Non-tariff Measures

Article 2.16: Application of Non-Tariff Measures

A Party shall not adopt or maintain any non-tariff measure on the importation of any good of another Party or on the exportation of any good destined for the territory of another Party, except in accordance with its rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement or this Agreement.
Each Party shall ensure the transparency of its non-tariff measures permitted under paragraph 1 and shall ensure that any such measures are not prepared, adopted, or applied with the view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to trade among the Parties.

Article 2.17: General Elimination of Quantitative Restrictions

Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, no Party shall adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction other than duties, taxes, or other charges, whether made effective through quotas, import or export licences, or other measures, on the importation of any good of another Party or on the exportation of any good destined for the territory of another Party, except in accordance with its rights and obligations under the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement. To this end, Article XI of GATT 1994 is incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
Where a Party adopts an export prohibition or restriction in accordance with subparagraph 2(a) of Article XI of GATT 1994, that Party shall, upon request:

(a) inform another Party or Parties of such prohibition or restriction and its reasons together with its nature and expected duration, or publish such prohibition or restriction; and 2-11

(b) provide another Party or Parties that may be seriously affected with a reasonable opportunity for consultation with respect to matters related to such prohibition or restriction.

Article 2.18: Technical Consultations on Non-Tariff Measures

A Party may request technical consultations with another Party on a measure it considers to be adversely affecting its trade. The request shall be in writing and shall clearly identify the measure and the concerns as to how the measure adversely affects trade between the Party requesting technical consultations (hereinafter referred to as “the requesting Party” in this Article) and the Party to which a request has been made (hereinafter referred to as “the requested Party” in this Article).
Where the measure is covered by another Chapter, any consultation mechanism provided in that Chapter shall be used, unless otherwise agreed between the requesting Party and the requested Party (hereinafter collectively referred to as “the consulting Parties” in this Article).
Except as provided in paragraph 2, the requested Party shall respond to the requesting Party and enter into technical consultations within 60 days of the receipt of the written request referred to in paragraph 1, unless otherwise determined by the consulting Parties, with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory solution within 180 days of the request. Technical consultations may be conducted via any means mutually agreed by the consulting Parties.
Except as provided in paragraph 2, the request for technical consultations shall be circulated to all the other Parties. Other Parties may request to join the technical consultations on the basis of interests set out in their requests. The participation of any other Party is subject to the consent of the consulting Parties. The consulting Parties shall give full consideration to such requests.
If the requesting Party considers that a matter is urgent or involves perishable goods, it may request that technical consultations take place within a shorter time frame than that provided for under paragraph 3.
Except as provided in paragraph 2, each Party shall submit an annual notification to the Committee on Goods regarding any use 2-12of technical consultations under this Article, whether as the requesting Party or the requested Party. This notification shall contain a summary of the progress and outcomes of the consultations.
For greater certainty, technical consultations under this Article shall be without prejudice to a Party’s rights and obligations pertaining to dispute settlement proceedings under Chapter 19 (Dispute Settlement) and the WTO Agreement.

Article 2.19: Import Licensing Procedures

Each Party shall ensure that all automatic and non-automatic import licensing procedures are implemented in a transparent and predictable manner, and applied in accordance with the Import Licensing Agreement. No Party shall adopt or maintain a measure that is inconsistent with the Import Licensing Agreement.
Each Party shall, promptly after the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party, notify the other Parties of its existing import licensing procedures. The notification shall include the information specified in paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Import Licensing Agreement. A Party shall be deemed to be in compliance with this paragraph if:
(a) it has notified the procedures to the WTO Committee on Import Licensing provided for in Article 4 of the Import Licensing Agreement (hereinafter referred to as “WTO Committee on Import Licensing” in this Chapter), together with the information specified in paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Import Licensing Agreement; and

(b) in the most recent annual submission due before the date of entry into force of this Agreement for that Party to the WTO Committee on Import Licensing in response to the annual questionnaire on import licensing procedures described in paragraph 3 of Article 7 of the Import Licensing Agreement, it has provided, with respect to those existing import licensing procedures, the information requested in that questionnaire.

Each Party shall notify the other Parties of any new import licensing procedure and any modification it makes to its existing import licensing procedures, to the extent possible 30 days before the new procedure or modification takes effect.

In no case shall 2-13a Party provide the notification later than 60 days after the date of its publication. A notification provided under this paragraph shall include the information specified in Article 5 of the Import Licensing Agreement.

A Party shall be deemed to be in compliance with this paragraph if it notifies a new import licensing procedure or a modification to an existing import licensing procedure to the WTO Committee on Import Licensing in accordance with paragraph 1, 2, or 3 of Article 5 of the Import Licensing Agreement.

Before applying any new or modified import licensing procedure, a Party shall publish the new procedure or modification on an official government website. To the extent possible, the Party shall do so at least 21 days before the new procedure or modification takes effect.
The notification required under paragraphs 2 and 3 is without prejudice to whether the import licensing procedure is consistent with this Agreement.
A notification made under paragraph 3 shall state if, under any procedure that is a subject of the notification:
(a) the terms of an import licence for any product limit the permissible end users of the product; or (b) the Party imposes any of the following conditions on eligibility for obtaining a licence to import any product: (i) membership in an industry association; (ii) approval by an industry association of the request for an import licence; (iii) a history of importing the product, or similar products; (iv) minimum importer or end user production capacity; (v) minimum importer or end user registered capital; or (vi) a contractual or other relationship between the importer and distributor in the Party’s territory.

Each Party shall, to the extent possible, answer within 60 days all reasonable enquiries from another Party regarding the criteria 2-14employed by its respective licensing authorities in granting or denying import licences. The importing Party shall publish sufficient information for the other Parties and traders to know the basis for granting or allocating import licences.

No application for an import licence shall be refused for minor documentation errors that do not alter the basic data contained therein. Minor documentation errors may include formatting errors, such as the width of a margin or the font used, and spelling errors which are obviously made without fraudulent intent or gross negligence.
If a Party denies an import licence application with respect to a good of another Party, it shall, on request of the applicant and within a reasonable period after receiving the request, provide the applicant with an explanation of the reason for the denial.

Article 2.20: Fees and Formalities Connected with Importation and Exportation

Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article VIII of GATT 1994, that all fees and charges of whatever character (other than import or export duties, charges equivalent to an internal tax or other internal charge applied consistently with paragraph 2 of Article III of GATT 1994, and anti-dumping and countervailing duties) imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation are limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and do not represent an indirect protection to domestic goods or a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.
Each Party shall promptly publish details of the fees and charges that it imposes in connection with importation or exportation and shall make such information available on the internet.
No Party shall require consular transactions, including related fees and charges, in connection with the importation of a good of another Party.

No Party shall require that any customs documentation supplied in connection with the importation of any good of another Party be endorsed, certified, or otherwise sighted or approved by the importing Party’s overseas representatives, or entities with authority to act on the importing Party’s behalf, nor impose any related fees or charges.

5Article 2.21: Sectoral Initiatives

The Parties may decide to initiate a work programme on sector- specific issues. Should the Parties decide to initiate such a work programme, it shall be established and overseen by the Committee on Goods. The Parties shall endeavour to finalise such a work programme no later than two years after the initiation of the work programme.
The Parties shall agree on the sectors to be included in such a work programme, taking into consideration the interests of all the Parties, including those sectors proposed by Parties during the course of the negotiation of this Agreement or other sectors as may be identified by a Party.
Any work programme initiated under this Article should be conducted to:
(a) enhance the Parties’ understanding of the issue; (b) facilitate input from stakeholders; and (c) explore the possible actions by the Parties that would facilitate trade.

business and other relevant

Based on the outcome of any work programme initiated under this Article, the Committee on Goods may make recommendations to the RCEP Joint Committee.