3. The TBT enquiry point referred to in Annex 7-A shall be responsible for providing information regarding technical regulations or conformity assessment procedures, to transmitting the comments related to technical regulations or conformity assessment procedures that a Party has adopted or intends to adopt, and responding to any other information demanded pursuant to Article 7.9.
Article 7.11. SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE
1. The Subcommittee on Technical Barriers to Trade established pursuant to Chapter 13 (Institutional Provisions) shall have the following functions:
(a) working in order to facilitate implementation of this Chapter 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 any issue that a Party raises related to the development, adoption, application or enforcement of standards, technical regulations, or conformity assessment procedures;
(d) improving joint cooperation between the Parties in the areas mentioned in Article 753
(e) conducting negotiations for mutual recognition agreements;
(f) exchanging information, at a Party's request, on standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures, including the Parties' respective views regarding non-Party issues;
(g) exchanging information on developments in non-governmental, regional and multilateral fora engaged in activities related to standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;
(h) consulting, at a Party's written request, with the aim of solving any matter arising under this Chapter within a reasonable period of time;
(i) reviewing this Chapter in light of any developments under the TBT Committee and, if necessary, developing recommendations for amendments to this Chapter;
(j) establishing issue or sector-specific ad hoc working groups, if necessary to achieve the objectives of this Chapter; and
(k) 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. In a dispute on matters covered by this Chapter, consultations pursuant to paragraph 1(h) shall be mandatory in order to activate the procedures provided in Chapter 12 (Dispute Settlement).
4. The contact points set out in Annex 7-A shall be responsible for coordinating with the relevant authorities and persons in their respective countries as well as ensuring that such authorities and persons are in contact.
Article 7. BORDER CONTROL AND MARKET SURVEILLANCE
The Parties shall:
(a) exchange information and experiences on their border control and market surveillance activities, except in those cases in which the information is confidential; and
(b) ensure that border control and market surveillance activities are undertaken by the competent authorities, to which end these authorities may use accredited, designated or delegated bodies, avoiding conflicts of interest between those bodies and the economic operators subject to control or supervision.
Chapter 8. TRADE REMEDIES
Section A. BILATERAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES
Article 8.1. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Chapter:
competent investigating authority means:
(a) for the State of Israel: the Commissioner of Trade Levies, in the Ministry of Economy or the corresponding unit in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
(b) for the Republic of Colombia: the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism (Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo);
or their successors;
domestic industry means the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive goods of a Party or whose collective output of the like or directly competitive goods constitutes a major proportion of the total production of such goods;
originating goods as referred to in Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin);
serious injury means the significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry;
threat of serious injury means serious injury that is clearly imminent, based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility;
transition period for each good means the period of tariff elimination for that good, with the addition of three years.
Article 8.2. APPLICATION OF a BILATERAL SAFEGUARD MEASURE
1. Subject to Article 8.7.3, if a good originating in one Party, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty provided for in this Agreement, is being imported into the other Party in such increased quantities, in absolute or relative terms, and under such conditions that the imports of the good originating from that Party alone constitute a substantial cause of serious injury or threat of serious injury to a domestic industry, the importing Party may, to the minimum extent necessary to remedy the injury:
(a) suspend the further reduction of any rate of a customs duty provided for under this Agreement on the goods; or
(b) increase the rate of duty on the good to a level not to exceed the lesser of :
(i) the most favored nation (MFN) applied rate of duty in effect at the time the measure is applied; or
(ii) the base rate as provided for in Article 2.14 (Elimination of Customs Duties) in Chapter 2 (Market Access for Goods).
2. The Party that applies a safeguard measure may establish an import quota for the product concerned under the agreed preference/concession established in this Agreement. If a quota is applied, such a measure shall not reduce the quantity of imports to a level below the average of imports before the existence of serious injury.
Article 8.3. LIMITATIONS FOR APPLYING a BILATERAL SAFEGUARD MEASURE
1. Bilateral safeguard measures may not be applied in the first year after the tariff preferences, under Chapter 2 (Market Access for Goods) of this Agreement, come into force.
2. A bilateral safeguard measure shall not be applied except to the extent and for such time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and, it shall not be applied for a period exceeding two years.
However, this period may be extended to up to two additional years if the competent authorities of the importing Party determine, in conformity with the procedures specified in Article 8.4, that the measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting, provided that the total period of application of a safeguard measure, including the period of initial application and any extension thereof, shall not exceed four years.
3. Neither Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure more than once against the same good.
4, For perishable or seasonal goods no measure may be taken more than four times within the initial two years or for a cumulative period exceeding four years provided in paragraph 2 above.
5. Upon termination of the bilateral safeguard measure, the rate of duty or quota shall be the level which would have been in effect had the measure not been imposed.
6. Bilateral safeguard measures may not be applied or maintained after the transition period unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.
7. Following conclusion of the transition period, the Joint Committee shall evaluate whether or not to continue the bilateral safeguard measures mechanism included in this Chapter.
Article 8.4. INVESTIGATION PROCEDURES
1. A Party shall apply a safeguard measure only following an investigation by the Party's competent authority in accordance with its domestic legislation and Articles 3 and 4.2(c) of the Safeguards Agreement; and to this end, Articles 3 and 4.2(c) of the Safeguards Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
2. In the investigation described in paragraph 1, a Party shall comply with the requirements of Article 4.2(a) of the Safeguards Agreement; and to this end, Article 4.2(a) of the Safeguards Agreement is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Article 8.5. PROVISIONAL BILATERAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES
1. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage that would be difficult to repair, a Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure on a provisional basis pursuant to a preliminary determination by its competent authorities that there is clear evidence that imports of an originating good from the other Party have increased as the result of reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, and that such imports constitute a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat thereof, to the domestic industry.
2. A Party shall not apply a provisional measure until at least 44 days after the date on which its competent authorities have initiated an investigation.
3. The duration of any provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days, during which time the Party shall comply with the requirements of Article 8.4.
Article 8.6. NOTIFICATIONS AND CONSULTATIONS
1. A Party shall promptly notify the other Party, in writing upon:
(a) initiating a safeguard proceeding under this Chapter;
(b) making a finding of serious injury, or threat thereof, caused by increased imports under Article 8.2; and
(c) taking a preliminary or final decision to apply or extend a safeguard measure.
2. A Party shall provide the other Party with a copy of the public version of its competent investigating authority's report under Article 8.4.1.
3. If a Party whose goods are subject to a safeguard proceeding under this Chapter requests to hold consultations within 10 days from receipt of a notification as specified in paragraph 1(c), the Party conducting that proceeding shall enter into consultations with the requesting Party with a view to finding an appropriate and mutually satisfactory solution.
4, The consultations under paragraph 3 shall take place in the Joint Committee. In the absence of a decision or if no satisfactory solution is reached within 20 days of the notification being made, the Party may apply bilateral safeguard measures.
Section B. GLOBAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES
Article 8.7. IMPOSITION OF GLOBAL SAFEGUARD MEASURES
1. Each Party retains its rights and obligations in accordance with Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
2. This Agreement does not confer any additional rights or obligations on the Parties with regard to actions taken in accordance with Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement, except that a Party taking a global safeguard measure shall exclude imports of an originating good of the other Party if such imports are not a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof.
3. No Party may apply, with respect to the same good, at the same time: (a) a bilateral safeguard measure; and
(b) a measure in accordance with Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the Safeguards Agreement.
4, In determining whether imports from the other Party are a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof, the competent investigating authority shall consider such factors as the change in the import share of the other Party and the level and change in the level of imports of the other Party. In this regard, imports from the other Party normally shall not be deemed to be a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof, if the growth rate of imports from that Party during the period in which the injurious increase in imports occurred is appreciably lower than the growth rate of total imports from all sources over the same period.
Imports from the Party which have been excluded from the applied safeguard measure, shall not be included in the calculation of the serious injury caused to the domestic industry of the Party who applied such measure.
5. The following conditions and limitations shall apply to a proceeding that may result in global safeguard measures under Article 8.4:
(a) the Party initiating such a proceeding shall, without delay, deliver to the other Party written notice thereof;
(b) upon termination of the measure, the rate of a customs duty or quota shall be the rate which would have been in effect had the measure not been imposed.
Section C. ANTIDUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
Article 8.8. ANTIDUMPING AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
Each Party retains its rights and obligations in accordance with Article VI of the GATT 1994, the Antidumping Agreement and the Subsidies Agreement, with regard to the application of antidumping duties and countervailing measures.
Chapter 9. GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Article 9.. DEFINITIONS
For the Purposes of this Chapter:
commercial goods and services means goods or services of a type generally sold or offered for sale in the commercial marketplace to, and customarily purchased by, non-governmental buyers for non-governmental purposes;
conditions for participation means registration, qualification, and other pre-requisites for participation in a procurement;
construction service means a service that has as its objective the realization by whatever means of civil or building works, based on Division 51 of the United Nations Provisional Central Product Classification;
electronic auction means an iterative process that involves the use of electronic means for the presentation by suppliers of either new prices, or new values for quantifiable non-price elements of the tender related to the evaluation criteria, or both, resulting in a ranking or re-ranking of tenders;
in writing or written means any worded or numbered expression that can be read, reproduced and later communicated. It may include electronically transmitted and stored information;
limited tendering means a procurement method whereby the procuring entity contacts a supplier or suppliers of its choice;
measure means any law, regulation, procedure, administrative guidance or practice, or any action of a procuring entity relating to a covered procurement;
multi-use list means a list of suppliers that a procuring entity has determined satisfy the conditions for participation in that list, and that the procuring entity intends to use more than once;
notice of intended procurement means a notice published by a procuring entity inviting interested suppliers to submit a request for participation, a tender, or both;
offset means any condition or undertaking that encourages local development or improves a Party's balance-of-payments accounts, such as the use of domestic content, the licensing of technology, investment, counter-trade and similar action or requirement;
open tendering means a procurement method whereby all interested suppliers may submit a tender;
procuring entity means an entity covered under a Party's Annex 9-A;
qualified supplier means a supplier that a procuring entity recognizes as having satisfied the conditions for participation;
selective tendering means a procurement method whereby only qualified suppliers are invited by the procuring entity to submit a tender;
services includes construction services, unless otherwise specified;
standard means a document approved by a recognized body that provides for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for goods or services, or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labeling requirements as they apply to a good, service, process or production method;
supplier means a person or group of persons that provides or could provide goods or services; and
technical specification means a tendering requirement that:
1. lays down the characteristics of goods or services to be procured, including quality, performance, safety and dimensions, or the processes and methods for their production or provision; or
2. addresses terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements, as they apply to a good or service.
Article 9.2. SCOPE
1. This Chapter shall apply to any measure of a Party regarding covered procurement.
2. For the purposes of this Chapter, covered procurement means a government procurement:
(a) of goods, services or any combination thereof
(i) as specified in Annex 9-A;
(ii) not procured with a view to commercial sale or resale, or for use in the production or supply of goods or services for commercial sale or resale;
(b) by any contractual means, including purchase, lease, and rental or hire purchase, with or without an option to buy;
(c) for which the value, as estimated in accordance with paragraphs 5 and 6, equals or exceeds the relevant threshold specified in Annex 9-A at the time of publication of a notice in accordance with Article 9.6;
(d) by a procuring entity; and
(e) that is not otherwise excluded from coverage in paragraph 3 or in Annex 9-A.
3. This Chapter shall not apply to:
(a) the acquisition or rental of land, existing buildings, or other immovable property or rights thereon;
(b) non-contractual agreements or any form of assistance that a Party provides, including cooperative agreements, grants, loans, equity infusions, guarantees, fiscal incentives, subsidies;
(c) the procurement or acquisition of fiscal agency or depository services, liquidation and management services for regulated financial institutions, or services related to the public debt, including loans and government bonds, notes and other securities. For greater certainty, this Chapter shall not apply to procurement of banking, financial, or specialized services related to the following activities:
(i) the incurring of public indebtedness; or
(ii) public debt management;
(d) public employment contracts;
(e) procurement conducted under the particular procedure or condition of an international agreement relating to the stationing of troops or relating to the joint implementation by the signatory countries of a project, or under the particular procedure or condition of an international organization, or funded by international grants, loans, or other assistance where the applicable procedure or condition would be inconsistent with this Chapter;
(f) procurement for the direct purpose of providing foreign assistance; and
(g) purchases for a procuring entity from another public entity, provided that the procurement is directly related to the legal object of the supplying public entity.
4. Where a procuring entity, in the context of covered procurement, requires persons not listed in Annex 9-A to procure in accordance with particular requirements, Article 9.4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to such requirements.
Valuation
5. In estimating the value of a procurement for the purposes of ascertaining whether it is a covered procurement, a procuring entity shall:
(a) neither divide a procurement into separate procurements nor select or use a particular valuation method for estimating the value of a procurement with the intention of totally or partially excluding it from the application of this Chapter; and
(b) include the estimated maximum total value of the procurement over its entire duration, whether awarded to one or more suppliers, taking into account all forms of remuneration, including:
(i) premiums, fees, commissions and interest; and
(ii) where the procurement provides for the possibility of options, the total value of such options.
6. Where an individual requirement for a procurement results in the award of more than one contract, or in the award of contracts in separate parts (hereinafter referred to as "recurring procurements"), the calculation of the estimated maximum total value shall be based on:
(a) the total maximum value of the procurement over its entire duration ;
(b) the value of recurring procurements of the same type of good or service awarded during the preceding 12 months or the procuring entity's preceding fiscal year, adjusted, where possible, to take into account anticipated changes in the quantity or value of the good or service being procured over the following 12 months; or
(c) the estimated value of recurring procurements of the same type of good or service to be awarded during the 12 months following the initial contract award or the procuring entity's fiscal year.
7. Where the estimated maximum total value of a procurement over its entire duration is not known, the procurement shall be covered by this Chapter.
Article 9.3. SECURITY AND GENERAL EXCEPTIONS
1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent any Party from taking any action or not disclosing any information that it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests relating to the procurement of arms, ammunition or war materials, or to procurement indispensable for national security or for national defense purposes.
2. Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between the Parties where the same conditions prevail or a disguised restriction on trade between the Parties, nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent a Party from imposing or enforcing measures:
(a) necessary to protect public morals, order or safety;
(b) necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health;
(c) necessary to protect intellectual property; or
(d) relating to goods or services of persons with disabilities, philanthropic institutions, or prison labor.
3. The Parties understand that paragraph 2(b) includes environmental measures necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health.
Article 9.4. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
National Treatment and Non-Discrimination
1. With respect to any measure regarding covered procurement, each Party, including its procuring entities, shall accord immediately and unconditionally to the goods and services of the other Party and to the suppliers of the other Party offering such goods or services, treatment no less favourable than that accorded to domestic goods, services and suppliers.
2. With respect to any measure regarding covered procurement, a Party, including its procuring entities, shall not:
(a) treat a locally established supplier less favourably than another locally established supplier on the basis of the degree of foreign affiliation or ownership; or
(b) discriminate against a locally established supplier on the basis that the goods or services offered by that supplier for a particular procurement are goods or services of the other Party.
Use of Electronic Means
3. When conducting covered procurement by electronic means, a procuring entity shall: