject to the agreement of the Parties, they may seek advice of the relevant international organisations or bodies.
3. The Parties shall not have recourse to Chapter 11 (Dispute Settlement) for matters arising under this Chapter. If the Parties agree, they may have recourse to good offices, conciliation or mediation under Article 11.2 (Good Offices, Conciliation or Mediation). These procedures may begin and be suspended or terminated at any time.
Article 8.14. Review
The Joint Committee shall periodically review progress achieved in pursuing the objectives set out in this Chapter, and consider relevant international developments in order to identify areas where further action could promote these objectives.
Chapter 9. COOPERATION
Article 9.1. Objectives
The Parties declare their readiness to foster trade and economic cooperation in order to facilitate the implementation of the overall objectives of this Agreement, in particular to enhance trade and investment opportunities arising from this Agreement and contribute to sustainable development.
Article 9.2. Scope and Means
1. Means of cooperation may include technical assistance, development and implementation of joint actions as agreed between the Parties.
2. Cooperation and technical assistance provided by the EFTA States for the implementation of this Chapter shall be carried out through programmes administered by the EFTA Secretariat, without prejudice to other bilateral cooperation and technical assistance programmes that the Parties may develop in fields covered by this Agreement, including complementary arrangements.
3. Cooperation under this Chapter shall be subject to the availability of funds and resources of each Party. Costs of cooperation under this Chapter shall be borne by the Parties within the limits of their own capacities and through their own channels, in a manner to be agreed between the Parties.
Article 9.3. Fields of Cooperation
1. Cooperation and technical assistance may cover any fields jointly identified by the Parties that may serve to enhance the Parties' and their economic operators' capacities to benefit from increased trade and investment arising from this Agreement, including:
(a) promotion and facilitation of exports of goods and services to the other Parties and fostering competitiveness and innovation;
(b) strengthening of institutional capacities in the following areas, in addition to the areas provided in specific provisions of this Chapter:
(i) customs and origin matters;
(ii) encouraging technological innovation and dissemination of technological information;
(iii) facilitation of trade in services, by exchanging information on trade in services and where appropriate qualifications and standards;
(iv) promotion of investment and technology flows, by identifying investment opportunities and information channels on investment regulations, exchange of information on measures to promote investment abroad, and furthering of legal environment conducive to increased investment flows;
(v) facilitation in the collaboration on and development of intellectual property laws and practices, including training of stakeholders from the public, private sector and civil society, and to promote awareness on intellectual property rights in the general public; and
(vi) trade and investment related aspects of sustainable development;
(c) encouraging and stimulating business contacts, including between enterprises, with the aim of developing long lasting business relationships.
Article 9.4. Trade Facilitation
1. The Parties shall promote international cooperation in relevant multilateral fora on trade facilitation and review relevant international initiatives in order to identify further areas where joint actions could contribute to their common objectives.
2. Within the scope of this Chapter and Annex VII (Trade Facilitation), technical cooperation may cover areas such as:
(a) institutional capacity building;
(b) transfer technology within the scope of Annex VII (Trade Facilitation);
(c) targeted training activities for customs or other border control agencies; and
(d) identification of specific projects, partnerships or other forms of cooperation between entities of the Parties.
3. The Parties may submit to the Joint Committee additional measures with a view to facilitating trade between them.
4. The Parties may, if deemed necessary, conclude complementary cooperation agreements which allow the fulfilment of the objectives of Annex VII (Trade Facilitation).
Article 9.5. Technical Regulations
The Parties shall strengthen cooperation in the field of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment, with a view to increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems and facilitating access to their respective markets. To this end, they shall in particular cooperate in:
(a) reinforcing the role of international standards as a basis for technical regulations, including conformity assessment procedures;
(b) promoting the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies on the basis of relevant Standards and Guides of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC); and
(c) promoting mutual acceptance of conformity assessment results of conformity assessment bodies, which have been recognised under appropriate multilateral agreements between their respective accreditation systems or bodies.
Article 9.6. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
The Parties shall cooperate in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, with the aim of increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems and to improve their sanitary and phytosanitary systems.
Article 9.7. Competition
The Parties acknowledge the importance of technical assistance and capacity building with regard to competition law and policy. To that effect and subject to the availability of funding under the Parties' cooperation instruments and programmes, the Parties shall endeavour to engage in technical assistance activities with regard to:
(a) capacity building;
(b) development and implementation of competition laws and regulations;
(c) exchange of information on competition laws and policies; and
(d) other cooperation activities in the development and implementation of competition laws and regulations.
Article 9.8. Government Procurement
1. The Parties recognise the importance of cooperation with a view to achieving a better understanding of their respective government procurement systems, as well as a better access to their respective markets, in particular for Micro, Small and Medium business suppliers. In the case of Ecuador, Micro Small and Medium business suppliers includes the Actores de la Economia Popular y Solidaria ("AEPYS") (Popular and Solidarity Stakeholders).
2. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate in matters such as:
(a) development and use of electronic communications in government procurement systems;
(b) exchange of experience and information, such as regulatory frameworks, best practices, government procurement opportunities and statistics;
(c) capacity building and technical assistance to suppliers with respect to access to the government procurement market;
(d) institutional strengthening for the implementation of this Chapter, including training to government personnel; or
(e) facilitation of the identification of specific projects, partnerships or other forms of cooperation between them.
Article 9.9. Contact Points
The Parties shall exchange names and addresses of designated contact points for matters pertaining to cooperation.
Article 9.10. Sub-Committee on Cooperation
1. A Sub-Committee on Cooperation is hereby established.
2. The mandate of the Sub-Committee on Cooperation is set out in Annex XVII (Mandate of the Sub-Committee on Cooperation).
Article 9.11. Non-Application of Dispute Settlement
The provisions set out in this Chapter shall have a cooperative nature and shall not be subject to dispute settlement under Chapter 11 (Dispute Settlement).
Chapter 10. INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
Article 10. Joint Committee
1. The Parties hereby establish the EFTA-Ecuador Joint Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Joint Committee") comprising representatives of each Party.
2. The Joint Committee shall:
(a) supervise and review the implementation of this Agreement;
(b) keep under review the possibility of further removal of barriers to trade and other restrictive measures concerning trade between the Parties;
(c) oversee any further elaboration of this Agreement;
(d) supervise the work of all sub-committees and working groups established under this Agreement;
(e) endeavour to resolve disputes that may arise regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement; and
(f) consider any other matter that may affect the operation of this Agreement.
3. The Joint Committee may establish subcommittees and working groups in order to assist it in the performance of its tasks. Except where otherwise provided for in this Agreement, the Joint Committee shall determine their composition and mandate.
4. The Joint Committee may take decisions as provided for in this Agreement. On other matters the Joint Committee may make recommendations.
5. The Joint Committee shall take decisions and make recommendations by consensus. The Joint Committee may adopt decisions and make recommendations regarding issues related to only one or several EFTA states and Ecuador. Consensus shall only involve, and the decision or recommendation shall only apply to, those Parties.
6. The Joint Committee shall meet within one year of the entry into force of this Agreement. Thereafter, it shall meet whenever necessary but normally every two years. Its meetings shall be chaired jointly by one of the EFTA States and Ecuador.
7. Each Party may request at any time, through a notice in writing to the other Parties, that a special meeting of the Joint Committee be held. Such a meeting shall take place within 30 days from the receipt of the request, unless the Parties agree otherwise.
8. If a representative of a Party in the Joint Committee has accepted a decision subject to the fulfilment of domestic legal requirements, the decision shall enter into force on the date that the last Party notifies that its internal requirements have been fulfilled, unless otherwise agreed. The Joint Committee may decide that the decision enters into force for those Parties that have fulfilled their internal requirements, provided that Ecuador is one of those Parties.
9. The Joint Committee shall establish its rules of procedure.
Chapter 11. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
Article 11.1. Scope and Coverage
1. The objective of this Chapter is the settlement of any disputes concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement, in particular if a Party considers that a measure is inconsistent with this Agreement. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, this Chapter applies.
2. Disputes regarding the same matter arising under both this Agreement and the WTO Agreement may be settled in either forum at the discretion of the complaining Party. (15) The forum thus selected shall be used to the exclusion of the other.
3. For the purposes of paragraph 2, dispute settlement procedures under the WTO Agreement are deemed to be selected by a Party's request for the establishment of a panel under Article 6 of the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, whereas dispute settlement procedures under this Agreement are deemed to be selected upon a request for arbitration pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 11.4 (Establishment of Arbitration Panel).
Article 11.2. Good Offices, Conciliation or Mediation
1. Good offices, conciliation and mediation are undertaken voluntarily if the parties to the dispute so agree. They may begin and be suspended or terminated at any time. They may continue while proceedings of an arbitration panel established in accordance with this Chapter are in progress.
2. Proceedings involving good offices, conciliation and mediation shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of the parties to the dispute in any further proceedings.
Article 11.3. Consultations
1. The Parties shall at all times endeavour to agree on the interpretation and application of this Agreement, and shall make every attempt through cooperation and consultations in good faith to reach a mutually agreed solution of any matter raised in accordance with this Article.
2. A Party may request in writing consultations with another Party, if it considers that a measure is inconsistent with this Agreement. The request shall identify the measure at issue and the legal basis for the complaint. The Party requesting consultations shall at the same time notify the other Parties in writing of the request. The Party to which the request is made shall reply within ten days from the receipt of the request. Consultations shall take place in the Joint Committee, unless the Parties making and receiving the request for consultations agree otherwise. Upon agreement of the parties to the dispute, the consultations may be held by any technological means available.
3. Consultations shall commence within 30 days from the receipt of the request for consultations. Consultations on urgent matters, including those on perishable goods, shall commence within 15 days from the receipt of the request for consultations. If the Party to which the request is made does not reply within ten days or does not enter into consultations within 30 days from the receipt of the request for consultations, or within 15 days for urgent matters, the Party making the request is entitled to request the establishment of an arbitration panel in accordance with Article 11.4 (Establishment of Arbitration Panel).
4. The parties to the dispute shall provide sufficient information to enable a full examination of whether the measure is inconsistent with this Agreement or not and treat any confidential information exchanged in the course of consultations in the same manner as the Party providing the information.
5. The consultations shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of the parties to the dispute in any further proceedings.
6. The parties to the dispute shall inform the other Parties of any mutually agreed resolution of the matter.
Article 11.4. Establishment of Arbitration Panel
1. If the consultations referred to in Article 11.3 (Consultations) fail to settle a dispute within 60 days, or 30 days in relation to urgent matters, including those on perishable goods, from the receipt of the request for consultations by the Party complained against, the complaining Party may request the establishment of an arbitration panel by means of a written request to the Party complained against. A copy of this request shall be communicated to the other Parties so that they may determine whether to participate in the arbitration process.
2. The request for the establishment of an arbitration panel shall identify the specific measure at issue and provide a brief summary of the legal and factual basis of the complaint.