Scope
This Section applies to wine products 12 and spirits classified under headings 2204, 2205 and 2208 of the Harmonized System.
ARTICLE 2.22
Oenological Practices
1. The European Union shall authorise the importation and marketing in its territory for human consumption of wine originating in Mexico and produced in compliance with:
(a) product definitions authorised in Mexico by the laws and regulations referred to in Part A of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits); and
(b) oenological practices authorised and restrictions applied in Mexico pursuant to the laws and regulations referred to in Part A of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits) or otherwise approved for use in wines for export by the competent authority of Mexico, in so far as they are recommended and published by the International Organisation of the Vine and Wine (hereafter referred to as "OIV").
The authorisation of this paragraph is subject to the requirement that no alcohol or spirits are added to the wines with the exception of liquor wines to which alcohol of vine origin or grape spirit may be added. This subparagraph is without prejudice to the possibility of adding alcohol different from alcohol of vine origin in the production of "vino generoso", provided that such an addition is clearly displayed on the label.
2. Mexico shall authorise the importation and marketing in its territory for human consumption of wine originating in the European Union and produced in compliance with:
(a) product definitions authorised in the European Union by the laws and regulations referred to in Part B of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits);
(b) oenological practices authorized and restrictions applied in the European Union pursuant to the laws and regulations referred to in Part B of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits); and
(c) the fact that the addition of alcohol or spirits is excluded for all wines other than liqueur wines to which only alcohol of vine origin or grape spirit may be added.
3. Vine varieties that may be used in wines imported from a Party and marketed in the territory of the other Party are varieties of plants of the "vitis vinifera" and hybrids thereof, without prejudice to any more restrictive laws and regulations which a Party may have in respect of wine produced in its territory.
4. The Joint Council may modify Parts A and B of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits) for adding, deleting or updating the references to product definitions, and oenological practices and restrictions.
ARTICLE 2.23
Labelling of Wine Products and Spirits
1. A Party shall not require any of the following dates or their equivalent to be displayed on the container, label, or packaging of wine products or spirits:
(a) date of packaging;
(b) date of bottling;
(c) date of production or manufacture;
(d) date of expiration, "use by" date, "use or consume by" date, "expire by" date;
(e) date of minimum durability, "best-by" date, "best quality before" date; or
(f) "sell-by" date.
A Party may require the display of a date of minimum durability in case of the addition of perishable ingredients or in case of a durability considered by the producer of less than or equal to 12 months.
2. A Party shall not require translations of trademarks, brand names or geographical indications to be displayed on containers, labels, or packaging of wine products or spirits.
3. A Party shall permit mandatory information, including translations, to be displayed on a supplementary label affixed to a container of wine products or spirits. Supplementary labels may be affixed to imported container of wine or spirit after importation but prior to offering the product for sale in the Party's territory, provided that the mandatory information of the original label is fully and accurately reflected.
4. A Party shall permit the use of identification lot codes provided that those codes are preserved from deletion.
5. A Party shall not apply a labelling measure to wine products and spirits that were marketed in the territory of that Party prior to the date on which the measure entered into force, except under exceptional circumstances.
6. A Party shall permit the use of drawings, figures, illustrations and claims or legends on bottles provided that they do not replace mandatory labelling information and do not mislead the consumer as to the real characteristics and composition of the wines products and spirits.
7. A Party shall not require that labels of wine products or spirits display allergen labelling with regard to allergens which have been used in the production and preparation of the wine products or spirit and which are not present in the final product.
8. For trade in wine between the Parties, wine originating in the European Union may be labelled in Mexico with an indication of the product type as specified in Part C (Labelling of Wines) of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits).
9. Each Party shall protect the following names with regard to wine products and spirits, in conformity with the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, done at Paris on 20 March 1883 (hereinafter referred to as "the Paris Convention"):
(a) the name of a Member State; and
(b) the name of the United Mexican States or Mexico and its States.
10. A Party shall permit labels of wine products or spirits to express the alcoholic content by volume in the following acronyms:
(a) "% Alc. Vol.";
(b) "% Alc Vol.";
(c) "% alc. vol.";
(d) "% alc vol.";
(e) "% Alc.";
(f) "% Alc./Vol.";
(g) "Alc( )%vol.";
(h) "% alc/vol";
(i) "alc( )%vol".
ARTICLE 2.24
Certification of Wine Products and Spirits
1. A Party may require, for wine products imported from the other Party and placed on its market, only the documentation and certification set out in Part D (Documentation and Certification) of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits).
2. A Party shall not submit the import of wine products produced in the territory of the other Party to more restrictive import certification requirements than those laid down in this Agreement.
3. Each Party may apply its laws and regulations in order to identify adulterated or contaminated products after their final importation.
4. In case of a dispute, each Party shall recognise as reference methods, the methods of analysis complying with the standards recommended by international organisations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or, in case those methods do not exist, the methods of the OIV.
5. Each Party shall authorise the importation in its territory of spirits in accordance with the rules governing import documentation or certification and analysis reports as provided for in its laws and regulations.
6. The European Union shall require for the importation of Tequila and Mezcal into the European Union the presentation to its customs authorities of an export authenticity certificate of those products issued by the conformity assessment bodies accredited and approved by the Mexican authorities. 13 Mexico shall provide models of the export authenticity certificate of Tequila and Mezcal and notify any changes related to those certificates to the Sub-Committee on Trade in Wines and Spirits.
7. A Party may introduce temporary additional import certification requirements for wines products and spirits imported from the other Party in response to legitimate public policy concerns, such as health or consumer protection, or in order to act against fraud. In such case, the Party shall provide to the other Party adequate information and sufficient time to permit the fulfilment of the additional requirements.
Such requirements shall not extend beyond the period of time necessary to respond to the particular public policy concern or risk of fraud in response to which they were introduced.
8. The Joint Council may modify Part D (Documentation and Certification) of Annex 2-E (Relevant Measures on Wine Products and Spirits) with regard to the documentation and certification referred to in paragraph 1.
ARTICLE 2.25
Applicable Rules
Unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, importation and marketing of products covered by this Section, traded between the Parties, shall be conducted in compliance with the laws and regulations applying in the territory of the Party of importation.
ARTICLE 2.26
Transitional Measures
Products which, at the date of entry into force of this Agreement, have been produced and labelled in accordance with the laws and regulations of a Party and the existing agreements between the Parties, but do not comply with this Section may be marketed in the importing Party under the following conditions:
(a) by wholesalers or producers, for a period of two years; or
(b) by retailers, until stocks are exhausted.
ARTICLE 2.27
Notifications
Each Party shall ensure timely notification to the other Party of any amendments to laws and regulations on matters covered by this Section that have an impact on products traded between them.
ARTICLE 2.28
Cooperation on Trade in Wines and Spirits
1. The Parties shall cooperate on and address matters related to trade in wines and spirits, in particular:
(a) product definitions, certification and labelling; and
(b) the use of grape varieties in winemaking and labelling thereof.
2. To facilitate mutual assistance between the enforcement authorities of the Parties, each Party shall designate the competent authorities and bodies responsible for the implementation and application of matters covered by this Section. If a Party designates more than one competent authority or body, it shall ensure coordination between those authorities and bodies. In that case, a Party shall also designate a single liaison authority that should serve as the single contact point for the authority or body of the other Party.
3. The Parties shall inform each other of the names and addresses of the competent authorities and bodies referred to in paragraph 2, and any changes thereto, no later than six months after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
4. The authorities and bodies referred to in this Article shall closely cooperate and seek ways for further improving assistance with each other in the application of this Section, in particular in order to combat fraudulent practices.
ARTICLE 2.29
Sub-Committee on Trade in Wines and Spirits
1. The Sub-Committee on Trade in Wines and Spirits established by Article 1.10.1(c) (Sub-Committees and Other Bodies of Part III of this Agreement) shall:
(a) monitor the implementation and administration of this Section;
(b) provide a forum for cooperation on matters relating to this Section and exchange of information; and
(c) ensure the proper functioning of this Section.
2. The Sub-Committee on Trade in Wines and Spirits may make recommendations and prepare decisions for the Joint Council which may be adopted as provided for in this Section.
SECTION D
Non-Tariff Market Access Commitments for Other Sectors
ARTICLE 2.30
Pharmaceuticals
Specific non-tariff market access commitments of each Party relating to pharmaceutical products and medical devices are set out in Annex 2-F (Pharmaceuticals).
ARTICLE 2.31
Motor Vehicles
Specific non-market access commitments of each Party relating to motor vehicles and equipment, and parts thereof, are set out in Annex 2-G (Motor Vehicles and Equipment and Parts Thereof).
Chapter 3. RULES OF ORIGIN AND ORIGIN PROCEDURES
SECTION A
Rules of Origin
ARTICLE 3.1
Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Chapter:
(a) "chapters", "headings" and "subheadings" means the chapters (two-digit codes), the headings (four-digit codes) and sub-headings (six-digit codes) used in the nomenclature of the Harmonized System;
(b) "competent governmental authority" means in the case of Mexico, the designated authority within the Ministry of Economy (Secretaría de Economía), or its successor;
(c) "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;
(d) "customs authorities" means the governmental authority that is responsible under the law of a Party for the administration, application and enforcement of customs laws and regulations;
(e) "exporter" means a person located in the territory of a Party who exports from the territory of that Party and makes out a statement on origin;
(f) "importer" means a person located in the territory of a Party who imports a good and claims preferential tariff treatment;
(g) "material" means any ingredient, raw material, component, part, or the like, used in the production of the product;
(h) "non-originating materials" means materials which do not qualify as originating under this Chapter;
(i) "originating materials" or "originating products" means materials or products which qualify as originating under this Chapter;
(j) "product" means the product being manufactured, even if it is intended as a material for later use in the production of another product; and
(k) "production" means any kind of working, processing or specific operations, including assembly.
ARTICLE 3.2
General Requirements
1. For the purposes of applying the preferential tariff treatment by a Party to the originating good of the other Party in accordance with this Agreement, the following products shall be considered as originating in the Party where the last production took place:
(a) products wholly obtained in that Party within the meaning of Article 3.4;
(b) products produced in that Party exclusively from originating materials; or
(c) products produced in that Party incorporating non-originating materials, provided they fulfil the conditions set out in Annex 3-A (Product Specific Rules of Origin).
2. A product considered as originating in a Party in accordance with paragraph 1 has to meet all other applicable requirements of this Chapter for granting preferential tariff treatment based on a claim pursuant to Article 3.16.
3. If a product has acquired originating status, the non-originating materials used in the production of that product shall not be considered non-originating when that product is incorporated as a material in another product.
4. For the acquisition of the originating status, the product has to be produced as referred to in subparagraphs 1(a) to 1(c) without interruption in a Party.
ARTICLE 3.3
Cumulation of Origin
1. A product originating in a Party shall be considered as an originating product of the other Party if it is used as a material in the production of another product in that other Party 14 .
2. Paragraph 1 does not apply if:
(a) the production of a product does not go beyond the operations referred to in Article 3.6; and
(b) the object of this production, as demonstrated on the basis of a preponderance of evidence, is to circumvent financial or tax law of the Parties.
ARTICLE 3.4
Wholly Obtained Products
1. The following products shall be considered as wholly obtained in a Party:
(a) mineral products extracted from its soil or from its seabed;
(b) plants and vegetable products grown or harvested there;
(c) live animals born and raised there;
(d) products from live animals raised there;
(e) products obtained from slaughtered animals born and raised there;
(f) products obtained by hunting or fishing conducted there;
(g) products obtained from aquaculture there, if aquatic organisms, including fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other aquatic invertebrates and aquatic plants are born or raised from seed stock such as eggs, roes, fry, fingerlings or larvae, by intervention in the rearing or growth processes to enhance production such as regular stocking, feeding or protection from predators;
(h) products of sea fishing and other products taken from the sea outside any territorial sea by a vessel of a Party;
(i) products produced on board of a factory ship of a Party exclusively from products referred to in subparagraph (h);
(j) used articles collected there fit only for the recovery of raw materials, including those raw materials;
(k) waste and scrap resulting from production operations conducted there;
(l) products extracted from the seabed or subsoil thereof outside the territorial sea of a Party, provided that they have rights to exploit or work such seabed or subsoil; or
(m) goods produced there exclusively from the products specified in subparagraphs (a) to (l).
2. The terms "vessel of a Party" and "factory ship of a Party" in subparagraph 1(h) and 1(i) mean a vessel or a factory ship which:
(a) is registered in a Member State or in Mexico;
(b) sails under the flag of a Member State or Mexico; and
(c) meets one of the following conditions:
(i) it is at least 50 % owned by nationals of a Member State or Mexico; or
(ii) it is owned by enterprises which:
(A) have their head office and main place of business in the European Union or Mexico; and
(B) are at least 50 % owned by public entities, nationals or enterprises of a Member State or Mexico.
ARTICLE 3.5
Tolerances
1. If a product does not satisfy the requirements set out in Annex 3-A (Product Specific Rules of Origin) due to the use of a non-originating material in the production, that product shall nevertheless be considered as originating in a Party provided that:
(a) the total value of that non-originating material does not exceed 10 % of the ex-works price of the product; and
(b) any of the percentages set out in Annex 3-A (Product Specific Rules of Origin) for the maximum value or weight of non-originating materials are not exceeded through the application of this paragraph.