
Preferential Trade Agreement
between MERCOSUR and the Republic of India
Date of Signature:
January 25. 2004
The Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the
Republic of
Paraguay and the República Oriental del Uruguay, States Parties to
the
MERCOSUR, and the Republic of India:
CONSIDERING
That the
Framework Agreement for the creation of a Free Trade Area
between MERCOSUR and the Republic of India provides for a first stage of
action
aimed at increasing trade, including the mutual granting of tariff
preferences;
That implementation of an instrument providing for the granting of
fixed tariff
preferences during said first stage would facilitate subsequent
negotiations for
the creation of a Free Trade Area;
That the negotiations needed to implement the granting of fixed
tariff
preferences and to establish trade disciplines between the Parties
have been
conducted;
That regional integration and trade among developing countries,
including
through the creation of free trade areas, are compatible with the
multilateral
trading system, and contribute to the expansion of world trade, to
the
integration of their economies into the global economy, and to the
social and
economic development of their peoples;
That the process of integrating their economies includes the gradual
and
reciprocal liberalization of trade and the strengthening of economic
cooperation amongst them;
That Article 27 of the Treaty of Montevideo 1980, of which the
MERCOSUR
Member States are signatory Parties, authorizes the conclusion of
Partial Scope
Agreements with other developing countries and economic integration
areas
outside Latin America;
HEREBY AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
Chapter I
Purpose of the Agreement
Article 1
For the purposes of this Agreement, the ‘Contracting Parties’,
hereinafter
referred to as ‘Parties’, are MERCOSUR and the Republic of India.
The
‘Signatory Parties’ are the Argentine Republic, the Federative
Republic of
Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, the República Oriental del Uruguay
and the
Republic of India.
Article 2
The Parties hereby agree to conclude this Preferential Trade
Agreement as a
first step towards the creation of a Free Trade Area between
MERCOSUR and
the Republic of India.
Chapter II
Trade Liberalisation
Article 3
Annexes I and II to this Agreement contain the products on which
tariff
preferences and other conditions are agreed for the importation from
the
respective territories of the Signatory Parties.
a) Annex I sets forth the products on which tariff preferences are
granted by
MERCOSUR to the Republic of India.
b) Annex II sets forth the products on which tariff preferences are
granted by
the Republic of India to MERCOSUR.
Article 4
The products included in Annexes I and II are classified in
accordance with the
Harmonised System (HS).
Article 5
Tariff preferences will be applied to all customs duties in force in
each
Signatory Party at the time of importing the relevant product.
Article 6
A ‘customs duty’ includes duties and charges of any kind imposed in
connection with the importation of a good, but does not include:
a) internal taxes or other internal charges imposed consistently
with Article III
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994;
b) antidumping or countervailing duty in accordance with Articles VI
and XVI
of GATT 1994, the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of
GATT 1994, and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
Measures;
c) other duties or charges imposed consistently with Article VIII of
GATT
1994 and the Understanding on the Interpretation of Article II:1 (b)
of the
GATT 1994.
Article 7
Except otherwise provided for in this Agreement or in GATT 1994, the
Parties
shall not apply non-tariff barriers to the products included in the
Annexes to
this Agreement. Non-tariff barriers shall refer to any
administrative, financial,
exchange-related or other measure whereby a Party prevents or
hinders mutual
trade by virtue of a unilateral decision.
Article 8
If a Contracting Party concludes a preferential agreement with a non
Party, it
shall upon request from the other Contracting Party, afford adequate
opportunity for consultations on any additional benefits as granted
therein.
Chapter III
General Exceptions
Article 9
Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent any Signatory Party from
taking
actions and adopting measures consistent with the Articles XX and
XXI of the
GATT 1994.
Chapter IV
State Trading Enterprises
Article 10
Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent a Signatory Party from
maintaining or
establishing a state trading enterprise as understood in Article
XVII of GATT
1994.
Article 11
Each Signatory Party shall ensure that any state trading enterprise
that it
maintains or establishes acts in a manner that is consistent with
the obligations
of the Signatory Parties under this Agreement and accords
non-discriminatory
treatment in the import from and export to the other Signatory
Parties.
Chapter V
Rules of Origin
Article 12
The products included in Annexes I and II of this Agreement shall
meet the
rules of origin in accordance with Annex III of this Agreement in
order to
qualify for tariff preferences.
Chapter VI
National Treatment
Article 13
On matters relating to taxes, fees or any other domestic duties, the
products
originating from the territory of any of the Signatory Parties shall
receive in
the territory of the other Signatory Parties the same treatment as
applied to the
national products, in accordance with Article III of GATT 1994.
Chapter VII
Customs Valuation
Article 14
On matters related to customs valuation, the Signatory Parties shall
be
governed by Article VII of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on the
Implementation of Article VII of GATT 1994.
Chapter VIII
Safeguard Measures
Article 15
The implementation of preferential safeguard measures concerning the
imported products which have been accorded tariff preferences
established in
Annexes I and II shall be carried out according to the rules agreed
upon in the
Annex IV of this Agreement.
Article 16
The Signatory Parties shall maintain their rights and obligations to
apply
safeguard measures consistent with Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the
WTO
Agreement on Safeguards.
Chapter IX
Antidumping and Countervailing Measures
Article 17
In applying antidumping and countervailing measures, the Signatory
Parties
shall be governed by their respective legislation, which shall be
consistent with
Articles VI and XVI of GATT 1994, the Agreement on Implementation of
Article VI of GATT 1994, and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures.
Chapter X
Technical Barriers to Trade
Article 18
The Signatory Parties shall abide by the rights and obligations set
out in the
WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
Article 19
The Signatory Parties shall co-operate in the area of standards,
technical
regulations and conformity assessment procedures with the objective
of
facilitating trade.
Article 20
The Signatory Parties shall endeavour to conclude mutual equivalence
agreements.
Chapter XI
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Article 21
The Signatory Parties shall abide by the rights and obligations set
out in the
WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures.
Article 22
The Signatory Parties agree to co-operate in the areas of animal
health and
plant protection, food safety and mutual recognition of sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, through their respective competent
authorities,including, inter-alia, by means of equivalence agreements and mutual
recognition agreements to be concluded taking into account relevant
international criteria.
Chapter XII
Administration of the Agreement
Article 23
The Parties agree to create a Joint Administration Committee
composed by the
MERCOSUR`s Common Market Group or its representatives and by India’s
Secretary of Commerce or its representatives.
Article 24
The Joint Administration Committee shall hold its first meeting
within sixty
days of the entry into force of this Agreement, when it shall
establish its
working procedures.
Article 25
The Joint Administration Committee shall meet ordinarily at least
once every
year, at such venues as shall be agreed by the Parties, and
extraordinarily at any
time, at the request of a Party.
Article 26
The Joint Administration Committee shall adopt its decisions by
consensus and
shall have the following functions, inter alia:
1) To ensure the proper functioning and implementation of this
Agreement, its
Annexes and additional Protocols, and continuation of the dialogue
between the Parties.
2) To consider and submit to the Parties any modifications and
amendments to
this Agreement.
3) To evaluate the process of trade liberalisation established under
this
Agreement, study the development of trade between the Parties and
recommend further steps to create a Free Trade Area in accordance
with Article 2.
4) To perform other functions that may arise from the provisions of
this
Agreement, its Annexes and any additional Protocols.
5) To establish mechanisms to encourage the active participation of
the
private sectors in areas covered by this Agreement between the
Parties.
6) To exchange opinions and make suggestions on any issue of mutual
interest
relating to areas covered by this Agreement, including future
actions.
7) The creation of subsidiary bodies as may be necessary,
inter alia
on
Customs, Trade Facilitation and Technical Barriers to Trade, and
Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Measures.
Chapter XIII
Amendments and Modifications
Article 27
Any Party may initiate a proposal to amend or modify the provisions
of this
Agreement by submitting such proposal to the Joint Administration
Committee. The decision to amend shall be taken by mutual consent of
the
Parties.
Article 28
The amendments or modifications to the present Agreement shall be
adopted
by means of additional Protocols thereto.
Chapter XIV
Settlement of Disputes
Article 29
Any dispute arising in connection with the application of,
interpretation of, or
non compliance with any provision of this Agreement shall be settled
in
accordance with the rules established in the Annex V of this
Agreement.
Chapter XV
Entry into Force
Article 30
This Agreement shall enter into force thirty days after all
Signatory Parties have formally notified, through diplomatic channels, the completion
of the
internal procedures necessary to that effect.
Article 31
This Agreement shall remain in force until the date of entry into
force of the
Agreement for the creation of a Free Trade Area between MERCOSUR and
the
Republic of India unless terminated in accordance with Article 32
below.
Chapter XVI
Withdrawal
Article 32
Should any of the Contracting Parties wish to withdraw from this
Agreement, it
shall give formal notice of its intention to the other Party at
least sixty days in
advance. Once withdrawn the rights and obligations assumed by the
Party
concerned shall cease to apply, but it shall be bound to comply with
obligations
in connection with the tariff preferences established in Annexes I
and II of this
Agreement for a term of one year, unless otherwise agreed upon.
Chapter XVII
Depositary
Article 33
The Government of the Republic of Paraguay shall be the Depositary
of this
Agreement for the MERCOSUR.
Article 34
In fulfilment of the Depositary functions assigned in the above
Article, the
Government of the Republic of Paraguay shall notify the other Member
States
of MERCOSUR the date on which this Agreement shall enter into force.
Chapter XVIII
Transitory Provision
Article 35
Annexes I to V referred to in this Agreement shall be negotiated
expeditiously
with a view to early implementation of this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned being duly authorized thereto by
their respective Governments have signed this Agreement.
Done in the city of New Delhi, on this the 25 th day of January
2004, in two
originals each in the Spanish, Portuguese and English languages, all
texts being
equally authentic. In case of doubt or divergence of interpretation,
however, the
English text shall prevail.
(Arun Jaitley)
Commerce and Industry Minister,
Government of India,
New Delhi. |
(Eduardo Alberto Sigal)
Under Secretary for American
Economic Integration and
MERCOSUR of the Argentine
Republic
(Celso Amorim)
Minister of External Relations of the
Federative Republic of Brazil
(Leila Rachid)
Minister of External Relations of the
Republic of Paraguay
(Gustavo Vanerio)
Director General of Integration and
MERCOSUR of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the República
Oriental del Uruguay
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