AgriculturaG3

Treaty on Free Trade Between the Republic of Colombia, the Republic of Venezuela and the United Mexican States

CHAPTER V: The Agricultural Sector and Plant and Animal Health Measures

Section A - The Agricultural Sector

Article 5-O1: Definitions

For the purposes of this Section, the allowing definitions shall apply:

Tariff quota: a levy established by the application of a certain tariff rate or tariff schedule to imports of a product or commodity up to a certain quantity (volume within the quota), and a higher rate on imports of that product or commodity entering in excess of that quantity (excess over the quota).

Sugar:
(a) For imports into Mexico, the products included in the following items of the General Import Duty Schedule of Mexico: 1701.11.01, 1701.11.99, 1701.12.01, 1701.12.99, 1701.91 (except those containing flavorings), 1701.99.01 and 1701.99.99;
(b) For imports into Colombia and Venezuela, the products included in the following tariff items of their respective Customs Tariff Schedule: 1701.11.10, 1701.11.90, 1701.12.00, 1701.91.00 and 1701.99.00.

Agricultural Product: a product or commodity that is included under any of the following chapters, headings or subheadings of the Harmonized System:
(a) Chapters 1 to 24, except fish and fish products; and
(b) Products included under the following headings or subheadings:
The corresponding descriptions are furnished only for reference purposes:
Heading or Subheading Description
2905.43 Mannitol
2905.44 D-glucitol (Sorbitol)
33.01 Essential oils
35.01 to 35.05 Albuminoid materials, products based on modified starches
3809.10 Primers and finishing agents
3823.60 Sorbitol other than that of subheading 2905.44
41.01 to 41.03 Hides and skins
43.01 Raw furskins
44.01 to 44.07 Wood
50.01 to 50.03 Silk and silk waste
51.01 to 51.03 Wool and hair
52.01 to 52.03 Cotton, not carded or combed; cotton waste; and cotton, carded or combed
53.01 Raw flax
53.02 True hemp, raw
53.03 to 53.05 Jute, sisal, coconut and abaca fibers

Fish and fish products: fish or crustaceans, mollusks or any other aquatic invertebrates, marine mammals and by-products thereof, if included in any of the following chapters, headings, or subheadings of the Harmonized System:
The corresponding descriptions are furnished only for reference purposes:
Heading or Subheading Description
03 Fish and crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates
05.07 Ivory, tortoise-shell, marine mammals, horns, antlers, shells, hooves, nails, claws and beaks, and products thereof
05.08 Coral and similar materials
05.09 Natural sponges of animal origin
05.11 Products of fish or crustaceans, mollusks or other aquatic invertebrates; dead animals of chapter 3
15.04 Fats and oils and their fractions, of fish or marine mammals
16.03 Extracts and juices other than of meat
16.04 Prepared or preserved fish
16.05 Crustaceans, mollusks and other marine invertebrates, prepared or preserved
2301.20 Flours, meals and pellets, of fish

Export subsidy:
(a) The granting by a government or public agency to a branch of the production sector, to producers of an agricultural product or to a cooperative or other association of such producers, to a marketing board or any other type of enterprise, of direct subsidies--including payments in cash-- subordinate to the export activity;
(b) The sale or placement in export by a government or public agency of non-commercial stocks of agricultural products at a price below the comparable price charged for a similar good to purchasers on the internal market;
(c) Payments on the export of agricultural commodities financed by government measures, regardless of whether those payments represent a charge against the public budget, including those financed by a charge against the proceeds of a levy imposed on the agricultural product involved, or on the agricultural product from which the exported good is obtained;
(d) The granting of subsidies to reduce the costs of marketing the exports of agricultural products, except services that are widely available in terms of export promotion and advice, but including handling costs, and costs of shipping and international freight;
(e) Costs of internal shipping and freight on export shipments, when established or imposed by a government on more favorable terms than for internal deliveries; or
(f) Subsidies on agricultural products, when subordinated to their incorporation into exported goods.

Article 5-02: Scope of Application

1. This section applies to measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to agricultural trade.

2. In the event of incompatibility between any provision of this section and any other provision of this Treaty, the provisions of this section shall prevail to the extent of the incompatibility.

Article 5-03: Inter-governmental Accords

Before adopting a measure by virtue of an intergovernmental agreement concerning an agricultural product according to Article XX(h) of the GATT that may affect the trade in an agricultural product among the Parties, a Party shall consult the other Parties in order to prevent the annulment or impairment of a concession granted by that Party during its Tariff Elimination Program.

Article 5-04: Market Access

1. The Parties shall facilitate the access to their respective markets by reducing or eliminating barriers to imports and exports in the reciprocal trade in agricultural products, namely: restrictions on imports, import duties, and technical and agricultural marketing rules.

2. The Parties hereby renounce the use of quantitative restrictions on imports, price bands or price stabilization mechanisms, and variable tariffs for goods that are incorporated into the Tariff Elimination Program in their reciprocal trade, without prejudice to what is established in Annex 1 to this Article.

3. The Parties exclude from the Tariff Elimination Program for agricultural products those goods listed in Annex 2 of this Article.

4. Once a year, beginning on the date this Treaty enters into force, the Agricultural Trade Committee established by Article 5-10 shall review the possibility of incorporating the agricultural products listed in Annex 2 into the trade tariff elimination program to this article and shall make the pertinent recommendations to the Parties. This incorporation may be handled in accordance with the methodologies described in Annex 1 hereto.

5. Trade in the goods listed in Annexes 3 and 4 of this Article shall be governed by the provisions in those annexes.

Article 5-05: Special Safeguards

1. Mexico and Venezuela may, according to their lists contained in the Tariff Elimination Program, maintain or adopt special safeguards in the form of a tariff quota on an agricultural sector product that is included in its section of the annex to this article. Notwithstanding the provision of Article 3-04, a Party may not apply a tariff rate on the excess above the quota as part of a special safeguard if such rate would exceed the lesser of the following:

(a) The most-favored-nation rate or tariff in effect when this Treaty enters into force; and
(b) The most-favored-nation rate or tariff prevailing at that time.

2. No Party may simultaneously apply a tariff rate on the excess above the quota pursuant to Paragraph 1 and adopt a safeguard measure such as provided in Chapter VIII, with respect to the same agricultural product and the same Party.

Article 5-06: Refund of Import Duties on Products Exported Under Identical or Similar Conditions.

Beginning on the date this Treaty enters force, no Party may reimburse the amount of the import duties paid, or forgive or reduce the amount of import duties owed, with respect to any agricultural product imported into its territory that is:

(a) Replaced by one of that Party's agricultural sector products that is identical or similar and is subsequently exported to the territory of another Party;
(b) Replaced by one of that Party's agricultural sector products that is identical or similar and used as material in the production of another good that is subsequently exported to the territory of another Party.

Article 5-07: Internal Support Measures

1. The Parties acknowledge the existence of internal support measures affecting the agricultural sector and recognize that such measures can distort trade and affect production. Furthermore, they acknowledge that commitments may arise with respect to reduction of internal supports during multilateral negotiations on agricultural topics within the framework of the GATT. Therefore, when one Party decides to support its farmers, it shall endeavor to move toward internal support policies that:

(a) Have minimal or no trade distorting or production effects;
(b) Are exempt from any applicable domestic support reduction commitments that may be negotiated under the GATT.

2. Any Party may modify its internal support measures, including those that may be subject to reduction commitments according to its GATT rights and obligations.

Article 5-08: Export Subsidies

1. The Parties share the objective of achieving multilateral elimination of export subsidies on agricultural products and will cooperate in the effort to reach agreements within the GATT framework.

2. The Parties will gradually eliminate export subsidies for agricultural products that are incorporated into the Tariff Elimination Program, in the following manner:

(a) Once an agricultural product is incorporated into the Tariff Elimination Program, the Parties may maintain the export subsidy that prevailed during the year previous to its incorporation, for as long as three years;
(b) Beginning with the fourth anniversary of an agricultural product having been incorporated into the Tariff Elimination Program, the corresponding export subsidies shall be eliminated in equal stages until they reach zero, at which point the abolition of tariffs on that commodity will be complete.

3. Once the tariff elimination process has been completed, no Party shall maintain or introduce subsidies on exports of agricultural products in the reciprocal trade. Therefore, the Parties hereby waive the rights that the GATT confers upon them to use subsidies on the export of agricultural products in their reciprocal trade, as well as any rights with respect to the use of these subsidies that might result from multilateral agricultural products negotiations within the framework of the GATT.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraphs 2 and 3, one Party may, if another Party so requests and the two parties agree to it, adopt or maintain a subsidy on the export of an agricultural sector product that is exported to that other Party.

Article 5-09: Technical and Agricultural Marketing Rules

1. The Parties hereby establish a Working Group on Technical and Agricultural Marketing Rules comprised of representatives from each of them who will meet annually, or as often as agreed. The Working Group shall review the application and effects of the technical or agricultural product marketing rules that affect trade among the Parties and shall recommend possible solutions to questions that may arise with respect to those rules. This Group shall submit a report to the Agricultural Trade Committee after each meeting.

2. In the application of technical or agricultural products marketing rules in terms of packaging, grading, quality, and size of the goods, each Party shall grant the goods imported from another Party a treatment no less favorable than is granted on its own goods.

Article 5-10: The Agricultural Trade Committee

1. The Parties hereby create an Agricultural Trade Committee, comprised of representatives from each Party.

2. The Committee shall:
(a) Track and promote cooperation in applying and administering this chapter;
(b) Establish a forum so that the Parties may consult on aspects related to this chapter;
(c) Submit an annual report to the Commission concerning the application of this section.

3. The Committee shall meet at least once a year, and otherwise as often as agreed.

Continues in Section B of Chapter V

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