1. To achieve the objectives referred to in Article 5.1, the Parties attach particular importance to cooperation initiatives aimed at:
(a) strengthening the relations of trade capacity building between the Parties;
(b) improving and creating new opportunities for trade and investment;
(c) fostering competitiveness and innovation;
(d) promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (hereinafter referred to as SMEs);
(e) supporting the role of the private sector, with special emphasis on SMEs, in promoting and building strategic alliances to encourage mutual economic growth and development; and
(f) addressing the needs for cooperation identified in other parts of this Agreement.
2. Cooperation shall be led by the contact points responsible for this Chapter, by means of the instruments, resources and mechanisms made available by the Parties to that end, in conformity with the rules and procedures in force.
3, In particular, the Parties may use different instruments and modalities, such as exchanging information, experience, best practices, capacity building and technical assistance, as well as triangular cooperation amongst others for the joint identification, development and implementation of projects.
4. The Parties may cooperate in various areas, including but not limited to the following sectors: agricultural technology, telecommunications, public health, innovation, biotechnology and environmental technology.
Article 5.3. CONTACT POINTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION
1. The Parties shall attach particular importance to following up the cooperation projects put in place to contribute to their optimal execution and to maximize the benefits of this Agreement.
2. In order to implement this Chapter in an efficient and effective way, and to facilitate communication for any matter covered by this Chapter, the Parties hereby establish the following contact points:
(a) for the Republic of Colombia: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism; Chief of Sectorial Planning Advisory Office;
(b) for the State of Israel: Ministry of Economy; Foreign Trade Administration;
or their successors.
3. The contact points shall be responsible for:
(a) receiving and channeling the project proposals presented by the Parties;
(b) informing on the project status;
(c) informing on the acceptance or denial of the project;
(d) monitoring and assessing the progress in the implementation of trade related cooperation initiatives; and
(e) other tasks on which the Parties may agree.
4. The contact points shall inform the Joint Committee about the cooperation activities covered under this Chapter, in a timely manner through the Coordinators referred to in Article 13.5 (Free Trade Agreement Coordinators).
Article 5.4. ADDITIONAL BILATERAL INSTRUMENTS
The activities undertaken under this chapter shall not affect other cooperation initiatives based on bilateral instruments between the Parties.
Chapter 6. SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Article 6.1. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
(a) protect human, animal and plant life or health in the territory of each Party;
(b) ensure that the Parties' sanitary and phytosanitary measures do not create unjustified barriers to trade; and
(c) enhance the implementation of the SPS Agreement.
Article 6.2. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. The Parties reaffirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the SPS Agreement, and to this end the SPS Agreement is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. The Parties shall not apply their sanitary and phytosanitary measures in a manner that constitutes an arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between them.
Article 6.3. TRANSPARENCY
The Parties shall exchange information on:
(a) any changes in their sanitary and phytosanitary status, including important epidemiological findings, which may affect the trade between the Parties;
(b) results of import checks in case of rejected or non-compliant consignments, within three working days; or
(c) results of verification procedures, such as inspections or on site audits within 60 days, which may be extended for a similar period in case of appropriate justification.
Article 6.4. RISK ASSESSMENT
When the import requirements include an assessment of risk, the importing Party shall initiate the assessment in a timely manner and, without prejudice to the duration of the process, shall inform the exporting Party on the estimated period of time needed for such assessment. Technical justification shall be given in case the assessment takes longer. The exporting Party shall send information upon request to the importing Party to support the risk assessment, and the importing Party shall, as appropriate, use this information for the risk assessment process.
Article 6.5. ADAPTATION TO THE REGIONAL CONDITIONS
The Parties will develop procedures, as needed, taking into account guidelines of WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (hereinafter referred to as the "SPS Committee"), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and Codex Alimentarius for the recognition of:
(a) pest or disease free areas;
(b) areas of low pest or disease prevalence; and
(c) pest or disease free production sites and/or compartments.
Article 6.6. INSPECTION AND APPROVAL PROCEDURES
1. Upon request, the importing Party shall inform the exporting Party of its sanitary and phytosanitary import requirements.
2. In cases where approval of establishments is required by the importing Party the exporting Party will apply the importing Party's requirements in order to approve the establishments.
3. Once the importing Party has concluded that the commodity and where applicable the approved establishments of the exporting Party meets its sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, such Party will notify the other party of its eligibility to export.
Article 6.7. COMPETENT AUTHORITIES
For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this Chapter, the competent authorities are the following:
(a) for the Republic of Colombia: Colombian Agriculture and Livestock Institute (Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario - ICA) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural); National Institute for the Surveillance of Foods and Drugs (Instituto Nacional de Vigilancia de Medicamentos y Alimentos - INVIMA) under the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social);
(b) for the State of Israel:
Plant Protection and Inspection Services ("PPIS"), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
Veterinary Services and Animal Health ("IVSAH"), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
The National Food Services - Ministry of Health;
Cosmetic Department, Pharmaceutical Administration - Ministry of Health;
or their respective successors.
Article 6.8. SUBCOMMITTEE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MATTERS
1. The Subcommittee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Matters (hereinafter referred to as the "Subcommittee") established pursuant to Chapter 13 (Institutional Provisions) shall have the following functions:
(a) facilitating the implementation and cooperation between the parties in all matters pertaining to this Chapter;
(b) monitoring the implementation, enforcement and administration of this Chapter;
(c) promptly addressing, with the aim of solving, any issue that a Party raises related to the development, adoption, application or enforcement of sanitary and phytosanitary measures that affect, or may affect, trade between the Parties;
(d) exchanging information, at a Party's request, on each Party's actual or planned SPS measures;
(e) exchanging information on developments in non-governmental, regional and multilateral fora engaged in activities related to SPS;
(f) reviewing this Chapter in light of any developments under the SPS Committee and, if necessary, developing recommendations for amendments to this Chapter; and
(g) taking any other steps that the Parties consider will assist them in implementing this Chapter.
2. The Subcommittee shall meet upon request of a Party. Meetings may be conducted in person, via teleconference, videoconference, or any other means as mutually determined by the Parties.
3. The Subcommittee will be comprised of representatives of the competent authorities and will be co-chaired by representatives of both Parties from their respective ministries primarily responsible for international trade.
4. The contact points set out in Article 6.9 will be responsible for coordinating with the relevant institutions and persons of the respectitve Parties as well as ensuring that such institutions and persons are engaged in the Subcommittee.
5. The Subcommittee shall report to the Joint Committee of its activities and work plans.
6. The Subcommittee shall establish its rules and procedures during its first meeting.
7. The Subcommittee may establish ad hoc technical working groups, as needed, in accordance with its rules and procedures.
Article 6.9. CONTACT POINTS
The Parties agree to establish contact points for facilitating the implementation of this Chapter, and for coordinating every SPS matter related to the implementation of this Agreement with its national competent authorities:
(a) for the Republic of Colombia, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism (Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo) ; and
(b) for the State of Israel, the Ministry of Economy; or their successors.
Chapter 7. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
Article 7.1. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this Chapter are:
(a) to increase and facilitate trade between the Parties;
(b) to ensure that standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade; and
(c) to enhance joint cooperation, between the Parties.
Article 7.2. GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Parties reaffirm their existing rights and obligations with respect to each other under the TBT Agreement, and to this end the TBT Agreement is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 7.3. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Chapter the definitions shall be those contained in Annex 1 of the TBT Agreement.
Article 7.4. SCOPE OF APPLICATION
1. This Chapter shall apply to the preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, including any amendment or addition thereto, that may affect trade in goods between the Parties.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, this Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) technical specifications prepared by governmental bodies for production or consumption requirements of such bodies, covered by Chapter 9 (Government Procurement), and
(b) sanitary and phytosanitary measures covered by Chapter 6 (SPS).
Article 7.5. COOPERATION AND TRADE FACILITATION
1. The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation in the fields of standards, technical regulations, conformity assessment and metrology with a view to increasing the mutual understanding of their respective systems and facilitating access to their respective markets.
2. Pursuant to paragraph 1, the Parties shall seek to identify, develop and promote bilateral initiatives on cooperation and trade facilitation regarding standards, technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures and metrology that are appropriate for particular issues or sectors, taking into consideration, inter alia, the Parties' experience in regional and multilateral arrangements or agreements.
3. These initiatives may include:
(a) cooperation on regulatory issues, such as transparency, the promotion of good regulatory practices, harmonization with international standards, and use of accreditation to qualify conformity assessment bodies;
(b) technical assistance and cooperation regarding metrology;
(c) initiatives to develop common views on good regulatory practices such as transparency, the use of equivalency and regulatory impact assessment; and
(d) the use of mechanisms to facilitate the acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted in the other Party's territory.
4. The Subcommittee on Technical Barriers to Trade shall define priority sectors for cooperation described in paragraph 3.
5. The Parties shall maintain effective communication between their respective regulatory authorities and between their respective standardization bodies.
6. Where a Party detains at a port of entry a good originating in the territory of the other Party due to a perceived failure to comply with a technical regulation, it shall immediately notify the importer of the reasons for the detention.
Article 7.6. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
1. The Parties shall: (a) apply the Decision of the Committee on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with Relation to Articles 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement adopted (1) by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (hereinafter referred to as the "TBT Committee"), when determining whether an international standard; guide or recommendation exists within the meaning of Articles 2 and 5 and the scope of Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement;
(b) encourage its standardization bodies to cooperate with the relevant standardization bodies of the other Party in international standardization activities;
(c) exchange information on their standardization processes as well as on the extent they use international, regional or sub-regional standards as the basis for national standards; and
(d) exchange general information on cooperation agreements concluded on standardization matters with a non-Party.
2. Each Party shall use relevant international standards, guides and recommendations to the extent provided in Articles 2.4 and 5.4 of the TBT Agreement, as a basis for its technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
Article 7.7. TECHNICAL REGULATIONS
1. The Parties shall use international standards as a basis for preparing their technical regulations, unless those international standards are ineffective or inappropriate to achieving the legitimate objective pursued. A Party shall, upon request of the other Party, provide the reasons for not having used international standards as a basis for preparing its technical regulations.
2. Upon request of the other Party interested in developing a similar technical regulation, and in order to minimize the duplication of costs, a Party shall, to the extent possible, provide the requesting Party with any information, technical study, risk assessment or other available relevant document, on which that Party has relied for the development for such technical regulation excluding confidential information.
3. Upon request of the other Party, a Party shall consider entering into negotiations in order to conclude an agreement for the acceptance of technical regulations of the other Party as equivalent, even if these regulations differ from its own, provided that those technical regulations produce outcomes equivalent to those produced by its own technical regulations in meeting its legitimate objectives and achieving the same level of protection.
4. Where a Party does not accept entering into negotiations with the other Party as specified in paragraph 3, it shall, upon request of the other Party, explain in writing the reasons for its decision.
Article 7.8. CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT AND ACCREDITATION
1. The Parties recognize the existence of a broad range of mechanisms to facilitate acceptance of the results of conformity assessment procedures of the other Party.
Accordingly, the Parties may agree:
(a) on the acceptance of a suppliers' declaration of conformity;
(b) on the acceptance of the results of the conformity assessment procedures of the other Party, including those regarding specific technical regulations of the other Party;
(c) that a conformity assessment body located in a Party's territory may enter into voluntary recognition agreements with a conformity assessment body located in the other Party's territory; and
(d) on designation of conformity assessment bodies located in the other Party's territory.
2. To that end, the Parties shall:
(a) exchange information on the range of mechanisms used in their territories;
(b) promote the acceptance of results of conformity assessment procedures by bodies located in the territory of the Parties and recognized under a multilateral accreditation agreement or by an agreement reached between their relevant respective conformity assessment bodies;
(c) consider initiating negotiations in order to conclude agreements to facilitate the acceptance in their territories of the results of conformity assessment procedures conducted by bodies located in the territory of the other Party, when it is in the interest of the Parties and it is economically justified; and
(d) encourage their conformity assessment bodies to take part in agreements with the conformity assessment bodies of the other Party for the acceptance of conformity assessment results.
3. The Parties shall give positive consideration to a request by the other Party to negotiate agreements for the mutual recognition of the results of their respective conformity assessment procedures. Where a Party, declines such a request, it shall, upon request, explain in writing the reasons for its decision. The Parties shall work together to implement the mutual recognition agreements in which both Parties are members.
4. A Party may consider, unilaterally, the recognition of the results of the conformity assessment procedures of the other Party.
5. In order to enhance confidence, in the permanent reliability of each one of the conformity assessment results, prior to an agreement as described in paragraph 3, the Parties may consult and exchange information on matters such as the technical competence of the conformity assessment bodies involved.
Article 7.9. TRANSPARENCY
1. Each Party shall, upon request of the other Party, provide information, including the objective of, and rationale for, a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure which the Party has adopted or proposes to adopt.
2. A Party shall give appropriate consideration to the comments received from the other Party when a proposed technical regulation is submitted for public consultation and, upon request of the other Party, provide written answers to the comments made by such other Party.
3. Each Party shall electronically notify the other Party's TBT Enquiry Point referred to in Annex 7-A upon submission of its notification to the WTO Central Registry of Notifications in accordance with the TBT Agreement.
4. Each Party shall endeavor to inform the other Party's TBT Enquiry Point referenced in Annex 7-A of the following documents:
(a) new technical regulations and amendments to existing technical regulations that are based on relevant international standards;
(b) new conformity assessment procedures and amendments to existing conformity assessment procedures that are based on relevant international standards; and
(c) proposed new technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in case there is a doubt on the significant effect on trade.
5. Upon a written request by one of the Parties showing a substantial trade interest, the notification of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures shall include a link to or a copy of the complete text of the notified document, if those regulations and conformity assesment procedures are not based on relevant international standards. In this case, the Parties shall provide a link to or a copy of the complete text of the notified document in English.
6. If a Party adopts an international standard as a technical regulation or conformity assement procedure with changes to its original version, shall inform the other Party of the changes. In this case it shall not be necessary to provide a complete copy of the text.
7. Each Party shall allow a period of at least 60 days (hereinafter referred to as the "comment period") following notification of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures for the other Party to provide written comments, except where urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection or national security arise or threaten to arise. A Party shall give positive consideration to a reasonable request for extending the comment period.
8. Each Party may consider to publish or otherwise make available to the public, in print or electronically, its responses or a summary of its responses, to official comments it receives from the other Party, no later than the date it publishes the final technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure.
9. A Party may give positive consideration to a reasonable request from the other Party, to extend the period of time between the adoption of technical reulation and its entry into force, if the request is received prior to the end of the comment period following notification of a proposed technical regulation.
10. Except for urgent circumstances, the Parties shall allow a reasonable interval (2) between the publication of technical regulations and their entry into force in order for producers in the exporting Party to adapt their products or methods of production to the requirements of the importing Party.
11. The Parties shall ensure that all adopted technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures are publicly available.
Article 7.10. INFORMATION EXCHANGE
1. Any information or explanation that a Party provides upon request of the other Party pursuant to this Chapter shall be provided in print or electronically within a reasonable period of time. A Party shall endeavor to respond to such a request within 60 days.
2. The contact point referred to in Annex 7-A shall be responsible for facilitating communication between the Parties on any matter covered by this Chapter, including administrative notifications and information submitted under this Chapter, as set forth under Article 7.9. On the request of the other Party, the contact point shall identify the office or the official responsible for the matter and assist, as necessary, in facilitating communications with the requesting Party.