1.   The Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, is hereby approved on behalf of the Union as regards matters other than those falling under the Euratom Treaty (3).

2.   The Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning security procedures for exchanging and protecting classified information is hereby approved on behalf of the Union (4).

3.   The authentic and definitive texts of the Agreements that replaced ab initio the signed versions of the Agreements are attached to this Decision.

1.   The Commission shall represent the Union within the Partnership Council, Trade Partnership Committee, Trade Specialised Committees and Specialised Committees set up pursuant to Articles 7 and 8 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, as well as in any additional Trade Specialised Committee or Specialised Committee that is established in accordance with point (g) of Article 7(4) or point (g) of Article 8(2) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Each Member State shall be allowed to send one representative to accompany the Commission representative, as part of the Union delegation, in meetings of the Partnership Council and of other joint bodies established under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

2.   In order for the Council to be in a position to exercise fully its policymaking, coordinating and decision-making functions in accordance with the Treaties, in particular by establishing the positions to be taken on behalf of the Union within the Partnership Council, Trade Partnership Committee, Trade Specialised Committees and Specialised Committees, the Commission shall ensure that the Council receives all the information and documents related to any meeting of those joint bodies or to any acts to be adopted by written procedure sufficiently in advance of that meeting or that usage of written procedure, and in any case not later than eight working days prior to that meeting or that usage of written procedure.

The Council shall also be informed in a timely manner about the discussions and the outcome of the meetings of the Partnership Council, Trade Partnership Committee, Trade Specialised Committees and Specialised Committees and the usage of written procedure, and shall receive draft minutes and all documents relating to such meetings or usage of procedure.

3.   The European Parliament shall be put in a position to exercise fully its institutional prerogatives throughout the process in accordance with the Treaties.

4.   For a period of five years from 1 January 2021, the Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation and application of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. That annual report shall mention as appropriate any relevant evolution in the law of the United Kingdom relating to the areas of subsidy control and taxation covered by Title XI of Heading One of Part Two of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, as well as any relevant evolution in the levels of protection of labour and social standards, environment and climate covered by that Title. After that initial period of five years, the Commission shall report regularly, and at least every two years, to the European Parliament and to the Council.

1.   Until a specific legislative act regulating the adoption of the measures listed in points (a) to (k) of this paragraph enters into force in the Union, any decision by the Union to take such measures shall be taken by the Commission, in accordance with the conditions set out in the corresponding provisions of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, as regards:

2.   The Commission shall fully inform the Council in a timely manner of its intention to adopt measures referred to in paragraph 1 with a view to allowing a meaningful exchange of views in the Council. The Commission shall take the utmost account of the views expressed. The Commission shall also inform the European Parliament, as appropriate.

3.   Where there is a particular concern of one or more Member States, that or those Member States may request the Commission to adopt measures referred to in paragraph 1. If the Commission does not respond positively to such a request, it shall inform the Council in a timely manner of its reasons.

4.   The Commission may also adopt measures reinstating the rights and obligations under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement as they existed prior to the adoption of measures referred to in paragraph 1. Paragraphs 2 and 3 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

5.   If, due to persisting significant divergences, rebalancing measures as referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 last for more than a year, one or more Member States may request the Commission to activate the review clause provided for in Article 411 of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The Commission shall examine this request in a timely manner and shall consider seizing as appropriate the Partnership Council of that matter, in accordance with the provisions set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. If the Commission does not respond positively to such a request, it shall inform the Council in a timely manner of its reasons.

6.   Before a specific legislative act regulating the adoption of the measures referred to in paragraph 1 is adopted, and in any case no later than 1 January 2022, the Council shall conduct a review of the arrangements set out in this Article.

1.   The Commission shall be authorised to take, on behalf of the Union, any decision to:

2.   Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article 3 shall apply.

1.   The Member States are empowered to negotiate, sign and conclude the arrangements referred to in Article 419(4) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, subject to the following conditions:

The procedure set out in Article 8 of this Decision shall apply.

2.   The Member States are empowered to grant the authorisations referred to in Article 419(9) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement subject to its terms and in accordance with the applicable provisions of Union and national law. In granting those authorisations, the Member States shall not discriminate between Union air carriers.

3.   The Member States are empowered to negotiate, sign and conclude the arrangements referred to in Article 419(9) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, subject to the following conditions:

The procedure set out in Article 8 of this Decision shall apply.

1.   Each Member State that intends to negotiate a bilateral arrangement as referred to in Article 6(1) and (3) or a bilateral agreement as referred to in Article 7 shall keep the Commission informed of the negotiations with the United Kingdom on such arrangements or agreements and, where appropriate, invite the Commission to participate in the negotiations as an observer.

2.   Upon completion of the negotiations, the Member State concerned shall submit the resulting draft arrangement or agreement to the Commission. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council thereof without delay.

3.   No later than three months from the receipt of the draft arrangement or agreement, the Commission shall take a decision as to whether the conditions set out in the first subparagraph of, respectively, Article 6(1) or (3) or Article 7 are fulfilled. If the Commission decides that those conditions are fulfilled, the Member State concerned may sign and conclude the arrangement or agreement in question.

4.   The Member State concerned shall provide the Commission with a copy of the arrangement or agreement within one month of its entry into force or, where the arrangement or agreement is to be applied provisionally, within one month of the start of its provisional application.

1.   Where the Union and the United Kingdom conclude other bilateral agreements between them, such agreements shall constitute supplementing agreements to this Agreement, unless otherwise provided for in those agreements. Such supplementing agreements shall be an integral part of the overall bilateral relations as governed by this Agreement and shall form part of the overall framework.

2.   Paragraph 1 also applies to:

1.   The Parties shall, in full mutual respect and good faith, assist each other in carrying out tasks that flow from this Agreement and any supplementing agreement.

2.   They shall take all appropriate measures, whether general or particular, to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations arising from this Agreement and from any supplementing agreement, and shall refrain from any measures which could jeopardise the attainment of the objectives of this Agreement or any supplementing agreement.

1.   The provisions of this Agreement and any supplementing agreement shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with their ordinary meaning in their context and in light of the object and purpose of the agreement in accordance with customary rules of interpretation of public international law, including those codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, done at Vienna on 23 May 1969.

2.   For greater certainty, neither this Agreement nor any supplementing agreement establishes an obligation to interpret their provisions in accordance with the domestic law of either Party.

3.   For greater certainty, an interpretation of this Agreement or any supplementing agreement given by the courts of either Party shall not be binding on the courts of the other Party.

1.   Without prejudice to Article SSC.67 of the Protocol on Social Security Coordination and with the exception, with regard to the Union, of Part Three of this Agreement, nothing in this Agreement or any supplementing agreement shall be construed as conferring rights or imposing obligations on persons other than those created between the Parties under public international law, nor as permitting this Agreement or any supplementing agreement to be directly invoked in the domestic legal systems of the Parties.

2.   A Party shall not provide for a right of action under its law against the other Party on the ground that the other Party has acted in breach of this Agreement or any supplementing agreement.

1.   For the purposes of this Agreement and any supplementing agreement, and unless otherwise specified, the following definitions apply:

2.   Any reference to the "Union", "Party" or "Parties" in this Agreement or any supplementing agreement shall be understood as not including the European Atomic Energy Community, unless otherwise specified or where the context otherwise requires.

1.   A Partnership Council is hereby established. It shall comprise representatives of the Union and of the United Kingdom. The Partnership Council may meet in different configurations depending on the matters under discussion.

2.   The Partnership Council shall be co-chaired by a Member of the European Commission and a representative of the Government of the United Kingdom at ministerial level. It shall meet at the request of the Union or the United Kingdom, and, in any event, at least once a year, and shall set its meeting schedule and its agenda by mutual consent.

3.   The Partnership Council shall oversee the attainment of the objectives of this Agreement and any supplementing agreement. It shall supervise and facilitate the implementation and application of this Agreement and of any supplementing agreement. Each Party may refer to the Partnership Council any issue relating to the implementation, application and interpretation of this Agreement or of any supplementing agreement.

4.   The Partnership Council shall have the power to:

5.   The work of the Partnership Council shall be governed by the rules of procedure set out in Annex 1. The Partnership Council may amend that Annex.

1.   The following Committees are hereby established:

2.   With respect to issues related to Titles I to VII, Chapter 4 of Title VIII, Titles IX to XII of Heading One of Part Two, Heading Six of Part Two and Annex 27, the Trade Partnership Committee referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall have the power to:

3.   With respect to issues related to their area of competence, Trade Specialised Committees shall have the power to:

4.   With respect to issues related to their area of competence, Specialised Committees shall have the power to:

5.   Committees shall comprise representatives of each Party. Each Party shall ensure that its representatives on the Committees have the appropriate expertise with respect to the issues under discussion.

6.   The Trade Partnership Committee shall be co-chaired by a senior representative of the Union and a representative of the United Kingdom with responsibility for trade-related matters, or their designees. It shall meet at the request of the Union or the United Kingdom, and, in any event, at least once a year, and shall set its meeting schedule and its agenda by mutual consent.

7.   The Trade Specialised Committees and the Specialised Committees shall be co-chaired by a representative of the Union and a representative of the United Kingdom. Unless otherwise provided for in this Agreement, or unless the co-chairs decide otherwise, they shall meet at least once a year.

8.   Committees shall set their meeting schedule and agenda by mutual consent.

9.   The work of the Committees shall be governed by the rules of procedure set out in Annex 1.

10.   By way of derogation from paragraph 9, a Committee may adopt and subsequently amend its own rules that shall govern its work.

1.   The following Working Groups are hereby established:

2.   Working Groups shall, under the supervision of Committees, assist Committees in the performance of their tasks and, in particular, prepare the work of Committees and carry out any task assigned to them by the latter.

3.   Working Groups shall comprise representatives of the Union and of the United Kingdom and shall be co-chaired by a representative of the Union and a representative of the United Kingdom.

4.   Working Groups shall set their own rules of procedure, meeting schedule and agenda by mutual consent.

1.   The decisions adopted by the Partnership Council, or, as the case may be, by a Committee, shall be binding on the Parties and on all the bodies set up under this Agreement and under any supplementing agreement, including the arbitration tribunal referred to in Title I of Part Six. Recommendations shall have no binding force.

2.   The Partnership Council or, as the case may be, a Committee, shall adopt decisions and make recommendations by mutual consent.

1.   The European Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom may establish a Parliamentary Partnership Assembly consisting of Members of the European Parliament and of Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a forum to exchange views on the partnership.

2.   Upon its establishment, the Parliamentary Partnership Assembly:

1.   Each Party shall consult on issues covered by this Agreement and any supplementing agreement its newly created or existing domestic advisory group or groups comprising a representation of independent civil society organisations including non-governmental organisations, business and employers' organisations, as well as trade unions, active in economic, sustainable development, social, human rights, environmental and other matters. Each Party may convene its domestic advisory group or groups in different configurations to discuss the implementation of different provisions of this Agreement or of any supplementing agreement.

2.   Each Party shall consider views or recommendations submitted by its domestic advisory group or groups. Representatives of each Party shall aim to consult with their respective domestic advisory group or groups at least once a year. Meetings may be held by virtual means.

3.   In order to promote public awareness of the domestic advisory groups, each Party shall endeavour to publish the list of organisations participating in its domestic advisory group or groups as well as the contact point for that or those groups.

4.   The Parties shall promote interaction between their respective domestic advisory groups, including by exchanging where possible the contact details of members of their domestic advisory groups.

1.   The Parties shall facilitate the organisation of a Civil Society Forum to conduct a dialogue on the implementation of Part Two. The Partnership Council shall adopt operational guidelines for the conduct of the Forum.

2.   The Civil Society Forum shall meet at least once a year, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties. The Civil Society Forum may meet by virtual means.

3.   The Civil Society Forum shall be open for the participation of independent civil society organisations established in the territories of the Parties, including members of the domestic advisory groups referred to in Article 13. Each Party shall promote a balanced representation, including non-governmental organisations, business and employers' organisations and trade unions, active in economic, sustainable development, social, human rights, environmental and other matters.

1.   A Party may not adopt or maintain any duty, tax or other charge of any kind imposed on, or in connection with, the exportation of a good to the other Party; or any internal tax or other charge on a good exported to the other Party that is in excess of the tax or charge that would be imposed on like goods when destined for domestic consumption.

2.   For the purpose of this Article the term "other charge of any kind" does not include fees or other charges that are permitted under Article 23.

1.   Fees and other charges imposed by a Party on or in connection with importation or exportation of a good of the other Party shall be limited in amount to the approximate cost of the services rendered, and shall not represent an indirect protection to domestic goods or taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes. A Party shall not levy fees or other charges on or in connection with importation or exportation on an ad valorem basis.

2.   Each Party may impose charges or recover costs only where specific services are rendered, in particular, but not limited to, the following:

3.   Each Party shall promptly publish all fees and charges it imposes in connection with importation or exportation via an official website in such a manner as to enable governments, traders and other interested parties, to become acquainted with them. That information shall include the reason for the fee or charge for the service provided, the responsible authority, the fees and charges that will be applied, and when and how payment is to be made. New or amended fees and charges shall not be imposed until information in accordance with this paragraph has been published and made readily available.

4.   A Party shall not require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of any good of the other Party.

1.   A Party shall not 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 its territory to the territory of the other Party for repair.

2.   Paragraph 1 does not apply to a good imported in bond, into free trade zones, or in similar status, that is then exported for repair and is not re-imported in bond, into free trade zones, or in similar status.

3.   A Party shall not apply a customs duty to a good, regardless of its origin, imported temporarily from the territory of the other Party for repair.

1.   A Party shall not accord to remanufactured goods of the other Party treatment that is less favourable than that which it accords to equivalent goods in new condition.

2.   Article 26 applies to import and export prohibitions or restrictions on remanufactured goods. If a Party adopts or maintains import and export prohibitions or restrictions on used goods, it shall not apply those measures to remanufactured goods.

3.   A Party may require that remanufactured goods be identified as such for distribution or sale in its territory and that they meet all applicable technical requirements that apply to equivalent goods in new condition.

1.   A Party shall not 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 GATT 1994, including its Notes and Supplementary Provisions. To that end, Article XI of GATT 1994 and its Notes and Supplementary Provisions are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.

2.   A Party shall not adopt or maintain:

1.   Each Party shall ensure that all import licensing procedures applicable to trade in goods between the Parties are neutral in application, and are administered in a fair, equitable, non-discriminatory and transparent manner.

2.   A Party shall only adopt or maintain licensing procedures as a condition for importation into its territory from the territory of the other Party, if other appropriate procedures to achieve an administrative purpose are not reasonably available.

3.   A Party shall not adopt or maintain any non-automatic import licensing procedure, unless it is necessary to implement a measure that is consistent with this Agreement. A Party adopting such non-automatic import licensing procedure shall indicate clearly the measure being implemented through that procedure.

4.   Each Party shall introduce and administer any import licensing procedure in accordance with Articles 1 to 3 of the WTO Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (the "Import Licensing Agreement"). To that end, Articles 1 to 3 of the Import Licensing Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement mutatis mutandis.

5.   Any Party introducing or modifying any import licensing procedure shall make all relevant information available online on an official website. That information shall be made available, whenever practicable, at least 21 days prior to the date of the application of the new or modified licensing procedure and in any event no later than the date of application. That information shall contain the data required under Article 5 of the Import Licensing Agreement.

6.   At the request of the other Party, a Party shall promptly provide any relevant information regarding any import licensing procedures that it intends to adopt or that it maintains, including the information referred to in Articles 1 to 3 of the Import Licensing Agreement.

7.   For greater certainty, nothing in this Article requires a Party to grant an import licence, or prevents a Party from implementing its obligations or commitments under United Nations Security Council Resolutions or under multilateral non-proliferation regimes and import control arrangements.

1.   Each Party shall publish any new export licensing procedure, or any modification to an existing export licensing procedure, in such a manner as to enable governments, traders and other interested parties to become acquainted with them. Such publication shall take place, whenever practicable, 45 days before the procedure or modification takes effect, and in any case no later than the date such procedure or modification takes effect and, where appropriate, publication shall take place on any relevant government websites.

2.   The publication of export licensing procedures shall include the following information:

3.   Within 45 days after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall notify the other Party of its existing export licensing procedures. Each Party shall notify to the other Party any new export licensing procedures and any modifications to existing export licensing procedures within 60 days of publication. The notification shall include a reference to the sources where the information required pursuant to paragraph 2 is published and shall include, where appropriate, the address of the relevant government websites.

4.   For greater certainty, nothing in this Article requires a Party to grant an export licence, or prevents a Party from implementing its commitments under United Nations Security Council Resolutions as well as under multilateral non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements including the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, the Australia Group, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and the Missile Technology Control Regime, or from adopting, maintaining or implementing independent sanctions regimes.

1.   For the purpose of monitoring the functioning of this Agreement and calculating preference utilisation rates, the Parties shall annually exchange import statistics for a 10 year-long period starting one year after the entry into force of this Agreement. Unless the Trade Partnership Committee decides otherwise, this period shall be automatically extended for five years, and thereafter the Trade Partnership Committee may decide to extend it further.

2.   The exchange of import statistics shall cover data pertaining to the most recent year available, including value and, where applicable, volume, at the tariff line level for imports of goods of the other Party benefitting from preferential duty treatment under this Agreement and for those that receive non-preferential treatment.

1.   The Parties affirm their rights and obligations under Article VI of GATT 1994, the Anti-Dumping Agreement, the SCM Agreement, Article XIX of GATT 1994, the Safeguards Agreement, and Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture.

2.   Chapter 2 of this Title does not apply to anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard investigations and measures.

3.   Each Party shall apply anti-dumping and countervailing measures in accordance with the requirements of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the SCM Agreement, and pursuant to a fair and transparent process.

4.   Provided it does not unnecessarily delay the conduct of the investigation, each interested party in an anti-dumping or countervailing investigation (1) shall be granted a full opportunity to defend its interests.

5.   Each Party's investigating authority may, in accordance with the Party's law, consider whether the amount of the anti-dumping duty to be imposed shall be the full margin of dumping or a lesser amount.

6.   Each Party's investigating authority shall, in accordance with the Party's law, consider information provided as to whether imposing an anti-dumping or a countervailing duty would not be in the public interest.

7.   A Party shall not apply or maintain, with respect to the same good, at the same time:

8.   Title I of Part Six does not apply to paragraphs 1 to 6 of this Article.

1.   Products originating in one Party shall not be eligible to be imported into the other Party under existing WTO Tariff Rate Quotas ("TRQs") as defined in paragraph 2. This shall include those TRQs as being apportioned between the Parties pursuant to Article XXVIII GATT negotiations initiated by the European Union in WTO document G/SECRET/42/Add.2 and by the United Kingdom in WTO document G/SECRET/44 and as set out in each Party's respective internal legislation. For the purposes of this Article, the originating status of the products shall be determined on the basis of non-preferential rules of origin applicable in the importing Party.

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, "existing WTO TRQs" means those tariff rate quotas which are WTO concessions of the European Union included in the draft EU28 schedule of concessions and commitments under GATT 1994 submitted to the WTO in document G/MA/TAR/RS/506 as amended by documents G/MA/TAR/RS/506/Add.1 and G/MA/TAR/RS/506/Add.2.

1.   The Parties shall cooperate in preventing, detecting and combating breaches or circumventions of customs legislation, in accordance with their obligations under Chapter 2 of this Title and the Protocol on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters. Each Party shall take appropriate and comparable measures to protect its own and the other Party's financial interests regarding the levying of duties on goods entering the customs territories of the United Kingdom or the Union.

2.   Subject to the possibility of exemption for compliant traders under paragraph 7, a Party may temporarily suspend the relevant preferential treatment of the product or products concerned in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraphs 3 and 4 if:

3.   The Party which has made a finding as referred to in paragraph 2 shall notify the Trade Partnership Committee and shall enter into consultations with the other Party within the Trade Partnership Committee with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.

4.   If the Parties fail to agree on a mutually acceptable solution within three months after the date of notification, the Party which has made the finding may decide to suspend temporarily the relevant preferential treatment of the product or products concerned. In this case, the Party which made the finding shall notify the temporary suspension, including the period during which it intends the temporary suspension to apply, to the Trade Partnership Committee without delay.

5.   The temporary suspension shall apply only for the period necessary to counteract the breaches or circumventions and to protect the financial interests of the Party concerned, and in any case not for longer than six months. The Party concerned shall keep the situation under review and, where it decides that the temporary suspension is no longer necessary, it shall bring it to an end before the end of the period notified to the Trade Partnership Committee. Where the conditions that gave rise to the suspension persist at the expiry of the period notified to the Trade Partnership Committee, the Party concerned may decide to renew the suspension. Any suspension shall be subject to periodic consultations within the Trade Partnership Committee.

6.   Each Party shall publish, in accordance with its internal procedures, notices to importers about any decision concerning temporary suspensions referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5.

7.   Notwithstanding paragraph 4, if an importer is able to satisfy the importing customs authority that such products are fully compliant with the importing Party's customs legislation, the requirements of this Agreement, and any other appropriate conditions related to the temporary suspension established by the importing Party in accordance with its laws and regulations, the importing Party shall allow the importer to apply for preferential treatment and recover any duties paid in excess of the applicable preferential tariff rates when the products were imported.

1.   The Parties shall cooperate in facilitating the return of cultural property illicitly removed from the territory of a Party, having regard to the principles enshrined in the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property signed in Paris on 17 November 1970.

2.   For the purposes of this Article, the following definitions apply:

3.   The competent authorities of the Parties shall cooperate with each other in particular by:

4.   Each Party shall identify a contact point responsible for communicating with the contact point of the other Party with respect to any matters arising under this Article, including with respect to the notifications and requests referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 3.

5.   The envisaged cooperation between the Parties shall involve the customs authorities of the Parties responsible for managing export procedures for cultural property as appropriate and necessary.

6.   Title I of Part Six does not apply to this Article.

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, provided that the products satisfy all other applicable requirements of this Chapter, the following products shall be considered as originating in the other Party:

2.   If a product has acquired originating status, the non-originating materials used in the production of that product shall not be considered as non-originating when that product is incorporated as a material in another product.

3.   The acquisition of originating status shall be fulfilled without interruption in the United Kingdom or the Union.

1.   A product originating in a Party shall be considered as originating in the other Party if that product is used as a material in the production of another product in that other Party.

2.   Production carried out in a Party on a non-originating material may be taken into account for the purpose of determining whether a product is originating in the other Party.

3.   Paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply if the production carried out in the other Party does not go beyond the operations referred to in Article 43.

4.   In order for an exporter to complete the statement on origin referred to in point (a) of Article 54(2) for a product referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the exporter shall obtain from its supplier a supplier's declaration as provided for in Annex 6 or an equivalent document that contains the same information describing the non-originating materials concerned in sufficient detail to enable them to be identified.

1.   The following products shall be considered as wholly obtained in a Party:

2.   The terms "vessel of a Party" and "factory ship of a Party" in points (h) and (i) of paragraph 1 mean a vessel and factory ship which:

1.   If a product does not satisfy the requirements set out in Annex 3 due to the use of a non-originating material in its production, that product shall nevertheless be considered as originating in a Party, provided that:

2.   Paragraph 1 does not apply if the value or weight of non-originating materials used in the production of a product exceeds any of the percentages for the maximum value or weight of non-originating materials as specified in the requirements set out in Annex 3.

3.   Paragraph 1 of this Article does not apply to products wholly obtained in a Party within the meaning of Article 41. If Annex 3 requires that the materials used in the production of a product are wholly obtained, paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article apply.

1.   Notwithstanding point (c) of Article 39(1), a product shall not be considered as originating in a Party if the production of the product in a Party consists only of one or more of the following operations conducted on non-originating materials:

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, operations shall be considered simple if neither special skills nor machines, apparatus or equipment especially produced or installed are needed for carrying out those operations.

1.   For the purposes of this Chapter, the unit of qualification shall be the particular product which is considered as the basic unit when classifying the product under the Harmonised System.

2.   For a consignment consisting of a number of identical products classified under the same heading of the Harmonised System, each individual product shall be taken into account when applying the provisions of this Chapter.

1.   Accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other information materials shall be regarded as one product with the piece of equipment, machine, apparatus or vehicle in question if they:

2.   Accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other information materials referred to paragraph 1 shall be disregarded in determining the origin of the product except for the purposes of calculating the value of non-originating materials if a product is subject to a maximum value of non-originating materials as set out in Annex 3.

1.   Originating and non-originating fungible materials or fungible products shall be physically segregated during storage in order to maintain their originating and non-originating status.

2.   For the purpose of paragraph 1, "fungible materials" or "fungible products" means materials or products that are of the same kind and commercial quality, with the same technical and physical characteristics, and that cannot be distinguished from one another for origin purposes.

3.   Notwithstanding paragraph 1, originating and non-originating fungible materials may be used in the production of a product without being physically segregated during storage if an accounting segregation method is used.

4.   Notwithstanding paragraph 1, originating and non-originating fungible products classified under Chapters 10, 15, 27, 28, 29, headings 32.01 to 32.07, or headings 39.01 to 39.14 of the Harmonised System may be stored in a Party before exportation to the other Party without being physically segregated, provided that an accounting segregation method is used.

5.   The accounting segregation method referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be applied in conformity with a stock management method under accounting principles which are generally accepted in the Party.

6.   The accounting segregation method shall be any method that ensures that at any time no more materials or products receive originating status than would be the case if the materials or products had been physically segregated.

7.   A Party may require, under conditions set out in its laws or regulations, that the use of an accounting segregation method is subject to prior authorisation by the customs authorities of that Party. The customs authorities of the Party shall monitor the use of such authorisations and may withdraw an authorisation if the holder makes improper use of the accounting segregation method or fails to fulfil any of the other conditions laid down in this Chapter.

1.   An originating product declared for home use in the importing Party shall not, after exportation and prior to being declared for home use, have been altered, transformed in any way or subjected to operations other than to preserve it in good condition or than adding or affixing marks, labels, seals or any other documentation to ensure compliance with specific domestic requirements of the importing Party.

2.   The storage or exhibition of a product may take place in a third country, provided that the product remains under customs supervision in that third country.

3.   The splitting of consignments may take place in a third country if it is carried out by the exporter or under the responsibility of the exporter, provided that the consignments remain under customs supervision in that third country.

4.   In the case of doubt as to whether the requirements provided for in paragraphs 1 to 3 are complied with, the customs authority of the importing Party may request the importer to provide evidence of compliance with those requirements, which may be given by any means, including contractual transport documents such as bills of lading or factual or concrete evidence based on the marking or numbering of packages or any evidence related to the product itself.

1.   The importing Party, on importation, shall grant preferential tariff treatment to a product originating in the other Party within the meaning of this Chapter on the basis of a claim by the importer for preferential tariff treatment. The importer shall be responsible for the correctness of the claim for preferential tariff treatment and for compliance with the requirements provided for in this Chapter.

2.   A claim for preferential tariff treatment shall be based on:

3.   The importer making the claim for preferential tariff treatment based on a statement on origin as referred to in point (a) of paragraph 2 shall keep the statement on origin and, when required by the customs authority of the importing Party, shall provide a copy thereof to that customs authority.

1.   A claim for preferential tariff treatment and the basis for that claim as referred to in Article 54(2) shall be included in the customs import declaration in accordance with the laws and regulations of the importing Party.

2.   By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, if the importer did not make a claim for preferential tariff treatment at the time of importation, the importing Party shall grant preferential tariff treatment and repay or remit any excess customs duty paid provided that:

The other obligations applicable to the importer under Article 54 remain unchanged.

1.   A statement on origin shall be made out by an exporter of a product on the basis of information demonstrating that the product is originating, including, information on the originating status of materials used in the production of the product. The exporter shall be responsible for the correctness of the statement on origin and the information provided.

2.   A statement on origin shall be made out using one of the language versions set out in Annex 7 in an invoice or on any other document that describes the originating product in sufficient detail to enable the identification of that product. The exporter shall be responsible for providing sufficient detail to allow the identification of the originating product. The importing Party shall not require the importer to submit a translation of the statement on origin.

3.   A statement on origin shall be valid for 12 months from the date it was made out or for such longer period as provided by the Party of import up to a maximum of 24 months.

4.   A statement on origin may apply to:

5.   If, at the request of the importer, unassembled or disassembled products within the meaning of General Rule 2(a) for the Interpretation of the Harmonised System that fall within Sections XV to XXI of the Harmonised System are imported by instalments, a single statement on origin for such products may be used in accordance with the requirements laid down by the customs authority of the importing Party.

1.   For the purposes of a claim for preferential tariff treatment that is made under point (b) of Article 54(2), the importer's knowledge that a product is originating in the exporting Party shall be based on information demonstrating that the product is originating and satisfies the requirements provided for in this Chapter.

2.   Before claiming the preferential treatment, in the event that an importer is unable to obtain the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article as a result of the exporter deeming that information to be confidential information or for any other reason, the exporter may provide a statement on origin so that the importer may claim the preferential tariff treatment on the basis of point (a) of Article 54(2).

1.   For a minimum of three years after the date of importation of the product, an importer making a claim for preferential tariff treatment for a product imported into the importing Party shall keep:

2.   An exporter who has made out a statement on origin shall, for a minimum of four years after that statement on origin was made out, keep a copy of the statement on origin and all other records demonstrating that the product satisfies the requirements to obtain originating status.

3.   The records to be kept in accordance with this Article may be held in electronic format.

1.   By way of derogation from Articles 54 to 58, provided that the product has been declared as meeting the requirements of this Chapter and the customs authority of the importing Party has no doubts as to the veracity of that declaration, the importing Party shall grant preferential tariff treatment to:

2.   The following products are excluded from the application of paragraph 1 of this Article:

3.   The importer shall be responsible for the correctness of the declaration and for the compliance with the requirements provided for in this Chapter. The record-keeping requirements set out in Article 59 shall not apply to the importer under this Article.

1.   The customs authority of the importing Party may conduct a verification as to whether a product is originating or whether the other requirements of this Chapter are satisfied, on the basis of risk assessment methods, which may include random selection. Such verifications may be conducted by means of a request for information from the importer who made the claim referred to in Article 54, at the time the import declaration is submitted, before the release of the products, or after the release of the products.

2.   The information requested pursuant to paragraph 1 shall cover no more than the following elements:

3.   When providing the requested information, the importer may add any other information that it considers relevant for the purpose of verification.

4.   If the claim for preferential tariff treatment is based on a statement on origin, the importer shall provide that statement on origin but may reply to the customs authority of the importing Party that the importer is not in a position to provide the information referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2.

5.   If the claim for preferential tariff treatment is based on the importer's knowledge, after having first requested information in accordance with paragraph 1, the customs authority of the importing Party conducting the verification may request the importer to provide additional information if that customs authority considers that additional information is necessary in order to verify the originating status of the product or whether the other requirements of this Chapter are met. The customs authority of the importing Party may request the importer for specific documentation and information, if appropriate.

6.   If the customs authority of the importing Party decides to suspend the granting of preferential tariff treatment to the product concerned while awaiting the results of the verification, the release of the products shall be offered to the importer subject to appropriate precautionary measures including guarantees. Any suspension of preferential tariff treatment shall be terminated as soon as possible after the customs authority of the importing Party has ascertained the originating status of the products concerned, or the fulfilment of the other requirements of this Chapter.

1.   In order to ensure the proper application of this Chapter, the Parties shall cooperate, through the customs authority of each Party, in verifying whether a product is originating and is in compliance with the other requirements provided for in this Chapter.

2.   If the claim for preferential tariff treatment was based on a statement on origin, as appropriate after having first requested information in accordance with Article 61(1) and based on the reply from the importer, the customs authority of the importing Party conducting the verification may also request information from the customs authority of the exporting Party within a period of two years after the importation of the products, or from the moment the claim is made pursuant to point (a) of Article 55(2) if the customs authority of the importing Party conducting the verification considers that additional information is necessary in order to verify the originating status of the product or to verify that the other requirements provided for in this Chapter have been met. The request for information shall include the following elements:

In addition, the customs authority of the importing Party may request the customs authority of the exporting Party to provide specific documentation and information, where appropriate.

3.   The customs authority of the exporting Party may, in accordance with its laws and regulations, request documentation or examination by calling for any evidence, or by visiting the premises of the exporter, to review records and observe the facilities used in the production of the product.

4.   Without prejudice to paragraph 5, the customs authority of the exporting Party receiving the request referred to in paragraph 2 shall provide the customs authority of the importing Party with the following information:

5.   The customs authority of the exporting Party shall not provide the information referred to in points (a), (d) and (f) of paragraph 4 to the customs authority of the importing Party if that information is deemed confidential by the exporter.

6.   Each Party shall notify the other Party of the contact details of the customs authorities and shall notify the other Party of any change to those contact details within 30 days after the date of the change.

1.   Without prejudice to paragraph 3, the customs authority of the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment, if:

2.   The customs authority of the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to a product for which an importer claims preferential tariff treatment where the importer fails to comply with requirements under this Chapter other than those relating to the originating status of the products.

3.   If the customs authority of the importing Party has sufficient justification to deny preferential tariff treatment under paragraph 1 of this Article, in cases where the customs authority of the exporting Party has provided an opinion pursuant to point (b) of Article 62(4) confirming the originating status of the products, the customs authority of the importing Party shall notify the customs authority of the exporting Party of its intention to deny the preferential tariff treatment within two months after the date of receipt of that opinion.

If such notification is made, consultations shall be held at the request of either Party, within three months after the date of the notification. The period for consultation may be extended on a case-by-case basis by mutual agreement between the customs authorities of the Parties. The consultation may take place in accordance with the procedure set by the Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin.

Upon the expiry of the period for consultation, if the customs authority of the importing Party cannot confirm that the product is originating, it may deny the preferential tariff treatment if it has a sufficient justification for doing so and after having granted the importer the right to be heard. However, when the customs authority of the exporting Party confirms the originating status of the products and provides justification for such conclusion, the customs authority of the importing Party shall not deny preferential tariff treatment to a product on the sole ground that Article 62(5) has been applied.

4.   In all cases, the settlement of differences between the importer and the customs authority of the Party of import shall be under the law of the Party of import.

1.   Each Party shall maintain, in accordance with its laws and regulations, the confidentiality of any information provided to it by the other Party, pursuant to this Chapter, and shall protect that information from disclosure.

2.   Where, notwithstanding Article 62(5), confidential business information has been obtained from the exporter by the customs authority of the exporting Party or importing Party through the application of Articles 61 and 62, that information shall not be disclosed.

3.   Each Party shall ensure that confidential information collected pursuant to this Chapter shall not be used for purposes other than the administration and enforcement of decisions and determinations relating to origin and to customs matters, except with the permission of the person or Party who provided the confidential information.

4.   Notwithstanding paragraph 3, a Party may allow information collected pursuant to this Chapter to be used in any administrative, judicial, or quasi-judicial proceedings instituted for failure to comply with customs-related laws implementing this Chapter. A Party shall notify the person or Party who provided the information in advance of such use.

1.   For purposes of this Chapter, in the case of the Union, the term "Party" does not include Ceuta and Melilla.

2.   Products originating in the United Kingdom, when imported into Ceuta and Melilla, shall in all respects be subject to the same customs treatment under this Agreement as that which is applied to products originating in the customs territory of the Union under Protocol 2 of the Act of Accession of the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic to the European Union. The United Kingdom shall grant to imports of products covered by this Agreement and originating in Ceuta and Melilla the same customs treatment as that which is granted to products imported from and originating in the Union.

3.   The rules of origin and origin procedures referred to in this Chapter apply mutatis mutandis to products exported from the United Kingdom to Ceuta and Melilla and to products exported from Ceuta and Melilla to the United Kingdom.

4.   Ceuta and Melilla shall be considered as a single territory.

5.   Article 40 applies to import and exports of products between the Union, the United Kingdom and Ceuta and Melilla.

6.   The exporters shall enter "the United Kingdom" or "Ceuta and Melilla" in field 3 of the text of the statement on origin, depending on the origin of the product.

7.   The customs authority of the Kingdom of Spain shall be responsible for the application and implementation of this Chapter in Ceuta and Melilla.

1.   This Chapter applies to all SPS measures of a Party that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties.

2.   This Chapter also lays down separate provisions regarding cooperation on animal welfare, antimicrobial resistance and sustainable food systems.

1.   For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:

2.   For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:

3.   The Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures may adopt other definitions for the purposes of this Chapter, taking into consideration the glossaries and definitions of the relevant international organisations, such as the Codex, OIE and IPPC.

4.   The definitions under the SPS Agreement prevail to the extent that there is an inconsistency between the definitions adopted by the Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures or adopted under the auspices of the Codex, the OIE, the IPPC and the definitions under the SPS Agreement. In the event of an inconsistency between definitions adopted by the Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the definitions set out in the Codex, OIE or IPPC, the definitions set out in the Codex, OIE or IPPC shall prevail.

1.   The Parties shall apply SPS measures for achieving their appropriate level of protection that are based on risk assessments in accordance with relevant provisions, including Article 5 of the SPS Agreement.

2.   The Parties shall not use SPS measures to create unjustified barriers to trade.

3.   Regarding trade-related SPS procedures and approvals established under this Chapter, each Party shall ensure that those procedures and related SPS measures:

4.   The Parties shall not use the procedures referred to in paragraph 3, or any requests for additional information, to delay access to their markets without scientific and technical justification.

5.   Each Party shall ensure that any administrative procedure it requires concerning the import conditions on food safety, animal health or plant health is not more burdensome or trade restrictive than necessary to give the importing Party adequate confidence that these conditions are met. Each Party shall ensure that the negative effects on trade of any administrative procedures are kept to a minimum and that the clearance processes remain simple and expeditious while meeting the importing Party's conditions.

6.   The importing Party shall not put in place any additional administrative system or procedure that unnecessarily hampers trade.

1.   Where the importing Party requires official certificates, the model certificates shall be:

2.   The Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures may agree on specific cases where the model certificates referred to in paragraph 1 would be established only for a part or parts of the territory of the exporting Party. The Parties shall promote the implementation of electronic certification and other technologies to facilitate trade.

1.   Without prejudice to the rights and obligations each Party has under the SPS Agreement and this Chapter, the import conditions of the importing Party shall apply to the entire territory of the exporting Party in a consistent manner.

2.   The exporting Party shall ensure that products exported to the other Party, such as animals and animal products, plants and plant products, or other related objects, meet the SPS requirements of the importing Party.

3.   The importing Party may require that imports of particular products are subject to authorisation. Such authorisation shall be granted where a request is made by the relevant competent authority of the exporting Party which objectively demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the importing Party, that the authorisation requirements of the importing Party are fulfilled. The relevant competent authority of the exporting Party may make a request for authorisation in respect of the entire territory of the exporting Party. The importing Party shall grant such requests on that basis, where they fulfil the authorisation requirements of the importing Party as set out in this paragraph.

4.   The importing Party shall not introduce authorisation requirements which are additional to those which apply at the end of the transition period, unless the application of such requirements to further products is justified to mitigate a significant risk to human, animal or plant health.

5.   The importing Party shall establish and communicate to the other Party import conditions for all products. The importing Party shall ensure that its import conditions are applied in a proportionate and non-discriminatory manner.

6.   Without prejudice to provisional measures under Article 5(7) of the SPS Agreement, for products, or other related objects, where a phytosanitary concern exists, the import conditions shall be restricted to measures to protect against regulated pests of the importing Party and shall be applicable to the entire territory of the exporting Party.

7.   Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 3, in the case of import authorisation requests for a specific product, where the exporting Party has requested to be examined only for a part, or certain parts, of its territory (in the case of the Union, individual Member States), the importing Party shall promptly proceed to the examination of that request. Where the importing Party receives requests in respect of the specific product from more than one part of the exporting Party, or, where further requests are received in respect of a product which has already been authorised, the importing Party shall expedite completion of the authorisation procedure, taking into account the identical or similar SPS regime applicable in the different parts of the exporting Party.

8.   Each Party shall ensure that all SPS control, inspection and approval procedures are initiated and completed without undue delay. Information requirements shall be limited to what is necessary for the approval process to take into account information already available in the importing Party, such as on the legislative framework and audit reports of the exporting Party.

9.   Except in duly justified circumstances related to its level of protection, each Party shall provide a transition period between the publication of any changes to its approval procedures and their application to allow the other Party to become familiar with and adapt to such changes. Each Party shall not unduly prolong the approval process for applications submitted prior to publication of the changes.

10.   In relation to the processes set out in paragraphs 3 to 8, the following actions shall be taken:

11.   The importing Party shall accept consignments without requiring that the importing Party verifies compliance of those consignments before their departure from the territory of the exporting Party.

12.   A Party may collect fees for the costs incurred to conduct specific SPS frontier checks, which should not exceed the recovery of the costs.

13.   The importing Party shall have the right to carry out import checks on products imported from the exporting Party for the purposes of ensuring compliance with its SPS import requirements.

14.   The import checks carried out on products imported from the exporting Party shall be based on the SPS risk associated with such importations. Import checks shall be carried out only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life and health, without undue delay and with a minimum effect on trade between the Parties.

15.   Information on the proportion of products from the exporting Party checked at import shall be made available by the importing Party upon request of the exporting Party.

16.   If import checks reveal non-compliance with the relevant import conditions the action taken by the importing Party must be based on an assessment of the risk involved and not be more trade restrictive than required to achieve the Party's appropriate level of SPS protection.

1.   Whenever justified, the importing Party may maintain a list of approved establishments meeting its import requirements as a condition to allow imports of animal products from these establishments.

2.   Unless justified to mitigate a significant risk to human or animal health, lists of approved establishments shall only be required for the products for which they were required at the end of the transition period.

3.   The exporting Party shall inform the importing Party of its list of establishments meeting the importing Party's conditions which shall be based on guarantees provided by the exporting Party.

4.   Upon a request from the exporting Party, the importing Party shall approve establishments which are situated in the territory of the exporting Party, based on guarantees provided by the exporting Party, without prior inspection of individual establishments.

5.   Unless the importing Party requests additional information and subject to guarantees being provided by the exporting party, the importing Party shall take the necessary legislative or administrative measures, in accordance with its applicable legal procedures, to allow imports from those establishments without undue delay.

6.   The list of the approved establishments shall be made publicly available by the importing Party.

7.   Where the importing Party decides to reject the request of the exporting Party to accept adding an establishment to the list of approved establishments, it shall inform the exporting Party without delay and shall submit a reply, including information about the non-conformities which led to the rejection of the establishment's approval.

1.   Each Party shall pursue transparency as regards SPS measures applicable to trade and shall for those purposes undertake the following actions:

2.   Where a Party has made available the information in paragraph 1 via notification to the WTO's Central Registry of Notifications or to the relevant international standard-setting body, in accordance with its relevant rules, the requirements in paragraph 1, as they apply to that information, are fulfilled.

1.   The Parties shall recognise the concept of zoning including disease or pest-free areas, protected zones and areas of low disease or pest prevalence and shall apply it to the trade between the Parties, in accordance with the SPS Agreement, including the guidelines to further the practical implementation of Article 6 of the SPS Agreement (WTO/SPS Committee Decision G/SPS/48) and the relevant recommendations, standards and guidelines of the OIE and IPPC. The Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures may define further details for these procedures, taking into account any relevant SPS Agreement, OIE and IPPC standards, guidelines or recommendations.

2.   The Parties may also agree to cooperate on the concept of compartmentalisation as referred to in Chapters 4.4 and 4.5 of the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code and Chapters 4.1 and 4.2 of the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code.

3.   When establishing or maintaining the zones referred to in paragraph 1, the Parties shall consider factors such as geographical location, ecosystems, epidemiological surveillance and the effectiveness of SPS controls.

4.   With regard to animals and animal products, when establishing or maintaining import conditions upon the request of the exporting Party, the importing Party shall recognise the disease-free areas established by the exporting Party as a basis for consideration towards the determination of allowing or maintaining the import, without prejudice to paragraphs 8 and 9.

5.   The exporting Party shall identify the parts of its territory referred to in paragraph 4 and, if requested, provide a full explanation and supporting data based on the OIE standards, or in other ways established by the Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, based on the knowledge acquired through experience of the exporting Party's relevant authorities.

6.   With regard to plants, plant products, and other related objects, when establishing or maintaining phytosanitary import conditions on request of the exporting Party, the importing Party shall recognise the pest-free areas, pest-free places of production, pest-free production sites, areas of low pest prevalence and protected zones established by the exporting Party as a basis for consideration towards the determination to allow or maintain the import, without prejudice to paragraphs 8 and 9.

7.   The exporting Party shall identify its pest-free areas, pest-free places of production, pest-free production sites and areas of low pest prevalence or protected zones. If requested by the importing Party, the exporting Party shall provide a full explanation and supporting data based on the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures developed under the IPPC, or in other ways established by the Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, based on the knowledge acquired through experience of the exporting Party's relevant phytosanitary authorities.

8.   The Parties shall recognise disease-free areas and protected zones which are in place at the end of the transition period.

9.   Paragraph 8 shall also apply to subsequent adaptations to the disease-free areas and protected zones (in the case of the United Kingdom pest-free areas), except in cases of significant changes in the disease or pest situations.

10.   The Parties may carry out audits and verifications pursuant to Article 79 to implement paragraphs 4 to 9 of this Article.

11.   The Parties shall establish close cooperation with the objective of maintaining confidence in the procedures in relation to the establishment of disease- or pest-free areas, pest-free places of production, pest-free production sites and areas of low pest or disease prevalence and protected zones, with the aim to minimise trade disruption.

12.   The importing Party shall base its own determination of the animal or plant health status of the exporting Party or parts thereof on the information provided by the exporting Party in accordance with the SPS Agreement, OIE and IPPC standards, and take into consideration any determination made by the exporting Party.

13.   Where the importing Party does not accept the determination made by the exporting Party as referred to in paragraph 12 of this Article, the importing Party shall objectively justify and explain to the exporting Party the reasons for that rejection and, upon request, hold consultations, in accordance with Article 80(2).

14.   Each Party shall ensure that the obligations set out in paragraphs 4 to 9, 12 and 13 are carried out without undue delay. The importing Party will expedite the recognition of the disease or pest status when the status has been recovered after an outbreak.

15.   Where a Party considers that a specific region has a special status with respect to a specific disease and which fulfils the criteria laid down in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code Chapter 1.2 or the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code Chapter 1.2, it may request recognition of this status. The importing Party may request additional guarantees in respect of imports of live animals and animal products appropriate to the agreed status.

1.   The importing Party may carry out audits and verifications of the following:

2.   The Parties shall carry out those audits and verifications in accordance with the provisions of the SPS Agreement, taking into account the relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations of the Codex, OIE or IPPC.

3.   For the purposes of carrying out such audits and verifications, the importing Party may conduct audits and verifications by means of requests of information from the exporting Party or audit and verification visits to the exporting Party, which may include:

4.   The importing Party shall share with the exporting Party the results and conclusions of the audits and verifications carried out pursuant to paragraph 1. The importing Party may make these results publicly available.

5.   Prior to the commencement of an audit or verification, the Parties shall discuss the objectives and scope of the audit or verification, the criteria or requirements against which the exporting Party will be assessed, and the itinerary and procedures for conducting the audit or verification which shall be laid down in an audit or verification plan. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, the importing Party shall provide the exporting Party with an audit or verification plan at least 30 days prior to the commencement of the audit or verification.

6.   The importing Party shall provide the exporting Party the opportunity to comment on the draft audit or verification report. The importing Party shall provide a final report in writing to the exporting Party normally within two months from the date of receipt of those comments.

7.   Each Party shall bear its own costs associated with such an audit or verification.

1.   A Party shall notify the other Party without undue delay of:

2.   If a Party has a significant concern with respect to food safety, plant health, or animal health, or an SPS measure that the other Party has proposed or implemented, that Party may request technical consultations with the other Party. The requested Party should respond to the request without undue delay. Each Party shall endeavour to provide the information necessary to avoid a disruption to trade and, as the case may be, to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

3.   Consultations referred to in paragraph 2 may be held via telephone conference, videoconference, or any other means of communication mutually agreed on by the Parties.

1.   If the importing Party considers that there is a serious risk to human, animal or plant life and health, it may take without prior notification the necessary measures for the protection of human, animal or plant life and health. For consignments that are in transit between the Parties, the importing Party shall consider the most suitable and proportionate solution to avoid unnecessary disruptions to trade.

2.   The Party taking the measures shall notify the other Party of an emergency SPS measure as soon as possible after its decision to implement the measure and no later than 24 hours after the decision has been taken. If a Party requests technical consultations to address the emergency SPS measure, the technical consultations must be held within 10 days of the notification of the emergency SPS measure. The Parties shall consider any information provided through the technical consultations. These consultations shall be carried out in order to avoid unnecessary disruptions to trade. The Parties may consider options for the facilitation of the implementation or the replacement of the measures.

3.   The importing Party shall consider, in a timely manner, information that was provided by the exporting Party when it makes its decision with respect to consignments that, at the time of adoption of the emergency SPS measure, are being transported between the Parties, in order to avoid unnecessary disruptions to trade.

4.   The importing Party shall ensure that any emergency measure taken on the grounds referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is not maintained without scientific evidence or, in cases where scientific evidence is insufficient, is adopted in accordance with Article 5(7) of the SPS Agreement.

1.   For the purposes of the implementation of this Chapter, each Party shall take all of the following into account:

2.   The Parties shall, without delay, provide each other with a description of the competent authorities of the Parties for the implementation of this Chapter. The Parties shall notify each other of any significant change to these competent authorities.

3.   Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities have the necessary resources to effectively implement this Chapter.

1.   The Parties recognise that animals are sentient beings. They also recognise the connection between improved welfare of animals and sustainable food production systems.

2.   The Parties undertake to cooperate in international fora to promote the development of the best possible animal welfare practices and their implementation. In particular, the Parties shall cooperate to reinforce and broaden the scope of the OIE animal welfare standards, as well as their implementation, with a focus on farmed animals.

3.   The Parties shall exchange information, expertise and experiences in the field of animal welfare, particularly related to breeding, holding, handling, transportation and slaughter of food-producing animals.

4.   The Parties shall strengthen their cooperation on research in the area of animal welfare in relation to animal breeding and the treatment of animals on farms, during transport and at slaughter.

1.   The Parties shall provide a framework for dialogue and cooperation with a view to strengthening the fight against the development of antimicrobial resistance.

2.   The Parties recognise that antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to human and animal health. Misuse of antimicrobials in animal production, including non-therapeutic use, can contribute to antimicrobial resistance that may represent a risk to human life. The Parties recognise that the nature of the threat requires a transnational and One Health approach.

3.   With a view to combating antimicrobial resistance, the Parties shall endeavour to cooperate internationally with regional or multilateral work programmes to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics in animal production and to work towards the cessation of the use of antibiotics as growth promotors internationally to combat antimicrobial resistance in line with the One Health approach, and in compliance with the Global Action Plan.

4.   The Parties shall collaborate in the development of international guidelines, standards, recommendations and actions in relevant international organisations aiming to promote the prudent and responsible use of antibiotics in animal husbandry and veterinary practices.

5.   The dialogue referred to in paragraph 1 shall cover, inter alia:

1.   This Chapter applies to the preparation, adoption and application of all standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, which may affect trade in goods between the Parties.

2.   This Chapter does not apply to:

3.   The Annexes to this Chapter apply in addition to this Chapter in respect of products within the scope of those Annexes. Any provision in an Annex to this Chapter that an international standard or body or organisation is to be considered or recognised as relevant shall not prevent a standard developed by any other body or organisation from being considered to be a relevant international standard pursuant to Article 91(4) and (5).

1.   Articles 2 to 9 of and Annexes 1 and 3 to the TBT Agreement are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement mutatis mutandis.

2.   Terms referred to in this Chapter and in the Annexes to this Chapter shall have the same meaning as they have in the TBT Agreement.

1.   Each Party shall carry out impact assessments of planned technical regulations in accordance with its respective rules and procedures. The rules and procedures referred to in this paragraph and in paragraph 8 may provide for exceptions.

2.   Each Party shall assess the available regulatory and non-regulatory alternatives to the proposed technical regulation that may fulfil the Party's legitimate objectives, in accordance with Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement.

3.   Each Party shall use relevant international standards as a basis for its technical regulations except when it can demonstrate that such international standards would be an ineffective or inappropriate means for the fulfilment of the legitimate objectives pursued.

4.   International standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) shall be the relevant international standards within the meaning of Article 2, Article 5 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement.

5.   A standard developed by other international organisations may also be considered a relevant international standard within the meaning of Article 2, Article 5 and Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement, provided that:

6.   Where a Party does not use international standards as a basis for a technical regulation, on request of the other Party, it shall identify any substantial deviation from the relevant international standard, explain the reasons why such standards were judged inappropriate or ineffective for the objective pursued, and provide the scientific or technical evidence on which that assessment was based.

7.   Each Party shall review its technical regulations to increase the convergence of those technical regulations with relevant international standards, taking into account, inter alia, any new developments in the relevant international standards or any changes in the circumstances that have given rise to divergence from any relevant international standards.

8.   In accordance with its respective rules and procedures and without prejudice to Title X of this Heading, when developing a major technical regulation which may have a significant effect on trade, each Party shall ensure that procedures exist that allow persons to express their opinion in a public consultation, except where urgent problems of safety, health, environment or national security arise or threaten to arise. Each Party shall allow persons of the other Party to participate in such consultations on terms that are no less favourable than those accorded to its own nationals, and shall make the results of those consultations public.

1.   Each Party shall encourage the standardising bodies established within its territory, as well as the regional standardising bodies of which a Party or the standardising bodies established in its territory are members:

2.   The Parties shall exchange information on:

3.   Where standards are rendered mandatory in a draft technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure, through incorporation or reference, the transparency obligations set out in Article 94 and in Article 2 or 5 of the TBT Agreement shall apply.

1.   Article 91 concerning the preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations shall also apply to conformity assessment procedures, mutatis mutandis.

2.   Where a Party requires conformity assessment as a positive assurance that a product conforms with a technical regulation, it shall:

3.   Where a Party requires third party conformity assessment as a positive assurance that a product conforms with a technical regulation and it has not reserved this task to a government authority as specified in paragraph 4, it shall:

4.   Nothing in this Article shall preclude a Party from requiring that conformity assessment in relation to specific products is performed by its specified government authorities. If a Party requires that conformity assessment is performed by its specified government authorities, that Party shall:

5.   Notwithstanding paragraphs 2 to 4, each Party shall accept a supplier's declaration of conformity as proof of compliance with its technical regulations in those product areas where it does so on the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

6.   Each Party shall publish and maintain a list of the product areas referred to in paragraph 5 for information purposes, together with the references to the applicable technical regulations.

7.   Notwithstanding paragraph 5, either Party may introduce requirements for the mandatory third party testing or certification of the product areas referred to in that paragraph, provided that such requirements are justified on grounds of legitimate objectives and are proportionate to the purpose of giving the importing Party adequate confidence that products conform with the applicable technical regulations or standards, taking account of the risks that non-conformity would create.

8.   A Party proposing to introduce the conformity assessment procedures referred to in paragraph 7 shall notify the other Party at an early stage and shall take the comments of the other Party into account in devising any such conformity assessment procedures.

1.   Except where urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection or national security arise or threaten to arise, each Party shall allow the other Party to provide written comments on notified proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures within a period of at least 60 days from the date of the transmission of the notification of such regulations or procedures to the WTO Central Registry of Notifications. A Party shall give positive consideration to a reasonable request to extend that comment period.

2.   Each Party shall provide the electronic version of the full notified text together with the notification. In the event that the notified text is not in one of the official WTO languages, the notifying Party shall provide a detailed and comprehensive description of the content of the measure in the WTO notification format.

3.   If a Party receives written comments on its proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure from the other Party, it shall:

4.   Each Party shall endeavour to publish on a website its responses to the comments it receives following the notification referred to in paragraph 1 no later than on the date of publication of the adopted technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure.

5.   Each Party shall, where requested by the other Party, provide information regarding the objectives of, legal basis for and rationale for, any technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure that the Party has adopted or is proposing to adopt.

6.   Each Party shall ensure that the technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures it has adopted are published on a website that is accessible free of charge.

7.   Each Party shall provide information on the adoption and the entry into force of technical regulations or conformity assessment procedures and the adopted final texts through an addendum to the original notification to the WTO.

8.   Each Party shall allow a reasonable interval between the publication of technical regulations and their entry into force, in order to allow time for the economic operators of the other Party to adapt. "Reasonable interval" means a period of at least six months, unless this would be ineffective in fulfilling the legitimate objectives pursued.

9.   A Party shall give positive consideration to a reasonable request from the other Party received prior to the end of the comment period set out in paragraph 1 to extend the period of time between the adoption of the technical regulation and its entry into force, except where the delay would be ineffective in fulfilling the legitimate objectives pursued.

10.   Each Party shall ensure that the enquiry point established in accordance with Article 10 of the TBT Agreement provides information and answers in one of the official WTO languages to reasonable enquiries from the other Party or from interested persons of the other Party regarding adopted technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

1.   The technical regulations of a Party may include or exclusively address mandatory marking or labelling requirements. In such cases, the principles of Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement apply to these technical regulations.

2.   Where a Party requires mandatory marking or labelling of products, all of the following conditions shall apply:

1.   The Parties recognise the importance of cooperation on market surveillance, compliance and the safety of non-food products for the facilitation of trade and for the protection of consumers and other users, and the importance of building mutual trust based on shared information.

2.   To guarantee the independent and impartial functioning of market surveillance, the Parties shall ensure:

3.   The Parties shall cooperate and exchange information in the area of non-food product safety and compliance, which may include in particular the following:

4.   The Partnership Council shall use its best endeavours to establish in Annex 16, as soon as possible and preferably within six months of entry into force of this Agreement, an arrangement for the regular exchange of information between the Rapid Alert System for non-food products (RAPEX), or its successor, and the database relating to market surveillance and product safety established under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, or its successor, in relation to the safety of non-food products and related preventive, restrictive and corrective measures.

The arrangement shall set out the modalities under which:

5.   The Partnership Council may establish in Annex 17 an arrangement on the regular exchange of information, including the exchange of information by electronic means, regarding measures taken on non-compliant non-food products, other than those covered by paragraph 4.

6.   Each Party shall use the information obtained pursuant to paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 for the sole purpose of protecting consumers, health, safety or the environment.

7.   Each Party shall treat the information obtained pursuant to paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 as confidential.

8.   The arrangements referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5 shall specify the type of information to be exchanged, the modalities for the exchange and the application of confidentiality and personal data protection rules. The Partnership Council shall have the power to adopt decisions in order to determine or amend the arrangements set out in Annexes 16 and 17.

9.   For the purposes of this Article, "market surveillance" means activities conducted and measures taken by market surveillance and enforcement authorities, including activities conducted and measures taken in cooperation with economic operators, on the basis of procedures of a Party to enable that Party to monitor or address safety of products and their compliance with the requirements set out in its laws and regulations.

10.   Each Party shall ensure that any measure taken by its market surveillance or enforcement authorities to withdraw or recall from its market or to prohibit or restrict the making available on its market of a product imported from the territory of the other Party, for reasons related to non-compliance with the applicable legislation, is proportionate, states the exact grounds on which the measure is based and is communicated without delay to the relevant economic operator.

1.   If a Party considers that a draft or proposed technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure of the other Party might have a significant effect on trade between the Parties, it may request technical discussions on the matter. The request shall be made in writing to the other Party and shall identify:

2.   A Party shall deliver its request to the contact point of the other Party designated pursuant to Article 99.

3.   At the request of either Party, the Parties shall meet to discuss the concerns raised in the request, in person or via videoconference or teleconference, within 60 days of the date of the request and shall endeavour to resolve the matter as expeditiously as possible. If a requesting Party believes that the matter is urgent, it may request that any meeting take place within a shorter time frame. In such cases, the responding Party shall give positive consideration to such a request.

1.   The Parties shall cooperate in the field of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures, where it is in their mutual interest, and without prejudice to the autonomy of their own respective decision-making and legal orders. The Trade Specialised Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade may exchange views with respect to the cooperation activities carried out under this Article or the Annexes to this Chapter.

2.   For the purposes of paragraph 1, the Parties shall seek to identify, develop and promote cooperation activities of mutual interest. These activities may in particular relate to:

3.   For the purposes of this Article and the provisions on cooperation under the Annexes to this Chapter, the European Commission shall act on behalf of the Union.

1.   Upon the entry into force of this Agreement, each Party shall designate a contact point for the implementation of this Chapter and shall notify the other Party of the contact details for the contact point, including information regarding the relevant officials. The Parties shall promptly notify each other of any change of those contact details.

2.   The contact point shall provide any information or explanation requested by the contact point of the other Party in relation to the implementation of this Chapter within a reasonable period of time and, if possible, within 60 days of the date of receipt of the request.

1.   The relevant authorities of the Parties shall cooperate on customs matters to support the objectives set out in Article 101, taking into account the resources of their respective authorities. For the purpose of this Title, the Convention of 20 May 1987 on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods applies.

2.   The Parties shall develop cooperation, including in the following areas:

3.   Without prejudice to other forms of cooperation envisaged in this Agreement, the customs authorities of the Parties shall provide each other with mutual administrative assistance in the matters covered by this Chapter in accordance with the Protocol on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters.

4.   Any exchange of information between the Parties under this Chapter shall be subject to the confidentiality and protection of information set out in Article 12 of the Protocol on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters, mutatis mutandis, as well as to any confidentiality requirements set out in the legislation of the Parties.

1.   Each Party shall ensure that its customs provisions and procedures:

Each Party should periodically review its legislation and customs procedures. Customs procedures should also be applied in a manner that is predictable, consistent and transparent.

2.   In order to improve working methods and to ensure non-discrimination, transparency, efficiency, integrity and the accountability of operations, each Party shall:

1.   Each Party shall adopt or maintain customs procedures that:

2.   As a condition for such release, each Party may require a guarantee for any amount not yet determined in the form of a surety, a deposit or another appropriate instrument provided for in its laws and regulations. Such guarantee shall not be greater than the amount the Party requires to ensure payment of customs duties, taxes, fees and charges ultimately due for the goods covered by the guarantee. The guarantee shall be discharged when it is no longer required.

3.   The Parties shall ensure that the customs and other authorities responsible for border controls and procedures dealing with importation, exportation and transit of goods cooperate with one another and coordinate their activities in order to facilitate trade and expedite the release of goods.

1.   Each Party shall work towards simplification of its requirements and formalities for customs procedures in order to reduce the time and costs thereof for traders or operators, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

2.   Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures allowing traders or operators fulfilling criteria specified in its laws and regulations to benefit from further simplification of customs procedures. Such measures may include inter alia:

3.   Where a Party chooses to adopt one of these measures, it will offer, where considered appropriate and practicable by that Party and in accordance with its laws and regulations, these simplifications to all traders who meet the relevant criteria.

1.   For the purposes of Article 20, the Common Transit Convention shall apply.

2.   Each Party shall ensure the facilitation and effective control of transhipment operations and transit movements through their respective territories.

3.   Each Party shall promote and implement regional transit arrangements with a view to facilitating trade in compliance with the Common Transit Convention.

4.   Each Party shall ensure cooperation and coordination between all concerned authorities and agencies in their respective territories in order to facilitate traffic in transit.

5.   Each Party shall allow goods intended for import to be moved within its territory under customs control from a customs office of entry to another customs office in its territory from where the goods would be released or cleared.

1.   Each Party shall adopt or maintain a risk management system for customs controls with a view to reducing the likelihood and the impact of an event which would prevent the correct application of customs legislation, compromise the financial interest of the Parties or pose a threat to the security and safety of the Parties and their residents, to human, animal or plant health, to the environment or to consumers.

2.   Customs controls, other than random checks, shall primarily be based on risk analysis using electronic data-processing techniques.

3.   Each Party shall design and apply risk management in such a manner as to avoid arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination, or disguised restrictions to international trade.

4.   Each Party shall concentrate customs controls and other relevant border controls on high-risk consignments and shall expedite the release of low-risk consignments. Each Party may also select consignments for such controls on a random basis as part of its risk management.

5.   Each Party shall base risk management on the assessment of risk through appropriate selectivity criteria.

1.   With a view to expediting the release of goods, each Party shall adopt or maintain post-clearance audit to ensure compliance with customs and other related laws and regulations.

2.   Each Party shall select persons and consignments for post-clearance audits in a risk-based manner, which may include using appropriate selectivity criteria. Each Party shall conduct post-clearance audits in a transparent manner. Where a person is involved in the audit process and conclusive results have been achieved, the Party shall notify the person whose record is audited of the results, the person's rights and obligations and the reasons for the results, without delay.

3.   The information obtained in post-clearance audits may be used in further administrative or judicial proceedings.

4.   The Parties shall, wherever practicable, use the results of post-clearance audit for risk management purposes.

1.   Each Party shall maintain a partnership programme for operators who meet the specified criteria in Annex 18.

2.   The Parties shall recognise their respective programmes for Authorised Economic Operators in accordance with Annex 18.

1.   Each Party shall ensure that its customs legislation and other trade-related laws and regulations, as well as its general administrative procedures and relevant information of general application that relate to trade, are published and readily available to any interested person in an easily accessible manner, including, as appropriate, through the Internet.

2.   Each Party shall promptly publish new legislation and general procedures related to customs and trade facilitation issues as early as possible prior to the entry into force of any such legislation or procedures, and shall promptly publish any changes to and interpretations of such legislation and procedures. Such publication shall include:

3.   Each Party shall ensure there is a reasonable time period between the publication of new or amended legislation, procedures and fees or charges and their entry into force.

4.   Each Party shall make the following available through the internet:

Each party shall ensure that the descriptions, forms, documents and information referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of the first subparagraph are kept up to date.

5.   Each Party shall establish or maintain one or more enquiry points to answer enquiries of governments, traders and other interested parties regarding customs and other trade-related matters within a reasonable time. The Parties shall not require the payment of a fee for answering enquiries.

1.   Each Party, through its customs authorities, shall issue advance rulings upon application by economic operators setting forth the treatment to be accorded to the goods concerned. Such rulings shall be issued in writing or in electronic format in a time bound manner and shall contain all necessary information in accordance with the legislation of the issuing Party.

2.   Advance rulings shall be valid for a period of at least three years from the starting date of their validity unless the ruling no longer conforms to the law or the facts or circumstances supporting the original ruling have changed.

3.   A Party may refuse to issue an advance ruling if the question raised in the application is the subject of an administrative or judicial review, or if the application does not relate to any intended use of the advance ruling or any intended use of a customs procedure. If a Party declines to issue an advance ruling, it shall promptly notify the applicant in writing, setting out the relevant facts and the basis for its decision.

4.   Each Party shall publish, at least:

5.   If a Party revokes, modifies, invalidates or annuls an advance ruling, it shall provide written notice to the applicant setting out the relevant facts and the basis for its decision. A Party shall only revoke, modify, invalidate or annul an advance ruling with retroactive effect if the ruling was based on incomplete, incorrect, false or misleading information.

6.   An advance ruling issued by a Party shall be binding on that Party in respect of the applicant that sought it. The Party may provide that the advance ruling is binding on the applicant.

7.   Each Party shall provide, at the written request of the holder, a review of an advance ruling or of a decision to revoke, modify or invalidate an advance ruling.

8.   Each Party shall make publicly available information on advance rulings, taking into account the need to protect personal and commercially confidential information.

9.   Advance rulings shall be issued with regard to:

1.   Each Party shall provide effective, prompt, non-discriminatory and easily accessible procedures that guarantee the right of appeal against administrative actions, rulings and decisions of customs or other competent authorities that affect the import or export of goods or goods in transit.

2.   The procedures referred to in paragraph 1 shall include:

3.   Each Party shall ensure that, in cases where the decision on appeal or review under point (a) of paragraph 2 is not given within the time period provided for in its laws and regulations or is not given without undue delay, the petitioner has the right to further administrative or judicial appeal or review or any other recourse to judicial authority in accordance with that Party's laws and regulations.

4.   Each Party shall ensure that the petitioner is provided with the reasons for the administrative decision so as to enable the petitioner to have recourse to appeal or review procedures where necessary.

1.   Each Party shall hold timely and regular consultations with trade representatives on legislative proposals and general procedures related to customs and trade facilitation issues. To that end, appropriate consultation between administrations and the business community shall be maintained by each Party.

2.   Each Party shall ensure that its customs and related requirements and procedures continue to meet the needs of the trading community, follow best practices, and restrict trade as little as possible.

1.   For the purposes of this Article, "temporary admission" means the customs procedure under which certain goods, including means of transport, can be brought into a customs territory with conditional relief from the payment of import duties and taxes and without the application of import prohibitions or restrictions of an economic character, on the condition that the goods are imported for a specific purpose and are intended for re-exportation within a specified period without having undergone any change except normal depreciation due to the use made of those goods.

2.   Each Party shall grant temporary admission, with total conditional relief from import duties and taxes and without application of import restrictions or prohibitions of economic character, as provided for in its laws and regulations, to the following types of goods:

3.   Each Party shall, for the temporary admission of the goods referred to in paragraph 2 and regardless of their origin, accept a carnet as prescribed for the purposes of the ATA and Istanbul Conventions issued in the other Party, endorsed there and guaranteed by an association forming part of the international guarantee chain, certified by the competent authorities and valid in the customs territory of the importing Party.

1.   In recognition of the high volume of sea-crossings and, in particular, the high volume of roll on, roll off traffic between their respective customs territories, the Parties agree to cooperate in order to facilitate such traffic as well as other alternative modes of traffic.

2.   The Parties acknowledge:

3.   To this effect the Parties:

4.   The Parties agree to encourage cooperation between their respective customs authorities on bilateral sea-crossing routes, and to exchange information on the functioning of ports handling traffic between them and on the applicable rules and procedures. They will make public, and promote knowledge by operators of, information on the measures they have in place and the processes established by ports to facilitate such traffic.

1.   The Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin shall:

2.   The Trade Specialised Committee on Customs Cooperation and Rules of Origin may adopt decisions or recommendations:

1.   The Partnership Council may amend:

2.   The Trade Specialised Committee on Administrative Cooperation in VAT and Recovery of Taxes and Duties may amend the value referred to in Article 33(4) of the Protocol on administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of value added tax and on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to taxes and duties.

1.   The Parties affirm their commitment to establish a favourable climate for the development of trade and investment between them.

2.   The Parties reaffirm the right to regulate within their territories to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as: the protection of public health; social services; public education; safety; the environment, including climate change; public morals; social or consumer protection; privacy and data protection or the promotion and protection of cultural diversity.

3.   This Title does not apply to measures affecting natural persons of a Party seeking access to the employment market of the other Party or to measures regarding nationality, citizenship, residence or employment on a permanent basis.

4.   This Title shall not prevent a Party from applying measures to regulate the entry of natural persons into, or their temporary stay in, its territory, including those measures necessary to protect the integrity of its borders and to ensure the orderly movement of natural persons across them, provided that such measures are not applied in such a manner as to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to the other Party under the terms of this Title. The sole fact of requiring a visa for natural persons of certain countries and not for those of others shall not be regarded as nullifying or impairing benefits under this Title.

5.   This Title does not apply to:

6.   This Title does not apply to any measure of a Party with respect to public procurement of a good or service purchased for governmental purposes, and not with a view to commercial resale or with a view to use in the supply of a good or service for commercial sale, whether or not that procurement is "covered procurement" within the meaning of Article 277.

7.   Except for Article 132, this Title does not apply to subsidies or grants provided by the Parties, including government-supported loans, guarantees and insurance.

1.   A Party may deny the benefits of this Title and Title IV of this Heading to an investor or service supplier of the other Party, or to a covered enterprise, if the denying Party adopts or maintains measures related to the maintenance of international peace and security, including the protection of human rights, which:

2.   For greater certainty, paragraph 1 is applicable to Title IV of this Heading to the extent that it relates to services or investment with respect to which a Party has denied the benefits of this Title.

1.   With a view to introducing possible improvements to the provisions of this Title, and consistent with their commitments under international agreements, the Parties shall review their legal framework relating to trade in services and investment, including this Agreement, in accordance with Article 776.

2.   The Parties shall endeavour, where appropriate, to review the non-conforming measures and reservations set out in Annexes 19, 20, 21 and 22 and the activities for short term business visitors set out in Annex 21, with a view to agreeing to possible improvements in their mutual interest.

3.   This Article shall not apply with respect to financial services.

1.   Each Party shall accord to investors of the other Party and to covered enterprises treatment no less favourable than that it accords, in like situations, to its own investors and to their enterprises, with respect to their establishment and operation in its territory.

2.   The treatment accorded by a Party under paragraph 1 means:

1.   Each Party shall accord to investors of the other Party and to covered enterprises treatment no less favourable than that it accords, in like situations, to investors of a third country and to their enterprises, with respect to establishment in its territory.

2.   Each Party shall accord to investors of the other Party and to covered enterprises treatment no less favourable than that it accords, in like situations, to investors of a third country and to their enterprises, with respect to operation in its territory.

3.   Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not be construed as obliging a Party to extend to investors of the other Party or to covered enterprises the benefit of any treatment resulting from:

4.   For greater certainty, the "treatment" referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 does not include investor-to-state dispute settlement procedures provided for in other international agreements.

5.   For greater certainty, the existence of substantive provisions in other international agreements concluded by a Party with a third country, or the mere formal transposition of those provisions into domestic law to the extent that it is necessary in order to incorporate them into the domestic legal order, do not in themselves constitute the "treatment" referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2. Measures of a Party pursuant to those provisions may constitute such treatment and thus give rise to a breach of this Article.

1.   A Party shall not impose or enforce any requirement, or enforce any commitment or undertaking, in connection with the establishment or operation of any enterprise in its territory:

This point does not apply where the licence contract is concluded between the enterprise and the Party. For the purposes of this point, a "licence contract" means any contract concerning the licensing of technology, a production process, or other proprietary knowledge.

2.   A Party shall not condition the receipt or continued receipt of an advantage, in connection with the establishment or operation of an enterprise in its territory, on compliance with any of the following requirements:

3.   Paragraph 2 shall not be construed as preventing a Party from conditioning the receipt or continued receipt of an advantage, in connection with the establishment or operation of any enterprise in its territory, on compliance with a requirement to locate production, supply a service, train or employ workers, construct or expand particular facilities, or carry out research and development, in its territory.

4.   Points (f) and (l) of paragraph 1 of this Article do not apply where:

5.   Points (a) to (c) of paragraph 1 and points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2 do not apply to qualification requirements for goods or services with respect to participation in export promotion and foreign aid programmes.

6.   For greater certainty, this Article does not preclude the enforcement by the competent authorities of a Party of any commitment or undertaking given between persons other than a Party which was not directly or indirectly imposed or required by that Party.

7.   For greater certainty, points (a) and (b) of paragraph 2 do not apply to requirements imposed by an importing Party in relation to the content of goods necessary to qualify for preferential tariffs or preferential quotas.

8.   Point (l) of paragraph 1 does not apply if the requirement is imposed or enforced, or the commitment or undertaking is enforced, by a tribunal as equitable remuneration under the Party's copyright laws.

9.   A Party shall neither impose nor enforce any measure inconsistent with its obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs), even where such measure has been listed by that Party in Annex 19 or 20.

10.   For greater certainty, this Article shall not be construed as requiring a Party to permit a particular service to be supplied on a cross-border basis where that Party adopts or maintains restrictions or prohibitions on such provision of services which are consistent with the reservations, conditions or qualifications specified with respect to a sector, subsector or activity listed in Annex 19 or 20.

11.   A condition for the receipt or continued receipt of an advantage referred to in paragraph 2 does not constitute a requirement or a commitment or undertaking for the purposes of paragraph 1.

1.   Articles 128, 129, 130, 131 and 132 do not apply to:

2.   Articles 128, 129, 130, 131 and 132 do not apply to a measure of a Party which is consistent with the reservations, conditions or qualifications specified with respect to a sector, subsector or activity listed in Annex 20.

3.   Articles 129 and 130 of this Agreement do not apply to any measure that constitutes an exception to, or a derogation from, Article 3 or 4 of the TRIPS Agreement, as specifically provided for in Articles 3 to 5 of that Agreement.

4.   For greater certainty, Articles 129 and 130 shall not be construed as preventing a Party from prescribing information requirements, including for statistical purposes, in connection with the establishment or operation of investors of the other Party or of covered enterprises, provided that it does not constitute a means to circumvent that Party's obligations under those Articles.

1.   Each Party shall accord to services and service suppliers of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that it accords, in like situations, to its own services and service suppliers.

2.   A Party may meet the requirement of paragraph 1 by according to services and service suppliers of the other Party either formally identical treatment or formally different treatment to that it accords to its own services and service suppliers.

3.   Formally identical or formally different treatment shall be considered to be less favourable if it modifies the conditions of competition in favour of services or service suppliers of the Party compared to services or service suppliers of the other Party.

4.   Nothing in this Article shall be construed as requiring either Party to compensate for inherent competitive disadvantages which result from the foreign character of the relevant services or service suppliers.

1.   Each Party shall accord to services and service suppliers of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that it accords, in like situations, to services and service suppliers of a third country.

2.   Paragraph 1 shall not be construed as obliging a Party to extend to services and service suppliers of the other Party the benefit of any treatment resulting from:

3.   For greater certainty, the existence of substantive provisions in other international agreements concluded by a Party with a third country, or mere formal transposition of those provisions into domestic law to the extent that it is necessary in order to incorporate them into the domestic legal order, do not in themselves constitute the "treatment" referred to in paragraph 1. Measures of a Party pursuant to those provisions may constitute such treatment and thus give rise to a breach of this Article.

1.   Articles 135, 136, 137 and 138 do not apply to:

2.   Articles 135, 136, 137 and 138 do not apply to any measure of a Party which is consistent with the reservations, conditions or qualifications specified with respect to a sector, subsector or activity listed in Annex 20.

1.   This Chapter applies to measures of a Party affecting the performance of economic activities through the entry and temporary stay in its territory of natural persons of the other Party, who are business visitors for establishment purposes, contractual service suppliers, independent professionals, intra-corporate transferees and short-term business visitors.

2.   To the extent that commitments are not undertaken in this Chapter, all requirements provided for in the law of a Party regarding the entry and temporary stay of natural persons shall continue to apply, including laws and regulations concerning the period of stay.

3.   Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter, all requirements provided for in the law of a Party regarding work and social security measures shall continue to apply, including laws and regulations concerning minimum wages and collective wage agreements.

4.   Commitments on the entry and temporary stay of natural persons for business purposes do not apply in cases where the intent or effect of the entry and temporary stay is to interfere with or otherwise affect the outcome of any labour or management dispute or negotiation, or the employment of any natural person who is involved in that dispute.

5.   For the purposes of this Chapter: