Соглашение от 25.12.2023 "Free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states, of the one part, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, of the other part"

The Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter referred to as "the EAEU") and the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as "the EAEU Member States"), of the one part, and the Islamic Republic of Iran (hereinafter referred to as "I.R. Iran"), of the other part (hereinafter referred to as "the Parties"):

Recognizing the importance of enhancing longstanding friendship and traditional multi-faceted cooperation between the Parties;

Desiring to create favourable environment and conditions for the development of mutual trade and economic relations and for the promotion of economic cooperation between the Parties in the areas of mutual interest;

Building upon preferential trade relations previously established as per the Interim Agreement leading to formation of a free trade area between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, of the other part, as of the 17th of May 2018;

Acknowledging the need to further promote trade and facilitate economic cooperation and greater business opportunities provided by this Agreement;

Emphasizing the need for further promotion of mutual relations between the Parties on the basis of mutual trust, transparency and trade facilitation;

Expressing their support to the earliest accession to the World Trade Organization and recognizing that World Trade Organization's membership of the EAEU and its Member State (that is not yet World Trade Organization's member) and of I.R. Iran will create favourable conditions for the deepening of their integration into the multilateral trading system and will enhance cooperation between the Parties;

Have agreed as follows:

For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise specified:

(a) "customs authorities" means the customs authority or customs authorities of the EAEU Member States or I.R. Iran;

(b) "days" means calendar days including weekends and holidays;

(c) "declarant" means a person who declares goods for customs purposes or on whose behalf the goods are declared;

(d) "Eurasian Economic Commission" means the permanent regulatory body of the EAEU in accordance with the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union of 29 May 2014 (hereinafter referred to as "the Treaty on the EAEU");

(e) "Harmonized System" or "HS" means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System established by the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, done on 14 June 1983 as adopted and implemented by the Parties in their respective laws and regulations;

(f) "laws and regulations" includes any law or any other legal normative act;

(g) "measure" means any measure by a Party, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action, practice or any other form;

(h) "originating" means qualifying under the rules of origin set out in Chapter 6 of this Agreement;

(i) "Parties" means the EAEU Member States and the EAEU acting jointly or individually within their respective areas of competence as derived from the Treaty on the EAEU, of the one part, and I.R. Iran, of the other part;

(j) "Party" means either the EAEU Member States and the EAEU acting jointly or individually within their respective areas of competence as derived from the Treaty on the EAEU or I.R. of Iran;

(k) "person" means a natural person or a juridical person.

The Parties hereby establish a Free Trade Area consistent with international rules, standards and practices <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> For the Parties to this Agreement that are Members of the World Trade Organization "international rules, standards and practices" shall mean the respective provisions of the WTO Agreement, in particular Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.

The objectives of this Agreement are the following:

(a) to liberalize and facilitate trade in goods between the Parties through, inter alia, reduction or elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement;

(b) to support economic and trade cooperation between the Parties;

(c) to encourage expansion and diversification of trade between the Parties;

(d) to enhance closer cooperation in the fields agreed in this Agreement and facilitate communications between the Parties.

1. This Agreement shall be applied without prejudice to rights and obligations of the Parties under international agreements to which the Parties are party.

2. Without prejudice to Article 6.7 of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall neither apply between the EAEU Member States or between the EAEU Member States and the EAEU, nor shall they grant to I.R. Iran benefits that the EAEU Member States grant exclusively to each other.

1. The Parties hereby establish a Joint Committee comprised of representatives of each Party, which shall be co-chaired by two representatives - one from the EAEU and its Member States and the other from I.R. Iran. The Parties shall be represented by senior officials designated by them for this purpose.

2. The Joint Committee shall have the following functions:

(a) considering any matter related to the operation and application of this Agreement;

(b) supervising the work of all subcommittees, working groups and other bodies established under this Agreement or by discretion of the Joint Committee in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article;

(c) considering ways to further enhance trade relations between the Parties;

(d) considering and recommending to the Parties any amendment to this Agreement; and

(e) taking other actions on any matter covered by this Agreement as the Parties may agree.

3. In the fulfilment of its functions, the Joint Committee may establish subsidiary bodies, including ad hoc bodies, and assign them with tasks on specific matters. The Joint Committee may, if necessary, decide to seek advice of third persons or groups on matters of its competence.

4. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, the Joint Committee shall convene:

(a) in regular session every year, with such sessions to be held alternately in the territories of the Parties; and

(b) in special session within 30 days of the request of a Party, with such sessions to be held in the territory of the other Party or at such location as the Parties may agree.

5. All decisions of the Joint Committee and its subsidiary bodies established under this Agreement shall be taken by consensus of the Parties.

6. All notifications, requests and other written submissions to the Parties or to the Joint Committee shall be made in English or in Farsi or in Russian with their respective translations into English unless otherwise provided in this Agreement.

1. The Parties shall establish a business dialogue platform, aimed at fostering cooperation between the business communities of the Parties to be conducted between representatives of such business communities of the Parties.

2. The business dialogue platform shall have a right to bring proposals to the Joint Committee on issues concerning the application of this Agreement, including proposals on development of trade and economic cooperation between the Parties, as well as on other issues related to mutual trade between the Parties.

3. The business dialogue platform will organize, as necessary, seminars, business exhibitions, fairs, round tables and other joint events aimed at development of mutual trade and economic relations between the Parties.

1. Each Party shall designate a contact point or contact points to facilitate communications between the Parties on any matter covered by this Agreement and shall notify the Joint Committee of its contact point or contact points.

2. Upon request of a Party, the other Party's contact point or contact points shall identify the office or official responsible for the matter and assist, as necessary, in facilitating communications between the Parties.

1. Each Party shall, in accordance with its respective laws and regulations, maintain the confidentiality of information designated as confidential by the providing Party pursuant to this Agreement.

2. Nothing in this Agreement shall require a Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.

Subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner which would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where the same conditions prevail, or a disguised restriction on international trade, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to prevent the adoption or enforcement by any Party of measures:

(a) necessary to protect public morals;

(b) necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health;

(c) relating to the importations or exportations of gold or silver;

(d) necessary to secure compliance with laws or regulations which are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement, including those relating to customs enforcement, the enforcement of enterprises operated under Article 2.11 of this Agreement, the protection of patents, trademarks and copyrights, and the prevention of deceptive practices;

(e) relating to the products of prison labour;

(f) imposed for the protection of national treasures of artistic, historic or archaeological value;

(g) relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources if such measures are made effective in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption;

(h) involving restrictions on exports of domestic materials necessary to ensure essential quantities of such materials to a domestic processing industry during periods when the domestic price of such materials is held below the world price as part of a governmental stabilization plan; provided that such restrictions shall not operate to increase the exports of or the protection afforded to such domestic industry, and shall not depart from the provisions of this Agreement or relating to non-discrimination;

(i) essential to the acquisition or distribution of products in general or local short supply; provided that any such measures shall be consistent with the principle that the Parties are entitled to an equitable share of the international supply of such products, and that any such measures, which are inconsistent with the other provisions of this Agreement shall be discontinued as soon as the conditions giving rise to them have ceased to exist.

Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed:

(a) to require any Party to furnish any information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to its essential security interests; or

(b) to prevent any Party from taking any action which it considers necessary for the protection of its essential security interests:

i. relating to fissionable materials or the materials from which they are derived;

ii. relating to the traffic in arms, ammunition and implements of war and to such traffic in other goods and materials as is carried on directly or indirectly for the purpose of supplying a military establishment;

iii. taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations; or

(c) to prevent a Party from taking any action in pursuance of its obligations under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.

--------------------------------

<*> The Parties shall make provisions for the utmost secrecy in the conduct of any consultation under the provisions of this Article.

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 2.7 of this Agreement, the Party in order to safeguard its external financial position and its balance of payments may restrict the quantity or value of merchandise permitted to be imported, subject to the provisions of the following paragraphs of this Article. Import restrictions instituted, maintained or intensified by a Party under this Article shall not exceed those necessary:

i. to forestall threat of or to stop, a serious decline in its monetary reserves, or

ii. in the case of a Party with the threat of inadequate or very low monetary reserves, to achieve a reasonable rate of increase in its reserves.

Due regard shall be paid in either case to any special factors which may be affecting the reserves of such Party or its need for reserves, including, where special external credits or other resources are available to it, the need to provide for the appropriate use of such credits or resources.

The Party concerned shall inform the other Party of its intention to introduce such measures to safeguard its external financial position and its balance of payments, and on the time schedule of their application and removal.

2. The Parties applying restrictions under paragraph 1 of this Article shall progressively relax them as such conditions improve, maintaining them only to the extent that the conditions specified in that paragraph still justify their application. They shall eliminate the restrictions when conditions would no longer justify their institution or maintenance under that paragraph.

3. (a) The Parties undertake, in carrying out their domestic policies, to pay due regard to the need for maintaining or restoring equilibrium in their balance of payments on a sound and lasting basis and to the desirability of avoiding an uneconomic employment of productive resources. They recognize that, in order to achieve these ends, it is desirable so far as possible to adopt measures which expand rather than contract international trade.

(b) The Parties applying restrictions under this Article may determine the incidence of the restrictions on imports of different products or classes of products in such a way as to give priority to the importation of those products which are more essential.

(c) The Parties applying restrictions under this Article undertake:

i. to avoid unnecessary damage to the commercial or economic interests of any other Party <*>;

--------------------------------

<*> A Party applying restrictions shall endeavour to avoid causing serious prejudice to exports of a commodity on which the economy of a Party is largely dependent.

ii. not to apply restrictions so as to prevent unreasonably the importation of any description of goods in minimum commercial quantities the exclusion of which would impair regular channels of trade; and

iii. not to apply restrictions which would prevent the importations of commercial samples or prevent compliance with patent, trademark, copyright, or similar procedures.

(d) The Parties recognize that, as a result of domestic policies directed towards the achievement and maintenance of full and productive employment or towards the development of economic resources, a Party may experience a high level of demand for imports involving a threat to its monetary reserves of the sort referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. Accordingly, a Party otherwise complying with the provisions of this Article shall not be required to withdraw or modify restrictions on the ground that a change in those policies would render unnecessary restrictions which it is applying under this Article.

4. (a) If there is a persistent and widespread application of import restrictions under this Article, indicating the existence of a general disequilibrium which is restricting trade between the Parties, the Parties shall initiate discussions to consider whether other measures might be taken, by those Parties the balance of payments of which are under pressure or by those the balance of payments of which are tending to be exceptionally favourable, to remove the underlying causes of the disequilibrium.

(b) Where the restrictive measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article are adopted or maintained, consultations shall be held promptly by the Joint Committee. Such consultations shall assess the balance-of-payments situation of the Party concerned and the restrictive measures adopted or maintained under this Article, taking into account, inter alia, factors such as:

i. the nature and extent of the balance-of-payments difficulties;

ii. the possible effect of the restrictions on economy of the other Party; or

iii. the alternative corrective measures which may be available.

The consultations shall address the compliance of any restrictive measures with the provisions of this Article.

1. Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with its respective laws and regulations, that its laws and regulations of general application with respect to any matter covered by this Agreement are promptly published or otherwise made publicly available in such a manner as to enable interested persons and the other Party to become acquainted with them, including wherever possible in electronic form. The Parties shall exchange the lists of relevant official print and electronic media.

2. Each Party shall:

(a) publish drafts of such laws and regulations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article that it proposes to adopt; and

(b) provide interested persons and the other Party with a reasonable opportunity to comment on such laws and regulations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article that it proposes to adopt.

3. Upon request of the other Party, a Party shall promptly provide information and respond to questions pertaining to any actual or proposed law, regulation, procedure or administrative ruling of general application, regardless of whether the requesting Party has been previously notified of it. The Party shall provide information under this paragraph in English and within 45 days from the date of receipt of the request.

4. The Parties shall ensure the clarity and transparency of their respective import requirements for the other Party and shall publish and provide the other Party with a step-by-step guidance on its applicable import regulation for exporters of the other Party, within 6 months from the date of entry into force of this Agreement. The guidance shall be done in English and shall be made publicly available, including through an official, public and free available website of the Party concerned. The Parties shall promptly reflect any amendments to its import regulation in the guidance.

5. The notification referred to under paragraph 3 of this Article shall be considered to have been made when the relevant information has been made publicly available, including through an official, public and fee-free accessible website of the Party concerned.

6. Any notification, request or information provided under this Article shall be conveyed to the other Party through the relevant contact points.

By the time of entry into force of this Agreement the Parties shall take all necessary general and specific measures necessary to implement their commitments under this Agreement, and when required shall adjust their laws and regulations respectively in order to bring them in compliance with the provisions of this Agreement.

1. With respect to customs duties and charges of any kind imposed on or in connection with importation or exportation or imposed on the international transfer of payments for imports or exports, and with respect to the method of levying such duties and charges, and with respect to all rules and formalities in connection with importation and exportation, and with respect to all matters referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 2.2 of this Agreement, any advantage, favour, privilege or immunity granted by a Party to any goods originating in or destined for the territory of any other country shall be accorded immediately and unconditionally to the like product originating in or destined for the territory of the other Party.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to preferences:

(a) granted by a Party to adjacent countries in order to facilitate frontier trade;

(b) granted by a Party in accordance with an agreement on customs union or a free trade area or an interim agreement necessary for the formation of a customs union or a free trade area or a preferential trade agreement which complies with requirements set in the Decision on Differential and More Favourable Treatment Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries as of 28 November 1979 (L/4903);

(c) granted by a Party to developing and least developed countries in accordance with general scheme of tariff preferences.

--------------------------------

<*> Any internal tax or other internal charge, or any law, regulation or requirement of the kind referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 2.2 of this Agreement which applies to the imported goods and to the like domestic goods and is collected or enforced in the case of the imported goods at the time or point of importation, is nevertheless to be regarded as an internal tax or other internal charge, or a law, regulation or requirement of the kind referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 2.2 of this Agreement, and is accordingly subject to the provisions of Article 2.2 of this Agreement.

1. The Parties recognize that internal taxes and other internal charges, and laws, regulations and requirements affecting the internal sale, offering for sale, purchase, transportation, distribution or use of products, and internal quantitative regulations requiring the mixture, processing or use of products in specified amounts or proportions, should not be applied to imported or domestic products so as to afford protection to domestic production <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> The Parties shall take such reasonable measures as may be available to it to ensure observance of paragraph 1 of Article 2.2 of this Agreement by the regional and local governments and authorities within their territories. The term "reasonable measures" would not require, for example, the repeal of existing national legislation authorizing local governments to impose internal taxes which, although technically inconsistent with the letter of Article 2.2 of this Agreement, are not in fact inconsistent with its spirit, if such repeal would result in a serious financial hardship for the local governments or authorities concerned. With regard to taxation by local governments or authorities which is inconsistent with both the letter and spirit of Article 2.2 of this Agreement, the term "reasonable measures" would permit a Party to eliminate the inconsistent taxation gradually over a transition period, if abrupt action would create serious administrative and financial difficulties.

2. The products of the territory of a Party imported into the territory of the other Party shall not be subject, directly or indirectly, to internal taxes or other internal charges of any kind in excess of those applied, directly or indirectly, to like domestic goods. Moreover, no Party shall otherwise apply internal taxes or other internal charges to imported or domestic products in a manner contrary to the principles set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> A tax conforming to the requirements of the first sentence of paragraph 2 of Article 2.2 of this Agreement would be considered to be inconsistent with the provisions of the second sentence of the referred paragraph only in cases where competition was involved between, on the one hand, the taxed goods and, on the other hand, a directly competitive or substitutable goods which was not similarly taxed.

3. The products of the territory of a Party imported into the territory of the other Party shall be accorded treatment no less favourable than that accorded to like goods of national origin in respect of all laws, regulations and requirements affecting their internal sale, offering for sale, purchase, transportation, distribution or use. The provisions of this paragraph shall not prevent the application of differential internal transportation charges which are based exclusively on the economic operation of the means of transport and not on the nationality of the products.

4. No Party shall establish or maintain any internal quantitative regulation relating to the mixture, processing or use of products in specified amounts or proportions which requires, directly or indirectly, that any specified amount or proportion of any product which is the subject of the regulation must be supplied from domestic sources. Moreover, no Party shall otherwise apply internal quantitative regulations in a manner contrary to the principles set forth in paragraph 1 of this Article <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> Regulation consistent with the provision of the first sentence of paragraph 4 of Article 2.2 of this Agreement shall not be considered to be contrary to the provisions of the second sentence of the referred paragraph in any case in which all of the goods subject to the regulations are produced domestically in substantial quantities. A regulation cannot be justified as being consistent with the provisions of the second sentence on the ground that the proportion or amount allocated to each of the goods which are the subject of the regulation constitutes an equitable relationship between imported and domestic goods.

5. No internal quantitative regulation relating to the mixture, processing or use of products in specified amounts or proportions shall be applied in such a manner as to allocate any such amount or proportion among external sources of supply.

6. (a) The provisions of this Article shall not apply to laws, regulations or requirements governing the procurement by governmental agencies of products purchased for governmental purposes and not with a view to commercial resale or with a view to use in the production of goods for commercial sale.

(b) The provisions of this Article shall not prevent the payment of subsidies exclusively to domestic producers, including payments to domestic producers derived from the proceeds of internal taxes or charges applied consistently with the provisions of this Article and subsidies effected through governmental purchases of domestic products.

7. The Parties recognize that internal maximum price control measures, even though conforming to the other provisions of this Article, can have effects prejudicial to the interests of the Parties supplying imported products. Accordingly, a Party applying such measures shall take account of the interests of the other Party with a view to avoiding to the fullest practicable extent such prejudicial effects.

1. Each Party shall accord to the originating goods of the other Party treatment not less favourable than that provided for in the former Party's Schedule of Tariff Commitments provided for in Annex 1 to this Agreement.

2. The originating goods of a Party described in the Schedule of Tariff Commitments of another Party, shall, on their importation into the territory of the latter Party, and subject to the terms, conditions and qualifications set forth in that Schedule, be exempt from customs duties in excess to those set forth and provided therein. Such goods shall also be exempt from all other duties or charges of any kind imposed on or in connection with the importation in excess of those set forth and provided in the Schedule.

3. Nothing in this Article shall prevent any Party from imposing at any time on the importation of any product:

(a) a charge equivalent to an internal tax imposed consistently with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 2.2 of this Agreement in respect of the like domestic product or in respect of an article from which the imported product has been manufactured or produced in whole or in part;

(b) any duty imposed consistently with Chapter 3 of this Agreement;

(c) fees or other charges commensurate with the cost of services rendered.

4. If the rate of preferential customs duty on an originating goods of a Party applied in accordance with Annex 1 to this Agreement is higher than the most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty on the same goods, such goods shall be eligible for the latter one.

1. Each Party shall ensure that any change to its applied nomenclature based on HS and its description shall be carried out without impairing tariff concessions undertaken in accordance with Annex 1 to this Agreement.

2. Such change to the EAEU applied nomenclature based on HS and its description and I.R. Iran applied nomenclature based on HS and its description shall be carried out by the Eurasian Economic Commission and I.R. Iran, respectively. The Parties shall make any change to their applied nomenclature based on HS code and its description publicly available in a timely manner and inform each other every year.

--------------------------------

<*> While Article 2.5 of this Agreement does not cover the use of multiple rates of exchange as such, paragraphs 1 and 4 of Article 2.5 of this Agreement condemn the use of exchange taxes or fees as a device for implementing multiple currency practices; if, however, a Party is using multiple currency exchange fees for balance of payments reasons with the approval of the International Monetary Fund, nothing in this Agreement shall preclude the use by a Party of exchange controls or exchange restrictions in accordance with the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund or with that Party's special exchange agreement with the other Party.

1. (a) All fees and charges of whatever character (other than import and export duties and other than taxes within the purview of Article 2.2 of this Agreement) imposed by Parties on or in connection with importation or exportation shall be limited in amount to the approximate cost of services rendered and shall not represent an indirect protection to domestic goods or a taxation of imports or exports for fiscal purposes.

(b) The Parties recognize the need for reducing the number and diversity of fees and charges referred to in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.

(c) The Parties also recognize the need for minimizing the incidence and complexity of import and export formalities and for decreasing and simplifying import and export documentation requirements <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> It would be consistent with paragraph 1 of Article 2.5 of this Agreement if, on the importation of goods from the territory of a Party into the territory of the other Party, the production of certificates of origin should only be required to the extent that is strictly indispensable.

2. A Party shall, upon request by the other Party, review the operation of its laws and regulations in the light of the provisions of this Article.

3. No Party shall impose substantial penalties for minor breaches of customs regulations or procedural requirements. In particular, no penalty in respect of any omission or mistake in customs documentation which is easily rectifiable and obviously made without fraudulent intent or gross negligence shall be greater than necessary to serve merely as a warning.

4. The provisions of this Article shall extend to fees, charges, formalities and requirements imposed by governmental authorities in connection with importation and exportation, including those relating to:

(a) consular transactions, such as consular invoices and certificates;

(b) quantitative restrictions;

(c) licensing;

(d) exchange control;

(e) statistical services;

(f) documents, documentation and certification;

(g) analysis and inspection; and

(h) quarantine, sanitation and fumigation.

5. Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities make available through their official websites information about fees and charges it imposes.

1. Laws and regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application, made effective by the Parties, pertaining to the classification or the valuation of goods for customs purposes, or to rates of duty, taxes or other charges, or to requirements, restrictions or prohibitions on imports or exports or on the transfer of payments therefor, or affecting their sale, distribution, transportation, insurance, warehousing inspection, exhibition, processing, mixing or other use, shall be published promptly in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted with them. Agreements affecting international trade policy which are in force between the government or a governmental agency of the Parties shall also be published. The provisions of this paragraph shall not require the Parties to disclose confidential information which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.

2. No measure of general application taken by the Parties effecting an advance in a rate of duty or other charge on imports under an established and uniform practice, or imposing a new or more burdensome requirement, restriction or prohibition on imports, or on the transfer of payments therefor, shall be enforced before such measure has been officially published.

3. (a) Each Party shall administer in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner all its laws, regulations, decisions and rulings of the kind described in paragraph 1 of this Article.

(b) Each Party shall maintain, or institute as soon as practicable, judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures for the purpose, inter alia, of the prompt review and correction of administrative action relating to customs matters. Such tribunals or procedures shall be independent of the agencies entrusted with administrative enforcement and their decisions shall be implemented by, and shall govern the practice of, such agencies unless an appeal is lodged with a court or tribunal of superior jurisdiction within the time prescribed for appeals to be lodged by importers; provided that the central administration of such agency may take steps to obtain a review of the matter in another proceeding if there is good cause to believe that the decision is inconsistent with established principles of law or the actual facts.

(c) The provisions of subparagraph (b) of this paragraph shall not require the elimination or substitution of procedures in force in the territory of a Party on the date of entry into force of this Agreement which in fact provide for an objective and impartial review of administrative action even though such procedures are not fully or formally independent of the agencies entrusted with administrative enforcement. Any Party employing such procedures shall, upon request, furnish full information thereon in order that the other Party may determine whether such procedures conform to the requirements of this subparagraph.

--------------------------------

<*> Throughout Article 2.7 of this Agreement the terms "import restrictions" or "export restrictions" include restrictions made effective through state-trading operations.

1. No prohibitions or restrictions other than duties, taxes or other charges, whether made effective through quotas, import or export licenses or other measures, shall be instituted or maintained by any Party on the importation of any products of the territory of any other Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any products destined for the territory of any other Party.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not extend to the following:

(a) export prohibitions or restrictions temporarily applied to prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other goods essential to the exporting Party;

(b) import and export prohibitions or restrictions necessary to the application of standards or regulations for the classification, grading or marketing of commodities in international trade;

(c) import restrictions on any agricultural or fisheries goods, imported in any form <*>, necessary to the enforcement of governmental measures which operate:

--------------------------------

<*> The term "in any form" in subparagraph (c) of paragraph 2 of Article 2.7 of this Agreement covers the same goods when in an early stage of processing and still perishable, which compete directly with the fresh goods and if freely imported would tend to make the restriction on the fresh goods ineffective.

i. to restrict the quantities of the like domestic goods permitted to be marketed or produced, or, if there is no substantial domestic production of the like goods, of domestic goods for which the imported goods can be directly substituted; or

ii. to remove a temporary surplus of the like domestic goods, or, if there is no substantial domestic production of the like goods, of domestic goods for which the imported goods can be directly substituted, by making the surplus available to certain groups of domestic consumers free of charge or at prices below the current market level; or

iii. to restrict the quantities permitted to be produced of any animal goods the production of which is directly dependent, wholly or mainly, on the imported commodity, if the domestic production of that commodity is relatively negligible.

Any Party applying restrictions on the importation of any goods pursuant to subparagraph (c) of this paragraph shall give public notice of the total quantity or value of the goods permitted to be imported during a specified future period and of any change in such quantity or value. Moreover, any restrictions applied under subparagraph (i) above shall not be such as will reduce the total of imports relative to the total of domestic production, as compared with the proportion which might reasonably be expected to rule between the two in the absence of restrictions. In determining this proportion, the Party shall pay due regard to the proportion prevailing during a previous representative period and to any special factors <*> which may have affected or may be affecting the trade in the goods concerned.

--------------------------------

<*> The term "special factors" includes changes in relative productive efficiency as between domestic and foreign producers, or as between different foreign producers, but not changes artificially brought about by means not permitted under this Agreement.

3. No prohibition or restriction shall be applied by a Party on the importation of any goods of the territory of the other Party or on the exportation of any goods destined for the territory of the other Party, unless the importation of the like goods of all third countries or the exportation of the like goods to all third countries is similarly prohibited or restricted.

4. In applying import restrictions to any goods, the Parties shall aim at a distribution of trade in such goods approaching as closely as possible the shares which the other Party might be expected to obtain in the absence of such restrictions and to this end shall observe the following provisions:

(a) wherever practicable, quotas representing the total amount of permitted imports (whether allocated among supplying countries or not) shall be fixed, and notice given of their amount in accordance with paragraph 5 (b) of this Article;

(b) in cases in which quotas are not practicable, the restrictions may be applied by means of import licenses or permits without a quota;

(c) the Parties shall not, except for purposes of operating quotas allocated in accordance with subparagraph (d) of this paragraph, require that import licenses or permits be utilized for the importation of the goods concerned from a particular country or source;

(d) in cases in which a quota is allocated among supplying countries the Party applying the restrictions may seek agreement with respect to the allocation of shares in the quota with the countries having a substantial interest in supplying the goods concerned including the other Party. In cases in which this method is not reasonably practicable, the Party concerned shall allot to the other Party a share based upon the proportions, supplied by such Party during a previous representative period, of the total quantity or value of imports of the goods, due account being taken of any special factors which may have affected or may be affecting the trade in the goods. No conditions or formalities shall be impozed which would prevent any Party from utilizing fully the share of any such total quantity or value which has been allotted to it, subject to importation being made within any prescribed period to which the quota may relate <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> No mention was made of "commercial considerations" as a rule for the allocation of quotas because it was considered that its application by governmental authorities might not always be practicable. Moreover, in cases where it is practicable, a Party could apply these considerations in the process of seeking agreement, consistently with the general rule laid down in the opening sentence of paragraph 4 of this Article.

5. (a) In cases in which import licenses are issued in connection with import restrictions, the Party applying the restrictions shall provide, upon the request of the other Party, all relevant information concerning the administration of the restrictions, the import licenses granted over a recent period and the distribution of such licenses among supplying countries; Provided that there shall be no obligation to supply information as to the names of importing or supplying enterprises.

(b) In the case of import restrictions involving the fixing of quotas, the Party applying the restrictions shall give public notice of the total quantity or value of the goods or goods which will be permitted to be imported during a specified future period and of any change in such quantity or value. Any supplies of the goods in question which were en route at the time at which public notice was given shall not be excluded from entry; Provided that they may be counted so far as practicable, against the quantity permitted to be imported in the period in question, and also, where necessary, against the quantities permitted to be imported in the next following period or periods; and Provided further that if any Party customarily exempts from such restrictions goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during a period of 30 days after the day of such public notice, such practice shall be considered in full compliance with this subparagraph.

(c) In the case of quotas allocated among supplying countries, the Party applying the restrictions shall promptly inform the other Party of the shares in the quota currently allocated, by quantity or value, to the various supplying countries and shall give public notice thereof.

6. With regard to restrictions applied in accordance with paragraph 2 (c) or paragraph 4 (d) of this Article, the selection of a representative period for any goods and the appraisal of any special factors affecting the trade in the goods shall be made initially by the Party applying the restriction; Provided that such Party shall, upon the request of the other Party consult promptly with the other Party regarding the need for an adjustment of the proportion determined or of the base period selected, or for the reappraisal of the special factors involved, or for the elimination of conditions, formalities or any other provisions established unilaterally relating to the allocation of an adequate quota or its unrestricted utilization.

7. The provisions of this Article shall apply to any tariff quota instituted or maintained by any Party, and, in so far as applicable, the principles of this Article shall also extend to export restrictions.

1. Goods (including baggage), and also vessels and other means of transport shall be deemed to be in transit across the territory of a Party when the passage across such territory, with or without trans-shipment, warehousing, breaking bulk, or change in the mode of transport, is only a portion of a complete journey beginning and terminating beyond the frontier of the Party across whose territory the traffic passes. Traffic of this nature is termed in this Article "traffic in transit".

2. There shall be freedom of transit through the territory of each Party, via the routes most convenient for international transit, for traffic in transit to or from the territory of the other Party. No distinction shall be made which is based on the flag of vessels, the place of origin, departure, entry, exit or destination, or on any circumstances relating to the ownership of goods, of vessels or of other means of transport.

3. The Party may require that traffic in transit through its territory be entered at the proper custom house, but, except in cases of failure to comply with applicable customs laws and regulations, such traffic coming from or going to the territory of the other Party shall not be subject to any unnecessary delays or restrictions and shall be exempt from customs duties and from all transit duties or other charges imposed in respect of transit, except charges for transportation or those commensurate with administrative expenses entailed by transit or with the cost of services rendered.

4. All charges and regulations imposed by a Party on traffic in transit to or from the territory of the other Party shall be reasonable, having regard to the conditions of the traffic.

5. With respect to all charges, regulations and formalities in connection with transit, each Party shall accord to traffic in transit to or from the territory of the other Party treatment no less favourable than the treatment accorded to traffic in transit to or from any third country <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> With regard to transportation charges, the principle laid down in paragraph 5 of Article 2.8 of this Agreement refers to like goods being transported on the same route under like conditions.

6. Each Party shall accord to goods which have been in transit through the territory of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that which would have been accorded to such goods had they been transported from their place of origin to their destination without going through the territory of such other Party. The Party shall, however, be free to maintain its requirements of direct consignment existing on the date of entry into force of this Agreement, in respect of any goods in regard to which such direct consignment is a requisite condition of eligibility for entry of the goods at preferential rates of duty or has relation to the Party's prescribed method of valuation for duty purposes.

7. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to the operation of aircraft in transit, but shall apply to air transit of goods (including baggage).

1. The Parties hereby establish the Committee on Trade in Goods (hereinafter referred to as "the Goods Committee"), comprising representatives of each Party.

2. The Goods Committee shall meet upon request of either Party to consider any matter arising under this Chapter and under Chapters 3, 6 and 7 of this Agreement.

3. The Goods Committee shall have the following functions:

(a) reviewing and monitoring the implementation and operation of the Chapters referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article;

(b) reviewing and making appropriate recommendations, as needed, to the Joint Committee on any amendment to the provisions of this Chapter and to the Schedules of Tariff Commitments in Annex 1 to this Agreement in order to promote and facilitate improved market access;

(c) identifying and recommending measures to resolve any problem that may arise;

(d) reporting the findings on any other issue arising from the implementation of this Chapter to the Joint Committee.

1. If any Party should consider that any benefit accruing to it directly or indirectly under this Agreement is being nullified or impaired or that the attainment of any objective of the Agreement is being impeded as the result of

(a) the failure of another Party to carry out its obligations under this Agreement, or

(b) the application by another Party of any measure, whether or not it conflicts with the provisions of this Agreement, or

(c) the existence of any other situation,

the Party may, with a view to the satisfactory adjustment of the matter, make written representations or proposals to the other Party. A Party thus approached shall give sympathetic consideration to the representations or proposals made to it.

2. If no satisfactory adjustment is effected between the Parties within a reasonable period of time, not exceeding 60 days, or if the difficulty is of the type described in subparagraph (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the matter may be referred to the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee shall promptly investigate any matter so referred to it and shall make appropriate recommendations or give a ruling on the matter, as appropriate.

3. If the Joint Committee considers that the circumstances are serious enough to justify such action, it may authorize a Party to suspend the application to the other Party of such concessions or other obligations under this Agreement as it determines to be appropriate in the circumstances.

4. If no consensus is reached by the Parties through the Joint Committee and the matter concerned is still in place, the Party concerned may suspend its concessions unilaterally without prejudice to the other Party's right to initiate a dispute on this matter under Chapter 8 of this Agreement.

5. Within 60 days from the date of suspension of concessions in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article the Party concerned shall notify the other Party of such suspension in writing.

1 <*>. (a) Each Party undertakes that if it establishes or maintains a State enterprise, wherever located, or grants to any enterprise, formally or in effect, exclusive or special privileges <**>, such enterprise shall, in its purchases or sales involving either imports or exports, act in a manner consistent with the general principles of non-discriminatory treatment prescribed in this Agreement for governmental measures affecting imports or exports by private traders.

--------------------------------

<*> The operations of Marketing Boards, which are established by the Parties and are engaged in purchasing or selling, are subject to the provisions of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of Article 2.11 of this Agreement. The activities of Marketing Boards which are established by the Parties and which do not purchase or sell but lay down regulations covering private trade are governed by the relevant Articles of this Agreement. The charging by a state enterprise of different prices for its sales of a goods in different markets is not precluded by the provisions of this Article, provided that such different prices are charged for commercial reasons, to meet conditions of supply and demand in export markets.

<**> Governmental measures imposed to insure standards of quality and efficiency in the operation of external trade, or privileges granted for the exploitation of national natural resources but which do not empower the government to exercise control over the trading activities of the enterprise in question, do not constitute "exclusive or special privileges".

(b) The provisions of subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall be understood to require that such enterprises shall, having due regard to the other provisions of this Agreement, make any such purchases or sales solely in accordance with commercial considerations <*>, including price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale, and shall afford the enterprises of the other Party adequate opportunity, in accordance with customary business practice, to compete for participation in such purchases or sales.

--------------------------------

<*> A country receiving a "tied loan" is free to take this loan into account as a "commercial consideration" when purchasing requirements abroad.

(c) No Party shall prevent any enterprise (whether or not an enterprise described in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph) under its jurisdiction from acting in accordance with the principles of subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to imports of products for immediate or ultimate consumption in governmental use and not otherwise for resale or use in the production of goods <*> for sale. With respect to such imports, each Party shall accord to the trade of the other Party fair and equitable treatment.

--------------------------------

<*> The term "goods" is limited to goods as understood in commercial practice, and is not intended to include the purchase or sale of services.

3. The Parties recognize that enterprises of the kind described in paragraph 1 (a) of this Article might be operated so as to create serious obstacles to trade; thus negotiations on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous basis designed to limit or reduce such obstacles are of importance to the expansion of international trade.

4. (a) The Parties shall notify the Joint Committee of the goods which are imported into or exported from their territories by enterprises of the kind described in paragraph 1 (a) of this Article.

(b) The Party establishing, maintaining or authorizing an import monopoly of a good, which is not included in Annex 1 to this Agreement, shall, on request of the other Party inform such a Party of the import mark-up <*> on the goods during a recent representative period, or, when it is not possible to do so, of the price charged on the resale of the goods.

--------------------------------

<*> The term "mark-up" shall represent the margin by which the price charged by the import monopoly for the imported goods (exclusive of internal taxes within the purview of Article 2.2 of this Agreement, transportation, distribution, and other expenses incident to the purchase, sale or further processing, and a reasonable margin of profit) exceeds the landed cost.

(c) The Party which has reason to believe that its interest under this Agreement is being adversely affected by the operations of an enterprise of the kind described in paragraph 1 (a) of this Article, requests the Party establishing, maintaining or authorizing such enterprise to supply information about its operations related to the carrying out of the provisions of this Agreement.

(d) The provisions of this paragraph shall not require any Party to disclose confidential information which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises.

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "anti-dumping measure" means a measure imposed by a Party on imports of a product from another Party in order to offset or prevent dumping which causes or threatens to cause material injury or materially retards the establishment of a domestic industry, that is applied pursuant to this Chapter;

(b) "bilateral safeguard measure" means a measure imposed by a Party on imports of a product originating in another Party in order to prevent or remedy serious injury to a domestic industry or threat thereof caused by increased imports of that product as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement and applied in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter;

(c) "countervailing measure" means a measure imposed by a Party on imports of a product from another Party in order to offset the effect of a specific subsidy provided within the territory of the latter Party which causes or threatens to cause material injury or materially retards the establishment of a domestic industry, that is applied pursuant to this Chapter;

(d) "global safeguard measure" means a measure imposed by a Party on imports of a product to prevent or remedy serious injury or threats thereof to a domestic industry which is caused by increased imports of that product from all countries and applied in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

1. Each Party shall apply anti-dumping and countervailing measures in accordance with its anti-dumping and countervailing duty legislation, except as otherwise provided for in this Chapter.

2. A product is to be considered as being dumped if the export price of this product exported from one Party to another is less than the comparable price, in the ordinary course of trade, for the like product when destined for consumption in the exporting Party.

3. Sales of the like product in the domestic market of the exporting Party at prices not below weighted average costs of production plus administrative, selling and general costs shall be regarded as being in the ordinary course of trade. For the purposes of anti-dumping investigations when there are no sales of the like product in the ordinary course of trade in the domestic market of the exporting Party or when, because of the low volume of the sales in the domestic market of the exporting country, such sales do not permit a proper comparison, the margin of dumping shall be determined by comparison with a comparable price of the like product when exported to an appropriate third country, provided that this price is representative, or with the cost of production in the country of origin plus a reasonable amount for administrative, selling and general costs and for profits. Sales of the like product in the domestic market of the exporting Party or sales to a third country at prices below per unit (fixed and variable) costs of production plus administrative, selling and general costs may be treated as not being in the ordinary course of trade by reason of price and may be disregarded in determining normal value only if the investigating authorities determine that such sales are made within an extended period of time <*> in substantial quantities <**> and are at prices which do not provide for the recovery of all costs within a reasonable period of time. If prices which are below per unit costs at the time of sale are above weighted average per unit costs for the period of investigation, such prices shall be considered to provide for recovery of costs within a reasonable period of time. For the purpose of this paragraph, costs shall normally be calculated on the basis of records kept by the exporter or producer under investigation, provided that such records are in accordance with the generally accepted accounting principles of the exporting country and reasonably reflect the costs associated with the production and sale of the product under consideration. Authorities shall consider all available evidence on the proper allocation of costs, including that which is made available by the exporter or producer in the course of the investigation provided that such allocations have been historically utilized by the exporter or producer, in particular in relation to establishing appropriate amortization and depreciation periods and allowances for capital expenditures and other development costs. Unless already reflected in the cost allocations under this paragraph, costs shall be adjusted appropriately for those non-recurring items of cost which benefit future and/or current production, or for circumstances in which costs during the period of investigation are affected by start-up operations <***>. For the purpose of this paragraph, the amounts for administrative, selling and general costs and for profits shall be based on actual data pertaining to production and sales in the ordinary course of trade of the like product by the exporter or producer under investigation. When such amounts cannot be determined on this basis, the amounts may be determined on the basis of:

--------------------------------

<*> The extended period of time should normally be one year but shall in no case be less than 6 months.

<**> Sales below per unit costs are made in substantial quantities when the authorities establish that the weighted average selling price of the transactions under consideration for the determination of the normal value is below the weighted average per unit costs, or that the volume of sales below per unit costs represents not less than 20 per cent of the volume sold in transactions under consideration for the determination of the normal value.

<***> The adjustment made for start-up operations shall reflect the costs at the end of the start-up period or, if that period extends beyond the period of investigation, the most recent costs which can reasonably be taken into account by the authorities during the investigation.

i. the actual amounts incurred and realized by the exporter or producer in question in respect of production and sales in the domestic market of the country of origin of the same general category of products;

ii. the weighted average of the actual amounts incurred and realized by other exporters or producers subject to investigation in respect of production and sales of the like product in the domestic market of the country of origin;

iii. any other reasonable method, provided that the amount for profit so established shall not exceed the profit normally realized by other exporters or producers on sales of products of the same general category in the domestic market of the country of origin.

4. In cases where there is no export price or where it appears to the authorities concerned that the export price is unreliable because of association or a compensatory arrangement between the exporter and the importer or a third party, the export price may be constructed on the basis of the price at which the imported products are first resold to an independent buyer, or if the products are not resold to an independent buyer, or not resold in the condition as imported, on such reasonable basis as the authorities may determine.

5. A fair comparison shall be made between the export price and the normal value. This comparison shall be made at the same level of trade, normally at the ex-factory level, and in respect of sales made at as nearly as possible the same time. Due allowance shall be made in each case, on its merits, for differences which affect price comparability, including differences in conditions and terms of sale, taxation, levels of trade, quantities, physical characteristics, and any other differences which are also demonstrated to affect price comparability. In the cases referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article, allowances for costs, including duties and taxes, incurred between importation and resale, and for profits accruing, should also be made. If in these cases price comparability has been affected, the authorities shall establish the normal value at a level of trade equivalent to the level of trade of the constructed export price, or shall make due allowance as warranted under this paragraph. The authority of the Party shall indicate to the parties in question what information is necessary to ensure a fair comparison and shall not impose an unreasonable burden of proof on those parties.

i. When the comparison under paragraph 5 of this Article requires a conversion of currencies, such conversion should be made using the rate of exchange on the date of sale, provided that when a sale of foreign currency on forward markets is directly linked to the export sale involved, the rate of exchange in the forward sale shall be used. Fluctuations in exchange rates shall be ignored and in an investigation the authorities shall allow exporters at least 60 days to have adjusted their export prices to reflect sustained movements in exchange rates during the period of investigation.

ii. Subject to the provisions governing fair comparison in paragraph 5 of this Article, the existence of margins of dumping during the investigation phase shall normally be established on the basis of a comparison of a weighted average normal value with a weighted average of prices of all comparable export transactions or by a comparison of normal value and export prices on a transaction to transaction basis. A normal value established on a weighted average basis may be compared to prices of individual export transactions if the authorities find a pattern of export prices which differ significantly among different purchasers, regions or time periods, and if an explanation is provided as to why such differences cannot be taken into account appropriately by the use of a weighted average to weighted average or transaction to transaction comparison.

6. In the case where products are not imported directly from the country of origin but are exported to the importing Party from an intermediate country, the price at which the products are sold from the country of export to the importing Party shall normally be compared with the comparable price in the country of export. However, comparison may be made with the price in the country of origin, if, for example, the products are merely transshipped through the country of export, or such products are not produced in the country of export, or there is no comparable price for them in the country of export.

7. Throughout this Chapter the term "like product" shall be interpreted to mean a product which is identical, i.e. alike in all respects to the product under consideration, or in the absence of such a product, another product which, although not alike in all respects, has characteristics closely resembling those of the product under consideration.

8. For the purposes of this Chapter a subsidy shall be deemed to exist if:

(a) there is a financial contribution by a government or any public body within the territory of an exporting Party, i.e. where:

i. a government practice involves a direct transfer of funds (e.g. grants, loans, and equity infusion), potential direct transfers of funds or liabilities (e.g. loan guarantees);

ii. government revenue that is otherwise due is foregone or not collected (e.g. fiscal incentives such as tax credits) <*>;

--------------------------------

<*> The exemption of an exported product from duties or taxes borne by the like product when destined for domestic consumption, or the remission of such duties or taxes in amounts not in excess of those which have accrued, shall not be deemed to be a subsidy.

iii. a government provides goods or services other than general infrastructure, or purchases goods;

iv. a government makes payments to a funding mechanism, or entrusts or directs a private body to carry out one or more of the type of functions illustrated in (i) to (iii) above which would normally be vested in the government and the practice, in no real sense, differs from practices normally followed by governments;

or

(b) any form of income or price support on the recipient of a subsidy which operates directly or indirectly to increase exports of a product from an exporting Party or to reduce imports of the like product into this Party; and

(c) a benefit is thereby conferred.

9. A subsidy of an exporting Party shall be considered specific if access to a subsidy in the law of an exporting Party or in fact is limited to certain enterprise or industry or group of enterprises or industries within the jurisdiction of the granting authority. A subsidy which is limited to certain enterprises located within a designated geographical region within the jurisdiction of the granting authority shall be specific. It is understood that the setting or change of generally applicable tax rates by all levels of government entitled to do so shall not be deemed to be a specific subsidy for the purposes of this Agreement.

10. In order to determine whether a subsidy is specific the following principles shall apply:

(a) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, explicitly limits access to a subsidy to certain enterprises, such subsidy shall be specific;

(b) where the granting authority, or the legislation pursuant to which the granting authority operates, establishes objective criteria or conditions <*> governing the eligibility for, and the amount of, a subsidy, specificity shall not exist, provided that the eligibility is automatic and that such criteria and conditions are strictly adhered to. The criteria or conditions must be clearly spelled out in law, regulation, or other official document, so as to be capable of verification;

--------------------------------

<*> Objective criteria or conditions, as used herein, mean criteria or conditions which are neutral, which do not favour certain enterprises over others, and which are economic in nature and horizontal in application, such as number of employees or size of enterprise.

(c) if, notwithstanding any appearance of non-specificity resulting from the application of the principles laid down in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph, there are reasons to believe that the subsidy may in fact be specific, other factors may be considered. Such factors are: use of a subsidy programme by a limited number of certain enterprises, predominant use by certain enterprises, the granting of disproportionately large amounts of subsidy to certain enterprises, and the manner in which discretion has been exercised by the granting authority in the decision to grant a subsidy <*>. In applying this subparagraph, account shall be taken of the extent of diversification of economic activities within the jurisdiction of the granting authority, as well as of the length of time during which the subsidy programme has been in operation.

--------------------------------

<*> In this regard, in particular, information on the frequency with which applications for a subsidy are refused or approved and the reasons for such decisions shall be considered.

11. Any determination of specificity under the provisions of paragraphs 9 and 10 of this Article shall be clearly substantiated on the basis of positive evidence.

12. Any subsidy of an exporting Party shall be a specific subsidy if:

(a) a subsidy is contingent, in the law of an exporting Party or in fact <*>, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon export performance;

--------------------------------

<*> This standard is met when the facts demonstrate that the granting of a subsidy, without having been made legally contingent upon export performance, is in fact tied to actual or anticipated exportation or export earnings. The mere fact that a subsidy is granted to enterprises which export shall not for that reason alone be considered to be an export subsidy within the meaning of this provision.

(b) a subsidy is contingent, in the law of an exporting Party or in fact, whether solely or as one of several other conditions, upon the use of domestic over imported goods.

13. Any method used by the investigating authority to calculate the benefit to the recipient pursuant to paragraph 8 of this Article shall be consistent with the following guidelines:

(a) government provision of equity capital shall not be considered as conferring a benefit, unless the investment decision can be regarded as inconsistent with the usual investment practice (including for the provision of risk capital) of private investors in the territory of that Party;

(b) a loan by a government shall not be considered as conferring a benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that the firm receiving the loan pays on the government loan and the amount the firm would pay on a comparable commercial loan which the firm could actually obtain on the market. In this case the benefit shall be the difference between these two amounts;

(c) a loan guarantee by a government shall not be considered as conferring a benefit, unless there is a difference between the amount that the firm receiving the guarantee pays on a loan guaranteed by the government and the amount that the firm would pay on a comparable commercial loan absent the government guarantee. In this case the benefit shall be the difference between these two amounts adjusted for any differences in fees;

(d) the provision of goods or services or purchase of goods by a government shall not be considered as conferring a benefit unless the provision is made for less than adequate remuneration, or the purchase is made for more than adequate remuneration. The adequacy of remuneration shall be determined in relation to prevailing market conditions for the good or service in question in the country of provision or purchase (including price, quality, availability, marketability, transportation and other conditions of purchase or sale).

14. The Parties may apply an anti-dumping measure or countervailing measure only following an investigation by the investigating authority initiated and conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Article. An investigation shall, except in special circumstances, be concluded within one year, and in no case more than 18 months, after its initiation.

15. An investigation shall be initiated upon a written application by or on behalf of the domestic industry which included sufficient evidence of (a) dumping (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or a specific subsidy (for the purpose of countervailing investigation), (b) injury to the domestic industry <*> and (c) a causal link between the dumped imports (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or subsidized imports (for the purpose of countervailing investigation) and the alleged injury. Simple assertion, unsubstantiated by relevant evidence, cannot be considered sufficient to meet the requirements of this paragraph.

--------------------------------

<*> The term "injury" shall, unless otherwise specified, be taken to mean material injury to a domestic industry, threat of material injury to a domestic industry or material retardation of the establishment of such an industry.

16. The application for the purposes of a countervailing duty investigation shall contain such information as is reasonably available to the applicant on the following:

(a) the identity of the applicant and a description of the volume and value of the domestic production of the like product by the applicant. Where a written application is made on behalf of the domestic industry, the application shall identify the industry on behalf of which the application is made by a list of all known domestic producers of the like product (or associations of domestic producers of the like product) and, to the extent possible, a description of the volume and value of domestic production of the like product accounted for by such producers;

(b) a complete description of the allegedly subsidized product, the names of the country or countries of origin or export in question, the identity of each known exporter or foreign producer and a list of known persons importing the product in question;

(c) evidence with regard to the existence, amount and nature of the subsidy in question;

(d) evidence that alleged injury to a domestic industry is caused by subsidized imports through the effects of the subsidies; this evidence includes information on the evolution of the volume of the allegedly subsidized imports, the effect of these imports on prices of the like product in the domestic market and the consequent impact of the imports on the domestic industry, as demonstrated by relevant factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the domestic industry, such as those listed in paragraph 23 of this Article.

17. The application for the purposes of an anti-dumping investigation shall contain such information as is reasonably available to the applicant on the following:

(a) the identity of the applicant and a description of the volume and value of the domestic production of the like product by the applicant. Where a written application is made on behalf of the domestic industry, the application shall identify the industry on behalf of which the application is made by a list of all known domestic producers of the like product (or associations of domestic producers of the like product) and, to the extent possible, a description of the volume and value of domestic production of the like product accounted for by such producers;

(b) a complete description of the allegedly dumped product, the names of the country or countries of origin or export in question, the identity of each known exporter or foreign producer and a list of known persons importing the product in question;

(c) information on prices at which the product in question is sold when destined for consumption in the domestic markets of the country or countries of origin or export (or, where appropriate, information on the prices at which the product is sold from the country or countries of origin or export to a third country or countries, or on the constructed value of the product) and information on export prices or, where appropriate, on the prices at which the product is first resold to an independent buyer in the territory of the importing Party;

(d) information on the evolution of the volume of the allegedly dumped imports, the effect of these imports on prices of the like product in the domestic market and the consequent impact of the imports on the domestic industry, as demonstrated by relevant factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the domestic industry, such as those listed in paragraph 23 of this Article.

18. After receipt of a properly documented application and before proceeding to initiate an anti-dumping investigation, the authorities shall notify the government of the exporting Party concerned at least 15 days before initiating such anti-dumping investigation.

19. The investigating authorities shall examine the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided in the application to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the initiation of an investigation. An investigation shall not be initiated pursuant to paragraph 15 of this Article unless the investigating authority of the Party has determined, on the basis of an examination of the degree of support for, or opposition to, the application expressed by domestic producers of the like product, that the application has been made by or on behalf of the domestic industry. The application shall be considered to have been made "by or on behalf of the domestic industry" if it is supported by those domestic producers whose collective output constitutes more than 50 per cent of the total production of the like product produced by that portion of the domestic industry expressing either support for or opposition to the application. However, no investigation shall be initiated when domestic producers expressly supporting the application account for less than 25 per cent of total production of the like product produced by the domestic industry. If, in special circumstances, the investigating authority concerned decides to initiate an investigation without having received a written application by or on behalf of a domestic industry for the initiation of such investigation, it shall proceed only if it has sufficient evidence of dumping (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or a specific subsidy (for the purpose of countervailing investigation), injury and a causal link, as described in paragraph 15 of this Article, to justify the initiation of an investigation.

20. An application shall be rejected and an investigation shall be terminated promptly as soon as the investigating authority of the Party concerned is satisfied that there is not sufficient evidence of either dumping (for the purposes of anti-dumping investigations) or subsidization (for the purposes of countervailing duty investigation) or of injury to justify proceeding with the case. There shall be immediate termination in cases where the investigating authority of the Party determines that the margin of dumping or the amount of a subsidy is de minimis or that the volume of dumped or subsidized imports, actual or potential, or the injury, is negligible. The margin of dumping shall be considered to be de minimis if this margin is less than 2 per cent, expressed as a percentage of the export price. The volume of dumped imports shall normally be regarded as negligible if the volume of dumped imports from a particular country is found to account for less than 3 per cent of imports of the like product in the importing Party, unless countries which individually account for less than 3 per cent of the imports of the like product in the importing Party collectively account for more than 7 per cent of imports of the like product in the importing Party.

21. For the purposes of anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations, the term "domestic industry" shall be interpreted as referring to the domestic producers as a whole of the like products or to those of them whose collective output of the products constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of those products, except that:

(a) when producers are related <*> to the exporters or importers or are themselves importers of the allegedly dumped or subsidized product, the term "domestic industry" may be interpreted as referring to the rest of the producers;

--------------------------------

<*> For the purposes of this paragraph, producers shall be deemed to be related to exporters or importers only if (a) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; or (b) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; or (c) together they directly or indirectly control a third person, provided that there are grounds for believing or suspecting that the effect of the relationship is such as to cause the producer concerned to behave differently from non-related producers. For the purposes of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 21 of Article 3.2 of this Agreement, one shall be deemed to control another when the former is legally or operationally in a position to exercise restraint or direction over the latter.

(b) in exceptional circumstances the territory of a Party may, for the production in question, be divided into two or more competitive markets and the producers within each market may be regarded as a separate industry if (a) the producers within such market sell all or almost all of their production of the product in question in that market, and (b) the demand in that market is not to any substantial degree supplied by producers of the product in question located elsewhere in the territory. In such circumstances, injury may be found to exist even where a major portion of the total domestic industry is not injured, provided there is a concentration of dumped or subsidized imports into such an isolated market and provided further that the dumped or subsidized imports are causing injury to the producers of all or almost all of the production within such market.

22. No product imported from one Party into the territory of the other Party shall be subject to both anti-dumping and countervailing measures to compensate for the same situation of dumping or subsidization.

23. A Party shall not apply an anti-dumping measure or countervailing measure on the imports from the other Party unless it determines in the course of the investigation that the effect of the dumping (for the purposes of anti-dumping measures) or a specific subsidy (for the purposes of countervailing measures) is such as to cause or threaten to cause material injury to its domestic industry or is such as to retard materially the establishment of a domestic industry. A determination of injury shall be based on positive evidence and involve an objective examination of both (a) the volume of the dumped imports (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized imports (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) and the effect of these imports on prices in the domestic market for like products, and (b) the consequent impact of these imports on domestic producers of such products. With regard to the volume of the dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) imports, the investigating authorities shall consider whether there has been a significant increase in dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) imports, either in absolute terms or relative to production or consumption in the importing Party. With regard to the effect of the dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) imports on prices, the investigating authorities shall consider whether there has been a significant price undercutting by the dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) imports as compared with the price of a like product of the importing Party, or whether the effect of such imports is otherwise to depress prices to a significant degree or prevent price increases, which otherwise would have occurred, to a significant degree. The examination of the impact of the dumped imports (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized imports (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) on the domestic industry concerned shall include an evaluation of all relevant economic factors and indices having a bearing on the state of the industry, including actual and potential decline in sales, profits, output, market share, productivity, return on investments, or utilization of capacity; factors affecting domestic prices; the magnitude of the margin of dumping (in case of anti-dumping investigation); actual and potential negative effects on cash flow, inventories, employment, wages, growth, ability to raise capital or investments. This list is not exhaustive, nor can one or several of these factors necessarily give decisive guidance. The demonstration of a causal relationship between the dumped imports (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized imports (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) and the injury to the domestic industry shall be based on an examination of all relevant evidence before the investigating authority. The investigating authority shall also examine any known factors other than the dumped imports (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized imports (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) which at the same time are injuring the domestic industry, and the injuries caused by these other factors must not be attributed to the dumped imports (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized imports (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation). Factors which may be relevant in this respect include, inter alia, the volume and prices of imports not sold at dumping prices (for the purposes of anti-dumping investigation) or non-subsidized imports (for the purposes of countervailing duty investigation), contraction in demand or changes in the patterns of consumption, trade restrictive practices of and competition between the foreign and domestic producers, developments in technology and the export performance and productivity of the domestic industry. A determination of a threat of material injury shall be based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility. The change in circumstances which would create a situation in which the dumping (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidy (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) would cause injury must be clearly foreseen and imminent. In making a determination regarding the existence of a threat of material injury, the investigating authorities should consider, inter alia, such factors as: (i) nature of the subsidy or subsidies in question and the trade effects likely to arise therefrom (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation); (ii) a significant rate of increase of dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) imports into the domestic market indicating the likelihood of substantially increased importation; (iii) sufficient freely disposable, or an imminent, substantial increase in capacity of the exporter indicating the likelihood of substantially increased dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) exports to the importing Party's market, taking into account the availability of other export markets to absorb any additional exports; (iv) whether imports are entering at prices that will have a significant depressing or suppressing effect on domestic prices, and would likely increase demand for further imports; and (v) inventories of the product being investigated. No one of these factors by itself can necessarily give decisive guidance but the totality of the factors considered must lead to the conclusion that further dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) exports are imminent and that, unless protective action is taken, material injury would occur. With respect to cases where injury is threatened by dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) imports, the application of anti-dumping and countervailing measures shall be considered and decided with special care.

24. Provisional measures may be applied only if: (i) an investigation has been initiated in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 15 - 20 of this Article, a public notice has been given to that effect and interested parties have been given adequate opportunities to submit information and make comments; (ii) a preliminary affirmative determination has been made of dumping (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or specific subsidy (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) and consequent injury to a domestic industry; and (iii) the investigating authorities concerned judge such measures necessary to prevent injury being caused during the investigation. Provisional measures shall not be applied sooner than 60 days from the date of initiation of the investigation. The application of provisional measures shall be limited to as short a period as possible, not exceeding 4 months or in case of an anti-dumping investigation, on decision of the authorities concerned, upon request by exporters representing a significant percentage of the trade involved, to a period not exceeding 6 months. When the investigating authority, in the course of an investigation, examines whether a duty lower than the margin of dumping would be sufficient to remove injury, these periods may be 6 and 9 months, respectively.

25. Before the investigation a Party intending to initiate a countervailing duty investigation in relation to the imports from the other Party shall invite the other Party for consultations with the aim of clarifying the situation and arriving at a mutually agreed solution. Furthermore, throughout the period of investigation, the Party the products of which are the subject of the investigation shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to continue consultations, with a view to clarifying the factual situation and to arriving at a mutually agreed solution. Without prejudice to the obligation to afford reasonable opportunity for consultation, these provisions regarding consultations are not intended to prevent the authorities of a Party from proceeding expeditiously with regard to initiating the investigation, reaching preliminary or final determinations, whether affirmative or negative, or from applying provisional or final measures, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. The Party which intends to initiate any countervailing duty investigation or is conducting such an investigation shall permit, upon request, the Party the products of which are subject to such investigation access to non-confidential evidence, including the non-confidential summary of confidential data being used for initiating or conducting the investigation.

26. The amount of an anti-dumping duty shall not exceed the margin of dumping. The investigating authorities shall, as a rule, where practicable, determine an individual margin of dumping for each known exporter or producer concerned of the product under investigation. A countervailing duty rate shall not exceed the amount of the specific subsidy of the exporting Party calculated in terms of subsidization per unit of the subsidized and exported product.

27. The investigating authorities shall review the need for the continued imposition of the duty, where warranted, on their own initiative or, provided that a reasonable period of time has elapsed since the imposition of the definitive anti-dumping (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or countervailing (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) duty, upon request by any interested party which submits positive information substantiating the need for a review. Interested parties shall have the right to request the investigating authorities to examine whether the continued imposition of the duty is necessary to offset dumping (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or subsidization (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation), whether the injury would be likely to continue or recur if the duty were removed or varied, or both. The duration of an anti-dumping or countervailing measure shall not exceed 5 years from the date of the application of such measure and shall remain in force only as long as and to the extent necessary to counteract dumping or subsidization which is causing injury. The duration of an anti-dumping or countervailing measure shall include the period of application of a provisional measure. The duration of an anti-dumping or countervailing measure may be extended for the period that shall not exceed 5 years from the date of the most recent review that has covered both dumping and injury (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or both subsidization and injury (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation), or from the date of the conclusion of an expiry review. The decision to extend anti-dumping or countervailing measures may be taken if the investigating authorities determine, in a review initiated before the date of termination of an anti-dumping or countervailing measures on their own initiative or upon a duly substantiated request made by or on behalf of the domestic industry within a reasonable period of time prior to that date, that the expiry of the duty would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of subsidization (for the purposes of countervailing duty investigations) or dumping (for the purposes of anti-dumping investigations) and injury. The provisions of this Article regarding evidence and procedure shall apply to any review carried out under this Article. Any such review shall be carried out expeditiously and shall normally be concluded within 12 months of the date of initiation of the review.

28. A Party conducting the investigation shall provide an opportunity for interested parties to present evidence and their views, including the opportunity to respond to the representations of other interested parties. A Party conducting the investigation shall, on request, provide opportunities for all interested parties to meet those parties with adverse interests, so that opposing views may be presented and rebuttal arguments offered. A Party conducting the investigation shall send a notice to interested parties specifying the time and location of such meetings, as well as a list of questions to be discussed in the course of meetings.

29. All interested parties in an investigation shall be given notice of the information which the authorities require and ample opportunity to present in writing all evidence which they consider relevant in respect of the investigation in question. Exporters, foreign producers or interested authorities of the exporting Party receiving questionnaires used in the investigation shall be given at least 30 days for reply. Due consideration should be given to any request for an extension of the 30-day period and, upon cause shown, such an extension should be granted whenever practicable. Subject to the requirement to protect confidential information, evidence presented in writing by one interested party shall be made available promptly to other interested parties participating in the investigation. As soon as an investigation has been initiated, the authorities shall provide the full text of the written application received to the known exporters and to the authorities of the exporting Party and shall make it available, upon request, to other interested parties involved. Due regard shall be paid to the requirement for the protection of confidential information, as provided for in paragraph 30 of this Article. The investigating authorities shall take due account of any difficulties experienced by interested parties, in particular small companies, in supplying information requested, and shall provide any assistance practicable.

30. Any information which is by nature confidential (for example, because its disclosure would be of significant competitive advantage to a competitor or because its disclosure would have a significantly adverse effect upon a person supplying the information or upon a person from whom that person acquired the information), or which is provided on a confidential basis by parties to an investigation, shall, upon good cause shown, be treated as such by the Parties. Such information shall not be disclosed or transmitted to third parties without specific permission in writing of the party submitting confidential information. The Parties conducting the investigation shall require interested parties providing confidential information to furnish non-confidential summaries thereof. These summaries shall be in sufficient detail to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. In exceptional circumstances, such parties may indicate that such information is not susceptible of summary. In such exceptional circumstances, a statement of the reasons why summarization is not possible must be provided.

31. A Party conducting the investigation shall give to all interested parties public notice of the initiation of an investigation, of any preliminary or final determination, whether affirmative or negative, of any decision to accept prices undertakings, of the termination of such undertakings, and of the termination of a definitive anti-dumping duty.

32. A Party intending to apply an anti-dumping or countervailing measure shall, before a final determination is made, inform all interested parties of the essential facts under consideration which form the basis for the decision whether to apply definitive measures. Such disclosure should take place in sufficient time for the parties to defend their interests.

33. A public notice of the initiation of an investigation shall contain, adequate information on the following:

(a) the date of initiation of the investigation;

(b) a precise description of the product subject to the investigation and its classification under the Harmonized System;

(c) the name of the exporting country or countries;

(d) the basis on which dumping (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) is alleged in the application or a description of a subsidy practice or practices to be investigated (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigations);

(e) a summary of the factors on which the allegation of injury is based;

(f) deadlines for interested parties to submit evidence, to comment and to respond to presentations of other interested parties;

(g) the address to which representations by the Party the products of which are the subject of the investigation and by its interested parties can be directed;

(h) the name, address and telephone number of the investigating authority.

34. The Parties shall provide to all interested parties public notice of any preliminary or final determination whether affirmative or negative through the publication of the separate report setting forth all preliminary and final findings and conclusions on all pertinent issues of fact and law.

35. Public notice of any preliminary determination shall, due regard being paid to the requirement for the protection of confidential information, include inter alia:

(a) precise description of the product subject to investigation;

(b) the grounds for the affirmative determination of dumped imports with indication of the margin of dumping and a description of the grounds for the methodology used (in case of anti-dumping investigation);

(c) the grounds for the affirmative determination of subsidized imports with a description of the existence of a subsidy and an indication of the calculated amount of subsidization per unit (in case of countervailing investigation);

(d) the grounds for the determination of material injury or threat thereof to a domestic industry or material retardation of the establishment of a domestic industry;

(e) the grounds for the establishment of a causal relationship between the dumped (for the purpose of anti-dumping investigation) or the subsidized (for the purpose of countervailing duty investigation) imports, and material injury or threat thereof to a domestic industry or material retardation of the establishment of a domestic industry;

(f) an indication of the reasons for the consideration that provisional measures are necessary to prevent injury being caused during the investigation.

36. Public notice of any final determination shall, due regard being paid to the requirement for the protection of confidential information, include inter alia:

(a) an explanation for the final determination on the results of the investigation made by the investigating authority;

(b) a reference to the facts on the basis of which such determination was made;

(c) the information specified in paragraph 35 of this Article;

(d) the reasons for the acceptance or rejection of arguments and requests of the exporters and importers of the product subject to investigation.

37. A Party may apply an anti-circumvention measure to imports of a product sold by producers or exporters from another Party only following an anti-circumvention review conducted by the Party's investigating authority.

38. An anti-circumvention measure may not be applied to imports of a product sold by producers or exporters from another Party unless the investigating authority demonstrates the existence of circumvention based on positive evidence.

1. Each Party shall apply safeguard measures in accordance with its legislation, except as otherwise provided for in this Chapter.

2. A Party may apply a global safeguard measure to a product only if that Party has determined that such product is being imported into its territory in such increased quantities, absolute or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to the domestic industry that produces like or directly competitive products.

3. In determining injury or threat thereof, a "domestic industry" shall be understood to mean the producers as a whole of the like or directly competitive products operating within the territory of a Party, or those whose collective output of the like or directly competitive products constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of those products.

4. Global safeguard measures shall be applied to a product being imported irrespective of the exporting country. Notwithstanding Articles 2.7 and 2.3 of this Agreement, a global safeguard measure may take the form of a quantitative restriction. If a quantitative restriction is used, such a measure shall not reduce the quantity of imports below the level of a recent period which shall be the average of imports in the last 3 representative years for which statistics are available, unless clear justification is given that a different level is necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury. In cases in which a quota is allocated among supplying countries, the Party applying the global safeguard measure may seek agreement with respect to the allocation of shares in the quota with the other Party having a substantial interest in supplying the product concerned. In cases in which this method is not reasonably practicable, the Party concerned shall allot to the other Party having a substantial interest in supplying the product shares based upon the proportions, supplied by that Party during a previous 3 year period, of the total quantity or value of imports of the product, due account being taken of any special factors which may have affected or may be affecting the trade in the product. In case I.R. Iran intends to apply a global safeguard measure in the form of quota and allocate it among supplying countries, such quota shall be calculated and applied individually with respect to each EAEU Member State. The Parties shall apply safeguard measures only to the extent necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment.

5. A Party shall apply safeguard measures only for such period of time as may be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and to facilitate adjustment. The period of application of a safeguard measure shall not exceed 4 years, unless it is extended. The total period of application of a safeguard measure including the period of application of any provisional measure, the period of initial application and any extension thereof, shall be established in accordance with the Party's legislation and shall not exceed 10 years. This period may be extended provided that the investigating authorities of the importing Party have determined that the safeguard measure continues to be necessary to prevent or remedy serious injury and that there is evidence that the industry is adjusting, and provided that the pertinent provisions of paragraphs 11 - 15 of this Article are observed.

6. Serious injury shall be understood to mean a significant overall impairment in the position of a domestic industry. Threat of serious injury shall be understood to mean serious injury that is clearly imminent. A determination of the existence of a threat of serious injury shall be based on facts and not merely on allegation, conjecture or remote possibility. In the investigation to determine whether increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury to a domestic industry, the investigating authorities shall evaluate all relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on the situation of that industry, in particular, the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the product concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic market taken by increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, productivity, capacity utilization, profits and losses, and employment. This determination shall not be made unless this investigation demonstrates, on the basis of objective evidence, the existence of the causal link between increased imports of the product concerned and serious injury or threat thereof. When factors other than increased imports are causing injury to the domestic industry at the same time, such injury shall not be attributed to increased imports.

7. In order to facilitate adjustment in a situation where the expected duration of a safeguard measure is over one year, the Party applying the measure shall progressively liberalize it at regular intervals during the period of application. If the duration of the measure exceeds 3 years, the Party applying such a measure shall review the situation not later than the mid-term of the measure and, if appropriate, withdraw it or increase the pace of liberalization. A measure extended under paragraph 5 of this Article shall not be more restrictive than it was at the end of the initial period and should continue to be liberalized.

8. The Parties may apply a safeguard measure only following an investigation by the investigating authority. The investigation shall include public notice to all interested parties and shall provide an opportunity for interested parties to present evidence and their views, including the opportunity to respond to the representations of other parties, inter alia, as to whether or not the application of a safeguard measure would be in the public interest. The investigating authority shall publish report setting forth the findings and conclusions on all pertinent issues of fact and law.

9. In critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which it would be difficult to repair, a Party may take a provisional safeguard measure pursuant to a preliminary determination that there is clear evidence that increased imports have caused or are threatening to cause serious injury. The duration of the provisional measure shall not exceed 200 days. Such measures should take the form of tariff increases to be promptly refunded if the subsequent investigation does not determine that increased imports have caused or threatened to cause serious injury to a domestic industry. The duration of any such provisional measure shall be counted as a part of the initial period and any extension referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article.

10. Any information which is by nature confidential or which is provided on a confidential basis shall, upon cause being shown, be treated as such by the investigating authorities. Such information shall not be disclosed without permission of the party submitting it. Parties providing confidential information may be requested to furnish non-confidential summaries thereof or, if such parties indicate that such information cannot be summarized, the reasons why a summary cannot be provided. However, if the investigating authorities find that a request for confidentiality is not warranted and if the party concerned is either unwilling to make the information public or to authorize its disclosure in generalized or summary form, the authorities may disregard such information unless it can be demonstrated to their satisfaction from appropriate sources that the information is correct.

11. The Parties shall ensure equitable, transparent and effective procedures for safeguard investigations.

12. Each Party shall immediately notify the other Party upon:

(a) initiating a safeguard investigation;

(b) making preliminary and/or final finding of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports;

(c) taking a decision to apply or extend a safeguard measure.

13. The information pertinent to initiation of a safeguard investigation shall include, inter alia:

(a) the date of initiation of the investigation;

(b) a precise description of the product subject to the investigation and its classification under the Harmonized System;

(c) the period subject to the investigation;

(d) an explanation of the reasons for initiation of the investigation;

(e) schedule of public hearings and/or the deadline for the request for hearings;

(f) deadlines for interested parties to submit evidence, to comment and to respond to presentations of other interested parties;

(g) the address where application and other documents related to the investigation can be directed;

(h) the name, address and telephone number of the investigating authority.

14. The Party intending to apply or extend a safeguard measure shall provide the other Party with all pertinent information, which shall include, inter alia:

(a) evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports;

(b) precise description of the product involved;

(c) precise description of the proposed safeguard measure;

(d) proposed date of introduction;

(e) expected duration and timetable for progressive liberalization;

(f) list of developing countries exempted from the safeguard measure (if applicable);

(g) evidence that the industry concerned is adjusting (in cases of extension of the measure);

(h) basis for determining that there are critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which would be difficult to repair (in case of provisional safeguard measures).

15. In applying global safeguard measures the Parties shall maintain the margin of preference granted pursuant to this Agreement.

16. The Parties shall provide opportunities for consultations with regard to application of safeguard measures.

1. Where, as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty under this Agreement, any originating good of a Party specified in Annex 1 to this Agreement is being imported into the territory of the other Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to constitute a substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof to the domestic industry producing like or directly competitive goods in the territory of the importing Party, the importing Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure to the extent necessary to remedy or prevent the serious injury or threat thereof, subject to the provisions of this Article.

2. A bilateral safeguard measure shall only be applied upon demonstrating clear evidence that increased imports constitute a substantial cause of serious injury or are threatening to cause serious injury.

3. A Party shall apply a bilateral safeguard measure only following a bilateral safeguard proceeding by the Party's investigating authority. A bilateral safeguard proceeding shall be concluded within 9 months.

4. A Party shall promptly notify the other Party in writing upon initiating a bilateral safeguard proceeding under this Article. Such notification shall include:

(a) a precise description of the originating good subject to the bilateral safeguard proceeding including its heading or subheading under the HS Code, on which the schedules of tariff commitments in Annex 1 are based;

(b) the date of initiation of the bilateral safeguard proceeding;

(c) the evidence used for initiation of the bilateral safeguard proceeding;

(d) the name, address and telephone number of the investigating authority.

5. The Party intending to apply a bilateral safeguard measure under this Article shall promptly, and in any case before applying a measure, notify the other Party. The notification shall contain all pertinent information, which shall include evidence of serious injury or threat thereof caused by increased imports of an originating good of another Party as a result of the reduction or elimination of a customs duty pursuant to this Agreement, a precise description of the good concerned and the proposed measure, as well as the proposed date of introduction, form of the measure, expected duration and timetable for the progressive removal of the measure if relevant and the compensation offer in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article.

6. The Party that may be affected by the measure shall be offered compensation in the form of substantially equivalent trade liberalization in relation to the imports from such Party. The Party shall, within 30 days from the date of notification referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, examine the information provided in order to facilitate a mutually acceptable resolution of the matter and may provide its proposal regarding the compensation offer of the importing Party.

7. For the purposes of a mutually acceptable resolution of the matter the Parties may hold consultations and exchange views on the notification referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article.

8. In the absence of such resolution and after 60 days from the date of notification referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, the importing Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure to resolve the problem, and, in the absence of a mutually agreed compensation, the Party against whose good the bilateral safeguard measure is applied may take compensatory action.

9. The bilateral safeguard measure shall be promptly notified to the other Party. The Party applying the bilateral safeguard measure shall include in the notification on application of the bilateral safeguard measure:

(a) a precise description of the originating good subject to the bilateral safeguard measure including its heading or subheading under the HS Code, on which the schedules of tariff commitments in Annex 1 are based;

(b) findings and reasoned conclusions reached on all pertinent issues of fact and law;

(c) a precise description of the bilateral safeguard measure;

(d) the date of introduction of the bilateral safeguard measure and its expected duration;

(e) timetable for the progressive removal of the measure if relevant.

10. The compensatory action shall be promptly notified and shall normally consist of suspension of concessions having substantially equivalent trade effects and/or concessions substantially equivalent to the value of the additional duties expected to result from the bilateral safeguard measure. Compensatory action shall be taken only for the minimum period necessary to achieve the substantially equivalent trade effects and in any event, only while the bilateral safeguard measure under paragraph 11 of this Article is being applied.

11. If the conditions set out in paragraph 1 of this Article are met, the importing Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure in the form of:

(a) increase of the applicable rate of customs duty for the good concerned to a necessary level not exceeding the most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty applied at the time the bilateral safeguard measure is taken, if the importing Party demonstrates that the increased imports constitute a substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry; or

(b) tariff rate quota for the good concerned, if the importing Party demonstrates that the increased imports are threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry.

For the purposes of this Article tariff rate quota means:

(a) the quantity of goods that is allowed to be imported under the preferential customs duty rate, provided for under this Agreement (in-quota quantity), at the time the bilateral safeguard measure is taken, and

(b) for the originating goods imported out of tariff rate quota the applicable rate of customs duty that is increased to the necessary level not exceeding most-favoured-nation applied rate of customs duty applied at the time the bilateral safeguard measure is taken.

In-quota quantity shall not reduce the quantity of imports of originating good concerned of a Party into the territory of the applying Party below the level of a recent period which shall be the average of the imports in the last 3 representative years for which statistics are available.

12. If I.R. Iran intends to apply a bilateral safeguard measure in the form of the tariff rate quota, the EAEU may request I.R. Iran to allocate individual quota for each EAEU Member State. In case where the EAEU made such a request, I.R. Iran shall allocate individual quotas in accordance with the EAEU's proposal on allocation. The EAEU's request and proposal on allocation shall be made within 60 days from the date of notification referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article.

13. A bilateral safeguard measure shall be taken for a period not exceeding one year. The period of application of a bilateral safeguard measure may be extended by up to another year if there is evidence that it is necessary to remedy or prevent serious injury or threat thereof and that the industry is adjusting. A Party shall not apply a bilateral safeguard measure again on the same good for the period of time equal to that during which such measure had been previously applied.

14. A Party shall notify the other Party in writing upon taking a decision to extend a bilateral safeguard measure. Such notification shall include information referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article as well as evidence that the extension of a bilateral safeguard measure is necessary to remedy or prevent serious injury or threat thereof and that the industry is adjusting.

15. Upon the termination of the bilateral safeguard measure, the rate of customs duty shall be the rate which would have been in effect on the date of termination of the measure in accordance with Annex 1 to this Agreement.

16. Bilateral safeguard measures shall not be applied in the first 6 months after the entry into force of this Agreement.

17. With respect to bilateral trade neither Party shall apply, with respect to the same good, at the same time:

(a) a bilateral safeguard measure; and

(b) a safeguard measure in the understanding of Article 3.3 of this Agreement.

For the purposes of conducting anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations and subsequent proceedings including anti-circumvention and any other reviews I.R. Iran shall consider the EAEU Member States individually and not as the EAEU as a whole and shall not apply anti-dumping and countervailing measures including anti-circumvention measures with respect to imports from the EAEU as a whole. If there are subsidies within the meaning of Article 3.2 of this Agreement granted at the level of the EAEU and provided for the producers from all EAEU Member States, I.R. Iran may consider the EAEU as a whole.

1. All official communications and documentation exchanged between the Parties with respect to matters covered by this Chapter shall take place between the competent authorities and investigating authorities of the Parties.

2. The Parties shall use the English language as a basis for communication with regard to all issues covered by this Chapter except documentation relating to anti-dumping, countervailing, global safeguards, bilateral safeguard proceedings and reviews.

3. The Parties shall exchange information on the names and contacts of the competent authorities and investigating authorities within 30 days from the date of entry into force of this Agreement. The Parties shall promptly notify each other of any change to the competent and investigating authorities in English.

1. The Parties shall seek to strengthen cooperation in the following fields:

(a) communication channels with respect to trade remedies (including investigations);

(b) cooperation and exchange of information between competent and investigating authorities of the Parties;

(c) trade remedy laws and practice.

2. The Parties may consult on the issues covered by this Chapter. For this purpose a Party shall provide the other Party with a written request for consultations. The consultations shall take place as soon as possible, but not later than 30 days upon receipt of such a written request. Such consultations shall not prevent the Parties from initiating an anti-dumping, countervailing duty, global safeguard investigation or bilateral safeguard proceeding and shall not impede such investigation or proceeding.

The objective of this Chapter is to facilitate trade in goods between the Parties by:

(a) promoting cooperation on adoption and application of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in order to eliminate unnecessary technical barriers to trade;

(b) promoting mutual understanding of each Party's standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;

(c) strengthening information exchange between the Parties in relation to the preparation, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;

(d) strengthening cooperation between the Parties in the work of international bodies related to standardization and conformity assessment;

(e) providing a framework to realize these objectives; and

(f) promoting cooperation on issues relating to technical barriers to trade.

1. This Chapter shall apply to all standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures of the Parties that may directly or indirectly affect the trade in goods between the Parties except:

(a) purchasing specifications prepared by governmental bodies for production or consumption requirements of governmental bodies; and

(b) sanitary or phytosanitary measures as defined in Chapter 5 of this Agreement.

2. All references in this Chapter to technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures shall be construed to include any amendments thereto and any additions to the rules or the product coverage thereof, except amendments and additions of an insignificant nature.

3. In accordance with this Chapter each Party has the right to prepare, adopt and apply standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

1. General terms for standardization and procedures for assessment of conformity shall normally have the meaning given to them by definitions adopted within the United Nations system and by international standardizing bodies taking into account their context and in the light of the object and purpose of this Chapter.

2. For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "technical regulation" means a document which lays down product characteristics or their related processes and production methods, including the applicable administrative provisions, with which compliance is mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a product, process or production method;

Explanatory note

The definition in ISO/IEC Guide 2 is not self-contained, but based on the so-called "building block" system.

(b) "standard" means a document approved by a recognized body, that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not mandatory. It may also include or deal exclusively with terminology, symbols, packaging, marking or labelling requirements as they apply to a product, process or production method;

Explanatory note

The terms as defined in ISO/IEC Guide 2 cover products, processes and services. This Chapter deals only with technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures related to products or processes and production methods. Standards as defined by ISO/IEC Guide 2 may be mandatory or voluntary. For the purposes of this Chapter, standards are defined as voluntary and technical regulations as mandatory documents. Standards prepared by the international standardization community are based on consensus. This Chapter covers also documents that are not based on consensus.

(c) "conformity assessment procedures" means any procedure used, directly or indirectly, to determine that relevant requirements in technical regulations or standards are fulfilled.

Explanatory note

Conformity assessment procedures include, inter alia, procedures for sampling, testing and inspection; evaluation, verification and assurance of conformity; registration, accreditation and approval as well as their combinations.

(d) "central government body" means central government, its ministries and departments or any body subject to the control of the central government in respect of the activity in question.

1. Each Party shall ensure that in respect of technical regulations, products imported from the territory of the other Party shall be accorded treatment no less favourable than that accorded to like products of national origin and to like products originating in any other country.

2. Each Party shall ensure that technical regulations are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to mutual trade. For this purpose, technical regulations shall not be more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective, taking account of the risks non-fulfilment would create. Such legitimate objectives are, inter alia: national security requirements; the prevention of deceptive practices; protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the environment. In assessing such risks, relevant elements of consideration are, inter alia: available scientific and technical information, related processing technology or intended end-uses of products.

3. Technical regulations shall not be maintained if the circumstances or objectives giving rise to their adoption no longer exist or if the changed circumstances or objectives can be addressed in a less trade-restrictive manner.

4. Where technical regulations are required and relevant international standards exist or their completion is imminent, the Parties shall use them, or the relevant parts of them, as a basis for their technical regulations except when such international standards or relevant parts would be an ineffective or inappropriate means for the fulfilment of the legitimate objectives pursued, for instance because of fundamental climatic or geographical factors or fundamental technological problems.

5. Each Party shall ensure that, in cases where a positive assurance of conformity with technical regulations or standards is required, their central government bodies apply the following provisions to products originating in the territory of the other Party:

(a) conformity assessment procedures are prepared, adopted and applied so as to grant access for suppliers of like products originating in the territory of the other Party under conditions no less favourable than those accorded to suppliers of like products of national origin or originating in any other country, in a comparable situation; access entails suppliers' right to an assessment of conformity under the rules of the procedure, including, when foreseen by this procedure, the possibility to have conformity assessment activities undertaken at the site of facilities and to receive the mark of the system;

(b) conformity assessment procedures are not prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to mutual trade. This means, inter alia, that conformity assessment procedures shall not be more strict or be applied more strictly than is necessary to give the importing Party adequate confidence that products conform with the applicable technical regulations or standards, taking account of the risks non-conformity would create.

6. When implementing the provisions of paragraph 5 of this Article, each Party shall ensure that:

(a) conformity assessment procedures are undertaken and completed as expeditiously as possible and in a no less favourable order for products originating in the territory of the other Party than for like domestic products;

(b) the standard processing period of each conformity assessment procedure is published or that the anticipated processing period is communicated to the applicant upon request; when receiving an application, the competent body promptly examines the completeness of the documentation and informs the applicant in a precise and complete manner of all deficiencies; the competent body transmits as soon as possible the results of the assessment in a precise and complete manner to the applicant so that corrective action may be taken if necessary; even when the application has deficiencies, the competent body proceeds as far as practicable with the conformity assessment if the applicant so requests; and that, upon request, the applicant is informed of the stage of the procedure, with any delay being explained;

(c) information requirements are limited to what is necessary to assess conformity and determine fees;

(d) the confidentiality of information about products originating in the territory of the other Party arising from or supplied in connection with such conformity assessment procedures is respected in the same way as for domestic products and in such a manner that legitimate commercial interests are protected;

(e) any fees imposed for assessing the conformity of products originating in the territory of the other Party are equitable in relation to any fees chargeable for assessing the conformity of like products of national origin or originating in any other country, taking into account communication, transportation and other costs arising from differences between location of facilities of the applicant and the conformity assessment body;

(f) the siting of facilities used in conformity assessment procedures and the selection of samples are not such as to cause unnecessary inconvenience to applicants or their agents;

(g) whenever specifications of a product are changed subsequent to the determination of its conformity to the applicable technical regulations or standards, the conformity assessment procedure for the modified product is limited to what is necessary to determine whether adequate confidence exists that the product still meets the technical regulations or standards concerned;

(h) a procedure exists to review complaints concerning the operation of a conformity assessment procedure and to take corrective action when a complaint is justified.

7. Nothing in paragraphs 5 and 6 of this Article shall prevent the Parties from carrying out reasonable spot checks within their territories.

8. In cases where a positive assurance is required that products conform with technical regulations or standards, and relevant guides or recommendations issued by international standardizing bodies exist or their completion is imminent, the Parties shall ensure that central government bodies use them, or the relevant parts of them, as a basis for their conformity assessment procedures, except where, as duly explained upon request, such guides or recommendations or relevant parts are inappropriate for the Parties, for, inter alia, such reasons as: national security requirements; the prevention of deceptive practices; protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health, or the environment; fundamental climatic or other geographical factors; fundamental technological or infrastructural problems.

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, each Party shall ensure, whenever possible, that results of conformity assessment procedures in the other Party are accepted, even when those procedures differ from its own, provided it is satisfied that those procedures offer an assurance of conformity with applicable technical regulations or standards equivalent to its own procedures. It is recognized that prior consultations may be necessary in order to arrive at a mutually satisfactory understanding regarding, in particular:

(a) adequate and enduring technical competence of the relevant conformity assessment bodies in the exporting Party, so that confidence in the continued reliability of its conformity assessment results can exist; in this regard, verified compliance, for instance through accreditation, with relevant guides or recommendations issued by international standardizing bodies shall be taken into account as an indication of adequate technical competence;

(b) limitation of the acceptance of conformity assessment results to those produced by designated bodies in the exporting Party.

2. The Parties shall ensure that their conformity assessment procedures permit, as far as practicable, the implementation of the provisions in paragraph 1 of this Article.

3. The Party is encouraged, at the request of the other Party, to be willing to enter into negotiations for the conclusion of agreements for the mutual recognition of results of each other's conformity assessment procedures. The Parties may require that such agreements fulfil the criteria of paragraph 1 of this Article and give mutual satisfaction regarding their potential for facilitating trade in the products concerned.

4. Each Party is encouraged to permit participation of conformity assessment bodies located in the territory of the other Party in its conformity assessment procedures under conditions no less favourable than those accorded to bodies located within its territory or the territory of any third country.

1. The Parties acknowledge the importance of transparency with regard to the preparation, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

2. Each Party preparing, adopting or applying a technical regulation which may have a significant effect on trade of the other Party shall, upon the request of another Party, explain the justification for that technical regulation in terms of the provisions of paragraphs 2 to 4 of Article 4.4 of this Agreement. Whenever a technical regulation is prepared, adopted or applied for one of the legitimate objectives explicitly mentioned in paragraph 2 of Article 4.4 of this Agreement, and is in accordance with relevant international standards, it shall be rebuttably presumed not to create an unnecessary obstacle to mutual trade.

3. Wherever appropriate, the Parties shall specify technical regulations based on product requirements in terms of performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics.

4. Whenever a relevant international standard does not exist or the technical content of a proposed technical regulation is not in accordance with the technical content of relevant international standards, and if the technical regulation may have a significant effect on mutual trade of the Parties, each Party shall:

(a) publish a notice in a publication at an early appropriate stage, in such a manner as to enable interested persons in the other Party to become acquainted with it, that they propose to introduce a particular technical regulation;

(b) notify the other Party through the designated contact point of the products to be covered by the proposed technical regulation, together with a brief indication of its objective and rationale. Such notifications shall take place at an early appropriate stage, when amendments can still be introduced and comments taken into account;

(c) upon request, provide to the other Party particulars or copies of the proposed technical regulation and, whenever possible, identify the parts which in substance deviate from relevant international standards;

(d) without discrimination, allow 60 days following the publication of a notice envisaged in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph for the other Party to make comments in writing, discuss these comments upon request, and take these written comments and the results of these discussions into account.

5. Whenever a relevant guide or recommendation issued by an international standardizing body does not exist or the technical content of a proposed conformity assessment procedure is not in accordance with relevant guides and recommendations issued by international standardizing bodies, and if the conformity assessment procedure may have a significant effect on trade of the other Party, each Party shall:

(a) publish a notice in a publication at an early appropriate stage, in such a manner as to enable interested persons in other Parties to become acquainted with it, that they propose to introduce a particular conformity assessment procedure;

(b) notify other Parties through the designated contact point of the products to be covered by the proposed conformity assessment procedure, together with a brief indication of its objective and rationale. Such notifications shall take place at an early appropriate stage, when amendments can still be introduced and comments taken into account;

(c) upon request, provide to the other Party particulars or copies of the proposed procedure and, whenever possible, identify the parts which in substance deviate from relevant guides or recommendations issued by international standardizing bodies;

(d) without discrimination, allow 60 days following the publication of a notice envisaged in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph for the other Party to make comments in writing, discuss these comments upon request, and take these written comments and the results of these discussions into account.

6. Subject to the provisions in the lead-in to paragraphs 4 - 5 of this Article where urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection or national security arise or threaten to arise for a Party, that Party may omit such of the steps enumerated in paragraph 4 - 5 of this Article as it finds necessary, provided that the Party, upon adoption of a technical regulation and/or conformity assessment procedure, shall:

(a) notify immediately the other Party through the Contact Points of the particular technical regulation and/or conformity assessment procedure and the products covered, with a brief indication of the objective and the rationale of the technical regulation and/or conformity assessment procedure, including the nature of the urgent problems;

(b) upon request, provide the other Party with copies of the technical regulation and/or conformity assessment procedure;

(c) without discrimination, allow the other Party to present its comments in writing, discuss these comments upon request, and take these written comments and the results of these discussions into account.

7. Each Party shall ensure that all technical regulations and/or conformity assessment procedures which have been adopted are published promptly or otherwise made available in such a manner as to enable interested persons in the other Party to become acquainted with them.

8. Except in those urgent circumstances, the Parties shall allow at least 180 days between the publication of technical regulations and their entry into force in order to allow time for producers in the exporting Party to adapt their products or methods of production to the requirements of the importing Party.

9. Except in those urgent circumstances, the Parties shall allow at least 180 days between the publication of requirements concerning conformity assessment procedures and their entry into force in order to allow time for producers in the exporting Party to adapt their products or methods of production to the requirements of the importing Party.

10. Each Party shall notify the other Party on mandatory requirements on import products within 90 days from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

11. The Parties shall, to the fullest extent possible, endeavour to exchange information in English. Main laws and regulations or the summaries thereof shall, upon request, be provided in English.

1. Where the day to day application of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures is affecting trade between the Parties, a Party may request consultations aimed at resolving the matter. A request for consultations shall be directed to the other Party's contact point established in accordance with Article 4.9 of this Agreement.

2. Each Party shall make every effort to give prompt and positive consideration to any request from the other Party for consultations on issues relating to the implementation of this Chapter.

3. For the purpose of effective implementation and operation of this chapter, a working group on technical barriers to trade shall be established. The working group comprising representatives of the Parties shall report its findings to the Joint Committee. Where a matter covered under this Chapter cannot be clarified or resolved as a result of consultations, the Parties may refer to the working group on technical barriers to trade with a view to identifying a workable and practical solution that would facilitate trade.

1. For the purposes of ensuring that standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade in goods between the Parties, the Parties shall, where possible, cooperate in the field of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

2. The cooperation pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article may include the following:

(a) holding joint seminars in order to enhance mutual understanding of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in each Party;

(b) exchanging officials of the Parties for training purposes;

(c) exchanging information on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;

(d) encouraging the bodies responsible for standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in each Party to cooperate on matters of mutual interest;

(e) providing scientific and technical cooperation in order to improve the quality of technical regulations.

3. The implementation of paragraph 2 of this Article shall be subject to the availability of appropriated funds and the respective laws and regulations of each Party.

4. Cooperation on issues relating to technical barriers to trade may be undertaken, inter alia, through dialogue in appropriate channels, joint projects and technical assistance.

5. The Parties may conduct joint projects, technical assistance and cooperation on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in selected areas, as mutually agreed.

6. The Parties undertake to exchange views on matters of market surveillance and enforcement activities in the field thereof relating to technical barriers to trade.

7. Upon request, a Party shall give appropriate consideration to proposals that the other Party makes for cooperation under this Chapter.

8. In order to promote cooperation in the framework of this Chapter, the Parties may conclude arrangements on the matters covered therein.

1. The Parties shall designate competent authorities and contact points and exchange information containing the names of the designated competent authorities and contact points, contact details of relevant officials in such competent authorities and contact points, including telephone and facsimile numbers, email addresses and other relevant details.

2. The Parties shall promptly notify each other of any change to their competent authorities and contact points or amendment to the information of the relevant officials.

3. The contact points' functions shall include the following:

(a) facilitating the exchange of information between the Parties on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in response to all reasonable requests for such information from a Party; and

(b) referring the enquiries from a Party to the appropriate regulatory authorities.

4. The competent authorities' functions shall include:

(a) monitoring the implementation of this Chapter;

(b) facilitating cooperation activities, as appropriate, in accordance with Article 4.8 of this Agreement;

(c) promptly addressing any issue that a Party raises related to the preparation, adoption, application or enforcement of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;

(d) facilitating consultations on any matter arising under this Chapter upon request of a Party;

(e) taking any other action that the Parties consider will assist them in implementing this Chapter; and

(f) carrying out other functions as may be delegated by the Joint Committee.

The objectives of this Chapter are to protect human, animal or plant life or health in the territories of the Parties while:

(a) seeking to resolve issues relating to sanitary and phytosanitary measures;

(b) strengthening cooperation between the Parties and among their competent authorities including in the development and application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures; and

(c) facilitating information exchange in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and enhancing the knowledge and understanding of each Party's regulatory system.

--------------------------------

<*> For the purposes of these definitions, "animal" includes fish and wild fauna; "plant" includes forests and wild flora; "pests" include weeds; and "contaminants" include pesticide and veterinary drug residues and extraneous matter.

1. For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "sanitary or phytosanitary measure" means any measure applied:

i. to protect animal or plant life or health within the territory of the Party from risks arising from the entry, establishment or spread of pests, diseases, disease-carrying organisms or disease-causing organisms;

ii. to protect human or animal life or health within the territory of the Party from risks arising from additives, contaminants, toxins or disease-causing organisms in foods, beverages or feedstuffs;

iii. to protect human life or health within the territory of the Party from risks arising from diseases carried by animals, plants or products thereof, or from the entry, establishment or spread of pests; or

iv. to prevent or limit other damage within the territory of the Party from the entry, establishment or spread of pests.

Sanitary or phytosanitary measures include all relevant laws, decrees, regulations, requirements and procedures including, inter alia, end product criteria; processes and production methods; testing, inspection, certification and approval procedures; quarantine treatments including relevant requirements associated with the transport of animals or plants, or with the materials necessary for their survival during transport; provisions on relevant statistical methods, sampling procedures and methods of risk assessment; and packaging and labelling requirements directly related to food safety;

(b) "pest- or disease-free area" means an area, whether all of a Party, part of a Party, or all or parts of several Parties, as identified by the competent authorities, in which a specific pest or disease does not occur. A pest- or disease-free area may surround, be surrounded by, or be adjacent to an area - whether within part of a Party or in a geographic region which includes parts of or all of both Parties - in which a specific pest or disease is known to occur but is subject to regional control measures such as the establishment of protection, surveillance and buffer zones which will confine or eradicate the pest or disease in question;

(c) "an area of low pest or disease prevalence" means an area, whether all of a Party, part of a Party, or all or parts of both Parties, as identified by the competent authorities, in which a specific pest or disease occurs at low levels and which is subject to effective surveillance, control or eradication measures;

(d) "sanitary and phytosanitary regulations" means sanitary and phytosanitary measures such as laws, decrees or ordinances which are applicable generally.

2. The relevant definitions developed by the international organizations: the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Organization for Animal Health (hereinafter referred to as "OIE") and international and regional organizations operating within the framework of the International Plant Protection Convention (hereinafter referred to as "IPPC") shall apply in the implementation of this Chapter, mutatis mutandis.

3. International standards, guidelines and recommendations are the following:

(a) for food safety, the standards, guidelines and recommendations established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission relating to food additives, veterinary drug and pesticide residues, contaminants, methods of analysis and sampling, and codes and guidelines of hygienic practice;

(b) for animal health and zoonoses, the standards, guidelines and recommendations developed under the auspices of the OIE;

(c) for plant health, the international standards, guidelines and recommendations developed under the auspices of the Secretariat of the IPPC in cooperation with regional organizations operating within the framework of the IPPC; and

(d) for matters not covered by the above organizations, appropriate standards, guidelines and recommendations promulgated by other relevant international organizations open for partnership to all Parties.

4. Risk assessment is the evaluation of the likelihood of entry, establishment or spread of a pest or disease within the territory of an importing Party according to the sanitary or phytosanitary measures which might be applied, and of the associated potential biological and economic consequences; or the evaluation of the potential for adverse effects on human or animal health arising from the presence of additives, contaminants, toxins or disease-causing organisms in food, beverages or feedstuffs.

5. Appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection is the level of protection deemed appropriate by the Party establishing a sanitary or phytosanitary measure to protect human, animal or plant life or health within its territory. The Parties otherwise refer to this concept as the "acceptable level of risk".

This Chapter shall apply to sanitary and phytosanitary measures of the Parties that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties.

1. The Parties have the right to take sanitary and phytosanitary measures necessary for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health, provided that such measures are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter.

2. The Parties shall ensure that:

(a) any sanitary or phytosanitary measure is applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health, based on scientific principles and not maintained without sufficient evidence, taking into account the availability of relevant scientific information and regional conditions;

(b) any sanitary or phytosanitary measures are based on an assessment, as appropriate to the circumstances, of the risks to human, animal or plant life or health, taking into account risk assessment techniques developed by the relevant international organizations;

(c) in cases where relevant scientific evidence is insufficient respective Parties provisionally adopt emergency sanitary or phytosanitary measures on the basis of available pertinent information, including that from the relevant international organizations as well as from sanitary or phytosanitary measures applied by the other Parties. In such circumstances, the Parties shall seek to obtain the additional information necessary for a more objective assessment of risk and review the sanitary or phytosanitary measure accordingly within a reasonable period of time;

(d) their sanitary and phytosanitary measures do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between the Parties where identical or similar conditions prevail, including between their own territory and that of the other Party.

3. Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the rights of the Parties under Chapter 4 of this Agreement with respect to measures not within the scope of this Chapter.

1. The importing Party shall accept the sanitary or phytosanitary measures of the exporting Party as equivalent, even if these measures differ from its own or from those used by third countries trading in the same product, if the exporting Party objectively demonstrates to the importing Party that its measures achieve the importing Party's appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection. For this purpose, reasonable access shall be given, upon request, to the importing Party for inspection, testing and other relevant procedures.

2. The Parties shall, upon request, enter into consultations with the aim of achieving bilateral agreements on recognition of the equivalence of specified sanitary or phytosanitary measures.

1. The Parties acknowledge the importance of transparency in the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, including through, but not limited to, the exchange of information on their respective sanitary and phytosanitary measures in a timely manner.

2. The Parties shall ensure that sanitary and phytosanitary regulations which have been adopted are published on the websites of the Parties' competent authorities in such a manner as to enable interested Parties to become acquainted with them.

3. Each Party shall ensure that one contact point exists in each EAEU Member State, Eurasian Economic Commission and I.R. Iran, which is responsible for the provision of answers to all reasonable questions from interested Parties as well as for the provision of relevant documents regarding:

(a) any sanitary or phytosanitary regulations adopted or proposed within its territory;

(b) any control and inspection procedures, production and quarantine treatment, pesticide tolerance and food additive approval procedures, which are operated within its territory;

(c) risk assessment procedures, factors taken into consideration, as well as the determination of the appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection;

(d) the membership and participation of the Party, or of relevant bodies within its territory, in international and regional sanitary and phytosanitary organizations and systems, as well as in bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements within the scope of this Agreement, and the texts of such agreements and arrangements.

4. The Parties shall ensure that where copies of documents are requested by an interested Party, they are supplied at the same price (if any), apart from the cost of delivery, as to the nationals <*> of the Party concerned.

--------------------------------

<*> When "nationals" are referred to in this Agreement, the term shall be deemed, in the case of a separate customs territories of the Parties, to mean persons, natural or legal, who are domiciled or who have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in that customs territory.

5. Whenever an international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist or the content of a proposed sanitary or phytosanitary regulation is not substantially the same as the content of an international standard, guideline or recommendation, and if the regulation may have a significant effect on trade of the other Party or Parties, the Party should:

(a) provide the other Party through the contact points with a notice on such regulation;

(b) upon request, provide to the other Party particulars or copies of the proposed regulation and, whenever possible, identify the parts which in substance deviate from international standards, guidelines or recommendations;

(c) without discrimination, allow at least 60 days for the other Party to make comments in writing, discuss these comments upon request, and take the comments and the results of the discussions into account.

6. Except in urgent circumstances, the Parties shall allow reasonable time between the publication of sanitary or phytosanitary measure and its entry into force for the producers of the exporting Party to adapt to the requirements of the importing Party.

7. However, where urgent problems of health protection arise or threaten to arise for a Party, that Party may omit such of the steps enumerated in paragraph 6 of this Article as it finds necessary, provided that the Party:

(a) immediately notifies the other Party, through the Contact Points, of the particular regulation and the products covered, with a brief indication of the objective and the rationale of the regulation, including the nature of the urgent problem(s);

(b) provides, upon request, copies of the regulation to the other Parties;

(c) allows the other Parties to make comments in writing, discusses these comments upon request, and takes the comments and the results of the discussions into account.

8. The Parties shall provide each other with information on sanitary and phytosanitary measures in force or to be enforced within 90 days from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

9. The Parties shall endeavour to exchange information in English.

10. Main laws and regulations or the summaries thereof shall, upon request, be provided in English.

1. The Parties recognize the concept of adaptation to regional conditions, including pest- or disease-free areas and areas of low pest or disease prevalence, as an important means to facilitate trade.

2. When determining such areas, the Parties shall consider factors such as information of the Parties confirming the status of pest- or disease-free areas and areas of low pest or disease prevalence, the results of an audit, inspection monitoring, information provided by OIE and IPPC and other factors.

3. The exporting Party claiming that areas within its territory are pest- or disease-free areas or areas of low pest or disease prevalence shall provide the necessary evidence thereof in order to objectively demonstrate to the importing Party that such areas are, and are likely to remain, pest- or disease-free areas or areas of low pest or disease prevalence, respectively. For this purpose, reasonable access shall be given, upon request, to the importing Party for inspection, testing and other relevant procedures.

4. If the importing Party does not accept the evidence provided by the exporting Party, it shall explain the reasons and shall be ready to enter into technical consultations on this matter.

1. Each Party may carry out an audit and/or inspection in order to ensure the safety of the products (goods).

2. The Parties agree to enhance their cooperation in the field of audits and inspections.

3. In undertaking audits and/or inspections, each Party shall take into account relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations.

4. The auditing or inspecting Party shall provide the audited or inspected Party the opportunities to comment on the findings of the audits and/or inspections.

5. Costs incurred by the auditing or inspecting Party shall be borne by the auditing or inspecting Party, unless both Parties agree otherwise.

1. The importing Party shall ensure the requirements of the documents for confirming safety of the products (goods) traded between the Parties are applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health.

2. The Parties shall take into account relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations, when developing the documents for confirming safety of the products (goods), as appropriate.

3. The Parties may agree to develop bilateral documents for confirming safety of specific product (good) or groups of products (goods) traded between the Parties.

4. The Parties shall promote the use of electronic technologies in the documents for confirming safety of the products (goods) in order to facilitate trade.

1. Where a Party adopts provisional emergency measures necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health, referred to in paragraph 2(c) of Article 5.4 of this Agreement, such Party shall as soon as possible notify such measures to the other Party. The Party that adopted the emergency measures shall take into consideration relevant information provided by the other Party.

2. Upon request of either Party, consultations of the relevant competent authorities regarding the emergency measures shall be held as soon as possible unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

1. The Parties shall notify each other of the contact points for the provision of information in accordance with this Chapter and of their designated competent authorities responsible for matters covered by this Chapter and the areas of responsibility of such competent authorities.

2. The Parties shall inform each other of any change to their contact points or any significant change in the structure or competence of their competent authorities.

3. The Parties, through their contact points, shall provide each other in a timely manner with a written notification of:

(a) any significant food safety issue or change in animal or plant health, disease or pest status in their territories that affect trade among the Parties; and

(b) any change to the legal frameworks or other sanitary or phytosanitary measures.

4. The Parties, through their contact points, shall inform each other of systematic or significant cases of non-compliance of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and exchange relevant documents which confirm this non-compliance.

1. The Parties agree to cooperate in order to facilitate the implementation of this Chapter.

2. The Parties shall explore opportunities for further cooperation, collaboration and information exchange on sanitary and phytosanitary matters of mutual interest consistent with the provisions of this Chapter. Such opportunities may include trade facilitation initiatives and technical assistance.

3. In order to promote cooperation within the framework of this Chapter, the Parties may conclude arrangements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

1. Where a Party considers that a sanitary or phytosanitary measure is affecting its trade with the other Party, it may, through the relevant contact points, request consultations with the aim of resolving the matter.

2. A Party shall hold consultations under the context of this Chapter within a period not exceeding 60 days, upon request of the other Party, with the aim of resolving matters arising under this Chapter. If the requesting Party considers the matter is urgent, it may request that consultations referred to in this paragraph shall take place within a shorter time frame and the other Party shall endeavour to enter in such consultations in proposed time frames.

3. For the purpose of effective implementation and operation of this chapter, a working group on sanitary and phytosanitary measures shall be established. The working group comprising representatives of the Parties shall report its findings to the Joint Committee.

4. Where a matter covered under this Chapter cannot be clarified or resolved as a result of consultations, the Parties may refer to the working group on sanitary and phytosanitary measures with a view to identifying a workable and practical solution that would facilitate trade.

Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, an importing Party normally shall not suspend trade with the other Party on the basis of one consignment failing to conform to its SPS requirements.

The Rules of Origin provided for in this Chapter shall be applied for the purposes of granting preferential tariff treatment in accordance with this Agreement.

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "aquaculture" means farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other aquatic invertebrates and aquatic plants, from feedstock such as eggs, fry, fingerlings and larvae, by intervention in the rearing or growth processes to enhance production such as regular stocking, feeding, or protection from predators;

(b) "authorized body" means the competent authority designated by a Party to issue Certificate of Origin under this Agreement;

(c) "CIF value" means the value of the goods imported, and includes the cost of freight and insurance up to the port or place of entry into the country of importation in accordance with the applicable and in force international commercial terms ("incoterms"), excluding internal taxes which may be repaid when the product is exported;

(d) "consignment" means goods that are sent simultaneously covered by one or more transport documents to the consignee from the exporter, as well as goods that are sent over a single post-invoice or transferred as a luggage of the person crossing the border;

(e) "exporter" means a seller of goods according to the foreign trade agreement (contract), consignor, supplier or producer of goods;

(f) "EXW value" means the price paid for a good to the producer in the Party where the last working or processing was carried out, in accordance with the applicable and in force international commercial terms ("incoterms"), excluding internal taxes which may be repaid when the product is exported;

(g) "importer" means a purchaser of goods according to the foreign trade agreement (contract) or consignee of goods;

(h) "material" means any matter or substance including ingredient, raw material, component or part used or consumed in the production of goods or physically incorporated into goods or subjected to a process in the production of other goods;

(i) "non-originating goods" or "non-originating materials" means goods or materials that do not fulfil the origin criteria of this Chapter;

(j) "originating goods" or "originating materials" means goods or materials that fulfil the origin criteria of this Chapter;

(k) "producer" means a person who carries out production in the territory of a Party;

(l) "production" means methods of obtaining goods including growing, mining, harvesting, raising, breeding, extracting, gathering, capturing, fishing, hunting, manufacturing, processing or assembling such goods;

(m) "proof of origin" means either Certificate of Origin or Declaration of Origin;

(n) "verification authority" means the competent governmental authority designated by a Party to conduct verification procedures.

For the purposes of this Chapter goods shall be considered as originating in a Party if they are:

(a) wholly obtained or produced in such Party as provided for in Article 6.4 of this Agreement; or

(b) produced entirely in one or more Parties, exclusively from originating materials from one or more Parties; or

(c) produced in a Party using non-originating materials provided that value added content of the Party is not less than 50 percent of the EXW value, except for the cases that specific origin criterion for such goods set out in Annex 2 to this Agreement.

For the purposes of Article 6.3 of this Agreement, the following goods shall be considered as wholly obtained or produced in a Party:

(a) plants and plant goods, including fruits, berries, flowers, vegetables, trees, seaweed, fungi and live plants, grown, harvested, or gathered in the territory of a Party;

(b) live animals born and raised in the territory of a Party;

(c) goods obtained from live animals in the territory of a Party;

(d) goods obtained from gathering, hunting, capturing, fishing, growing, raising, aquaculture in the territory of a Party;

(e) minerals and other naturally occurring substances extracted or taken from the air, soil, waters or seabed and subsoil in the territory of a Party;

(f) goods of sea fishing and other marine goods taken from the high seas, in accordance with international law, by a vessel registered or recorded in a Party and flying its flag;

(g) goods manufactured exclusively from goods referred to in subparagraph (f) of this Article, on board a factory ship registered or recorded in a Party and flying its flag;

(h) waste and scrap resulting from production and consumption conducted in the territory of a Party;

(i) used goods collected in the territory of a Party provided that such goods are fit only for the recovery of raw materials;

(j) goods produced in outer space on board a spacecraft provided that the same spacecraft is registered in a Party;

(k) goods produced or obtained in the territory of a Party solely from goods referred to in subparagraphs (a) through (j) of this Article.

1. For the purposes of this Chapter and product specific rules specified in Annex 2 to this Agreement the formula for calculating value added content (hereinafter referred to as "VAC") shall be:

where the value of non-originating materials shall be:

(a) CIF value of the materials at the time of importation to a Party; or

(b) the earliest ascertained price paid or payable for non-originating materials in the territory of the Party where the working or processing takes place.

When, in the territory of a Party, the producer of the goods acquires non-originating materials within that Party, the value of such materials shall not include freight, insurance, packing costs and any other costs incidental to the transport of those materials from the location of the supplier to the location of production.

2. Each Party shall provide that for non-originating materials, the cost of waste and spoilage resulting from the use of the materials in the production of the goods may be deducted from the value of the materials.

1. The following operations undertaken exclusively by themselves or in combination with each other are considered to be insufficient to meet the requirements of Article 6.3 of this Agreement:

(a) preserving operations to ensure that a product retains its condition during transportation and storage;

(b) freezing or thawing;

(c) packaging and re-packaging;

(d) washing, cleaning, removing dust, oxide, oil, paint or other coverings;

(e) ironing or pressing of textiles;

(f) colouring, polishing, varnishing, oiling;

(g) husking, partial or total bleaching, polishing and glazing of cereals and rice;

(h) operations to colour sugar or form sugar lumps;

(i) peeling and removal of stones and shells from fruits, nuts and vegetables;

(j) sharpening, grinding;

(k) cutting;

(l) sifting, screening, sorting, classifying;

(m) placing in bottles, cans, flasks, bags, cases, boxes, fixing on surface and all other packaging operations;

(n) affixing or printing marks, labels, logos and other like distinguishing signs on products or their packaging;

(o) mixing of products (components) which does not lead to a sufficient difference of product from the original components;

(p) simple assembly of a product or disassembly of products into parts;

(q) slaughter of animals, sorting of meat.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, "simple" describes activities which do not require special skills or machines, apparatus or equipment especially designed for carrying out such activities.

Without prejudice to Article 6.3 of this Agreement, the goods or materials originating in a Party, which are used as material in the manufacture of a product in the other Party, shall be considered as originating in such Party where the last operations other than those referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 6.6 of this Agreement have been carried out. The origin of such material shall be confirmed by a Certificate of Origin (Form CT-3) (hereinafter referred to as "Certificate of Origin") issued by an authorized body.

1. Goods that do not undergo a change in tariff classification pursuant to Annex 2 to this Agreement are nonetheless considered originating if:

(a) the value of all non-originating materials that are used in the production of the goods and do not undergo the required change in tariff classification, does not exceed 5 percent of the EXW value of such goods and provided that such materials necessary for production of goods; and

(b) the goods meet all other applicable requirements of this Chapter.

2. The value of materials referred to in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall be included in the value of non-originating materials for any applicable VAC requirement.

1. Preferential tariff treatment in accordance with this Chapter shall be granted to originating goods provided that such goods are transported directly from the territory of the exporting Party to the territory of the importing Party.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article, originating goods may be transported through territories of third countries, provided that:

(a) transit through the territory of third countries is justified for geographical reasons or related exclusively to transport requirements;

(b) the goods have not entered into trade or consumption there; and

(c) the goods have not undergone any operation there other than unloading, reloading, storing, or any necessary operation designed to preserve their condition.

3. A declarant shall submit appropriate documentary evidence to the customs authorities of the importing Party confirming that the conditions set out in paragraph 2 of this Article have been fulfilled. Such evidence shall be provided to the customs authorities of the importing Party by submission of:

(a) transport documents covering the passage from the territory of one Party to the territory of the other Party containing:

i. an exact description of the goods;

ii. the dates of unloading and reloading of the goods (if the transport documents do not contain the dates of unloading and reloading of the goods, other supporting document containing such information shall be submitted in addition to transport documents) and;

iii. where applicable:

the names of the ships, or the other means of transport used;

the numbers of containers;

the conditions under which the goods remained in the third transit country in the proper condition;

the marks of the customs authorities of the country of transit;

(b) commercial invoice in respect of the goods.

4. A declarant may submit other supporting documents to prove that the requirements of paragraph 2 of this Article are fulfilled.

5. In the instance that the transport documents cannot be provided, a document issued by the customs authorities of the third transit country containing all the information referred to in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article shall be submitted.

6. If a declarant fails to provide the customs authorities of the importing Party with documentary evidence of direct consignment, preferential tariff treatment shall not be granted.

1. Packaging materials and containers in which goods are packaged for retail sale, if classified with the goods, shall be disregarded in determining whether all the non-originating materials used in the production of those goods have undergone the applicable change in tariff classification set out in Annex 2 to this Agreement.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article in determining whether the goods fulfil the VAC requirement, the value of the packaging used for retail sale will be counted as originating or non-originating materials, as the case may be, in calculating the VAC of the goods.

Packing materials and containers in which goods are packed exclusively for transport shall not be taken into account for the purposes of establishing whether the goods are originating.

1. In determining whether the goods fulfil the change in tariff classification requirements specified in Annex 2 to this Agreement, accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or information materials, which are part of the normal equipment and included in its EXW value, and which are not separately invoiced, shall be considered as part of the goods in question and shall not be taken into account in determining whether the goods qualify as originating.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this Article in determining whether the goods fulfil the VAC requirement, the value of accessories, spare parts, tools, instructional and information materials shall be taken into account as originating materials or non-originating materials, as the case may be, in calculating VAC of the goods.

3. This Article shall apply only where:

(a) accessories, spare parts, tools, instructional or other information materials presented with the goods are not invoiced separately from the such goods; and

(b) the quantities and value of accessories, spare parts, tools and instructional or other information materials presented with the goods are customary for such goods.

Sets, as defined in General Rule 3 of the interpretation of the Harmonized System, shall be regarded as originating when all component goods are originating. Nevertheless, when a set is composed of originating and non-originating goods, the set as a whole shall be regarded as originating, provided that the value of the non-originating goods does not exceed 15 percent of the EXW value of the set.

In order to determine whether goods are originating, the origin of the following neutral elements which might be used in its manufacture and not incorporated in it shall not be taken into account:

(a) fuel and energy;

(b) tools, dies and moulds;

(c) spare parts and materials used in the maintenance of equipment and buildings;

(d) lubricants, greases, compounding materials and other materials used in the production or used to operate equipment and buildings;

(e) gloves, glasses, footwear, clothing, safety equipment;

(f) equipment, devices used for testing or inspecting the goods;

(g) catalyst and solvent; and

(h) any other goods that are not incorporated into such goods but the use of which in the production of such goods can be demonstrated to be a part of that production.

1. Goods originating in a Party shall, on importation into another Party, benefit from the preferential tariff treatment upon submission of one of the following proofs of origin:

(a) a Certificate of Origin issued in accordance with this Chapter. The Certificate of Origin submitted to the customs authorities of the importing Party shall be original, valid, duly completed and issued in conformity with the format set out in Annex 3 to this Agreement except for the cases provided for in Article 6.28 of this Agreement;

(b) a Declaration of Origin issued in accordance with Article 6.17 of this Agreement.

2. The proof of origin shall be valid for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance and must be submitted to the customs authorities of the importing Party within that period but not later than the moment of the submission of the customs declaration, except in circumstances stipulated in paragraph 3 of this Article.

3. If the importer is not in possession of a proof of origin at the time of importation, the importing Party shall impose the applied MFN customs duty or require payment of a deposit on the imported goods, where applicable. In such a case the importer may make a claim for preferential tariff treatment and refund of any excess import customs duty or deposit paid within 12 months from the time of registration of customs declaration in accordance with respective laws and regulations of the importing Party provided that all requirements of Article 6.23 of this Agreement have been met.

The proof of origin is not required in order to obtain preferential tariff treatment for importation of originating goods where the customs value does not exceed the amount of 200 Euro or the equivalent amount in the importing Party's currency, provided that the importation does not form part of one or more consignments that may reasonably be considered to have been undertaken or arranged for the purposes of avoiding the submission of the proof of origin.

1. A Declaration of Origin as referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 6.15 of this Agreement may be made out by producer or exporter for any consignment containing originating goods the customs value of which does not exceed 5000 Euro or the equivalent amount in the importing Party's currency.

Parties shall ensure that such importation does not form part of one or more consignments that may reasonably be considered to have been undertaken or arranged with a view to avoid the submission of the Certificate of Origin.

2. A Declaration of Origin is a statement on origin made by producer or exporter on any commercial documents related to the goods and must be in accordance with the template in Annex 4 to this Agreement.

3. Declarations of Origin shall be printed and shall bear the signature of the producer or exporter and shall be in English.

4. Declaration of Origin shall cover the originating goods under one consignment and shall remain valid for 12 months from the date it was made. The actual weight of declared importing goods shall not exceed 5 percent of the weight specified in the commercial document containing the Declaration of Origin.

5. Where the customs authorities of the importing Party have a reasonable doubt about the authenticity of a Declaration of Origin and/or the compliance of the goods with the origin criteria, they may request a Certificate of Origin to be presented.

1. The producer, or exporter of the goods, or its authorized representative shall apply to an authorized body for a Certificate of Origin in writing or by electronic means if applicable.

2. The Certificate of Origin shall be issued by the authorized body to the producer or exporter of the exporting Party or its authorized representative prior to or at the time of exportation whenever the goods to be exported can be considered originating in a Party within the meaning of this Chapter.

3. The authorized body of the exporting Party shall ensure that Certificates of Origin are duly completed in accordance with the requirements set out in Annex 3 to this Agreement.

4. The Certificate of Origin shall cover the goods under one consignment.

5. Each Certificate of Origin shall bear a unique reference number separately given by the authorized body.

6. If all of the goods covered by the Certificate of Origin cannot be listed on one page, additional sheets, as set out in Annex 3 to this Agreement, shall be used.

7. The Certificate of Origin shall comprise one original and two copies.

8. The copy shall be retained by the authorized body in the exporting Party. Another copy shall be retained by the exporter.

9. Without prejudice to paragraph 2 of this Article, in exceptional cases, where a Certificate of Origin has not been issued prior to or at the time of exportation it may be issued retroactively and shall be marked "ISSUED RETROACTIVELY" or "ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY".

10. The submitted original Certificate of Origin shall be kept at the customs authorities of the importing Party except in circumstances stipulated in its respective domestic laws and regulations.

1. Where the origin of the goods is not in doubt, the discovery of minor discrepancies between the information in the proof of origin and in the documents submitted to the customs authorities of the importing Party shall not, of themselves, invalidate the proof of origin, if such information in fact corresponds to the goods submitted.

2. For multiple goods declared under the same proof of origin, a problem encountered with one of the goods listed shall not affect or delay the granting of preferential tariff treatment for the remaining goods covered by the proof of origin.

1. In the event of theft, loss or destruction of a Certificate of Origin, the producer, exporter or its authorized representative may apply to the authorized body specifying the reasons for such application for a certified duplicate of the original Certificate of Origin. The duplicate shall be made on the basis of the previously issued Certificate of Origin and supporting documents. A certified duplicate shall bear the words "DUPLICATE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER_DATE_". The certified duplicate of a Certificate of Origin shall be valid no longer than 12 months from the date of issuance of the original Certificate of Origin.

2. Due to accidental errors or omissions made in the Certificate of Origin, the authorized body shall issue the Certificate of Origin in substitution for the previously issued Certificate of Origin. In this instance, the Certificate of Origin shall bear the words: "ISSUED IN SUBSTITUTION FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER___DATE___". Such Certificate of Origin shall be valid no longer than 12 months from the date of its issuance.

Neither erasures nor superimpositions shall be allowed on the Certificate of Origin. Any alteration shall be made by striking out the erroneous data and printing any additional information required. Such alteration shall be approved by a person authorized to sign the Certificate of Origin and certified by an official seal of the appropriate authorized body.

1. The producer or exporter applying for the issuance of a Certificate of Origin shall keep all records and copies of documents submitted to the authorized body for the period of no less than 3 years from the date of issuance of the Certificate of Origin.

2. An importer who has been granted preferential tariff treatment must keep the copy of proof of origin, based on the date when the preferential tariff treatment was granted, for the period of no less than 3 years.

3. The application for Certificate of Origin and all documents related to such application shall be retained by the authorized body for the period of no less than 3 years from the date of issuance of the Certificate of Origin.

4. A producer or exporter making out a Declaration of Origin shall keep all records and copies of documents proving the origin of the goods concerned for a period of no less than 3 years from the date of issuance of the Declaration of Origin.

1. Preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement shall be applied to originating goods that satisfy the requirements of this Chapter.

2. Customs authorities of the importing Party shall grant preferential tariff treatment to originating goods of the exporting Party provided that:

(a) importing goods satisfy the origin criteria referred to in Article 6.3 of this Agreement;

(b) the declarant demonstrates compliance with the requirements of this Chapter;

(c) the origin of goods confirmed by proof of origin in accordance with requirements provided for in this Chapter.

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2 of this Article, where the customs authorities of the importing Party have a reasonable doubt as to the origin of the goods for which preferential tariff treatment is claimed and/or to the authenticity of the submitted proof of origin such customs authorities may suspend or deny the application of preferential tariff treatment to such goods. However, the goods can be released in accordance with the requirements of such Party's respective laws and regulations.

1. Where the goods do not meet the requirements of this Chapter or where the importer or exporter fails to comply with the requirements of this Chapter, the customs authorities of the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment and recover unpaid customs duties in accordance with its respective laws and regulations.

2. The customs authorities of the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment if:

(a) the goods do not meet the requirements of this Chapter to consider them as originating in the exporting Party; and/or

(b) the other requirements of this Chapter are not met, including:

i. the requirements of Article 6.9 of this Agreement;

ii. the submitted proof of origin has not been duly completed as specified in Annexes 3 or 4 to this Agreement;

(c) the verification procedures undertaken under Article 6.29 of this Agreement are unable to establish the origin of the goods or indicate the inconsistency of the origin criteria;

(d) the verification authority or authorized body of the exporting Party has confirmed that the Certificate of Origin had not been issued (i.e. forged) or had been annulled (withdrawn);

(e) the customs authority of the importing Party receives no reply within a maximum of 6 months after the date of a verification request made to the verification authority or authorized body of the exporting Party, or if the response to the request does not contain sufficient information to conclude whether the goods originate in a Party;

(f) information contained in the original Certificate of Origin or its copy does not correspond to the information in the web-database, referred to in Article 6.28 of this Agreement, on the date of registration of the customs declaration;

(g) the Certificate of Origin was not submitted upon the request of the customs authority of the importing Party in cases, provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 6.17 and in paragraphs 7 and 12 of Article 6.28 of this Agreement.

3. Where the importing Party determines through verification procedures that an exporter or producer has engaged in providing false and/or incomplete information for the purposes of obtaining Certificates of Origin, customs authorities of the importing Party may deny preferential tariff treatment to identical goods covered by Certificates of Origin issued to that exporter or producer in accordance with the respective domestic laws and regulations.

4. In cases as set out in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 2 of this Article customs authorities of the importing Party are not required to make a verification request, as provided for in Article 6.29 of this Agreement, to the verification authority or authorized body for the purposes of making decisions on denial of preferential tariff treatment.

Any notification or communication under this Section shall be conducted between the Parties through the relevant authorities in English.

From the date of entry into force of this Agreement, each Government of the Parties shall designate or maintain an authorized body and a verification authority.

1. Prior to the issuance of any Certificates of Origin under this Agreement by the authorized body, each Party shall provide each other, through the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade of I.R. Iran and the Eurasian Economic Commission, respectively, with the names and addresses of each authorized body and verification authority, along with original and legible specimen impressions of their stamps, sample of the Certificate of Origin to be used and data on the security features of the Certificate of Origin.

2. I.R. Iran shall provide the Eurasian Economic Commission with the original information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in sextuple. The Eurasian Economic Commission may request I.R. Iran to provide additional sets of such information.

3. I.R. Iran and the Eurasian Economic Commission shall publish through the Internet the information on the names and addresses of the authorized body and verification authority of each Party.

4. Any change to the information stipulated above shall be notified by the authorities referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, in advance and in the same manner.

5. All the information provided according to the paragraph 1 of this Article shall be applied from the date of receiving an original hard copy with such information by the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade of I.R. Iran or the Eurasian Economic Commission, respectively.

6. The Parties shall provide each other, through the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade of I.R. Iran or the Eurasian Economic Commission, respectively, with contact e-mail addresses of the bodies involved in verification procedures.

1. In order to simplify the procedures for obtaining the preferential tariff treatment, the Parties can use via Internet secure databases of the authorized bodies that contain information on issued Certificates of Origin and enable customs authorities of the importing Party to verify the authenticity of any issued Certificate of Origin (hereinafter referred to as "web-databases").

2. The web-databases shall meet the following requirements:

i. completeness, relevance and reliability of the information contained;

ii. data protection of the information contained from unauthorized access, destruction, modification or any other illegal actions;

iii. proper around the clock functioning;

iv. entering the information on the Certificate of Origin into the web-database no later than 1 day after the date of its issuance;

v. storage of information on the issued Certificates of Origin within the period set out in paragraph 3 of Article 6.22 of this Agreement;

vi. possibility of saving (printing) information contained in the web-database by the customs authorities of the importing Party.

3. The data from the Certificate of Origin entered into the web-database shall be identical to those contained in such Certificate of Origin issued in accordance with Annex 3 to this Agreement, except for signatures and stamps.

4. When the interested authorized bodies adopt the web-databases or the Electronic Origin Verification System is implemented, referred to in paragraph 9 of this Article (hereinafter referred to as "the EOVS"), Certificates of Origin may be issued electronically without being made in original paper format (hereinafter referred to as "electronic Certificate of Origin").

5. If the Parties use the web-databases, the original Certificate of Origin shall not be required by the customs authority of the importing Party. In this case, a copy of the Certificate of Origin (hard or soft copy) or the electronic Certificate of Origin is enough for the granting of tariff preferences.

6. Notwithstanding paragraph 5 of this Article, within 6 months from the date of entry into force of this Agreement the original Certificate of Origin is required to be submitted to the customs authorities of the Parties for granting preferential tariff treatment to originating goods.

7. If information on the Certificate of Origin is not available in the web-database on the date of registration of the customs declaration, the customs authority of importing Party shall require the submission of the original Certificate of Origin, unless the Certificate of Origin is issued electronically as provided for in paragraph 4 of this Article.

8. Prior to the web-databases implementation, the Parties shall provide each other, through the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade of I.R. Iran and the Eurasian Economic Commission, respectively, with the electronic addresses of the web-databases and information about requirements to access such web-databases (user names, passwords, if any).

9. With the view of further development of paperless trade, the Parties shall endeavour, no later than 5 years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, to develop and support the EOVS based on an electronic data exchange concept.

10. The EOVS provides to the customs authorities of the importing Party the possibility to receive through the electronic data transmission the information from the Certificates of Origin issued by the authorised bodies of the exporting Party.

11. If the Parties implement the EOVS, the original Certificate of Origin, its copy or electronic Certificate of Origin shall not be required by the customs authority of the importing Party. In such case, the date and number of such Certificate of Origin shall be specified in the customs declaration.

Nevertheless the original Certificate of Origin shall be issued by the authorized bodies, unless Certificate of Origin is issued electronically as provided for in paragraph 4 of this Article.

12. If information on the Certificate of Origin is not accessible in the EOVS on the date of registration of the customs declaration, the customs authority of importing Party shall require the submission of copy of the Certificate of Origin and verify its authenticity using the web-database. If the authorized body does not have the web-database, original Certificate of Origin shall be submitted, unless Certificate of Origin is issued only electronically as provided for in paragraph 4 of this Article.

13. All the requirements and specifications for the application of the EOVS shall be set out in separate Protocol.

1. Where the customs authorities of the importing Party have a reasonable doubt about the authenticity of proof of origin and/or the compliance of the goods, covered by the proof of origin, with the origin criteria, pursuant to Article 6.3 of this Agreement, and in the case of a random check, they may send a request to the verification authority or authorized body of the exporting Party to confirm the authenticity of the proof of origin and/or the compliance of the goods with the origin criteria and/or to provide, if requested, documentary evidence from the exporter and/or the producer of the goods.

2. All verification requests shall be accompanied by sufficient information to identify the concerned goods. A request to the verification authority or authorized body of the exporting Party shall be accompanied by a copy of the proof of origin and shall specify the circumstances and reasons for the request.

3. A copy of the verification request, and its accompanying documents, as well as the verification response to such a request, are transmitted electronically between the customs authority of the importing Party and the verification authority or authorized body of the exporting Party, via the contact addresses referred to in paragraph 6 of Article 6.27 of this Agreement.

4. The recipient of a request under paragraph 1 of this Article shall respond to the requesting customs authorities of the importing Party within 6 months after the date of such verification request.

5. In response to a request under paragraph 1 of this Article verification authority or authorized body of the exporting Party shall clearly indicate whether the proof of origin is authentic and/or whether the goods can be considered as originating in such Party including by providing requested documentary evidence received from the exporter and/or producer. Before the response to the verification request, paragraph 3 of Article 6.23 of this Agreement may be applied. The customs duties paid shall be refunded if the received results of the verification process confirm and clearly indicate that the goods qualify as originating and all other requirements of this Chapter are met.

All information provided pursuant to this Chapter shall be treated by the Parties as confidential in accordance with their respective laws and regulations. It shall not be disclosed without the written permission of the person or authority of the Party providing it except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed in the context of judicial proceedings.

Each Party shall provide for criminal or administrative penalties for violations of its respective laws and regulations related to this Chapter.

1. For the purposes of effective implementation and operation of this Chapter, a Subcommittee on Rules of Origin (hereinafter referred to as "the ROO subcommittee") shall be established.

2. The ROO subcommittee shall have the following functions:

(a) reviewing and making appropriate recommendations to the Joint Committee and the Goods Committee on:

i. transposition of Annex 2 to this Agreement that is in the nomenclature of the revised HS following periodic amendments of the HS. Such transposition shall be carried out without impairing the existing commitments and shall be completed in a timely manner;

ii. implementation and operation of this Chapter, including proposals for establishing implementing arrangements;

iii. failure to fulfil the obligations by the Parties, as determined in this Section;

iv. technical amendments to this Chapter;

v. disputes arising between the Parties during the implementation of this Chapter;

vi. any amendment to the provisions of this Chapter and to the Annexes 2, 3 and 4 to this Agreement;

(b) considering any other matter proposed by a Party related to this Chapter;

(c) reporting the findings of the ROO subcommittee to the Committee on Trade in Goods; and

(d) performing other functions as may be delegated by the Joint Committee pursuant to Article 1.5 of this Agreement.

3. The ROO subcommittee shall be composed of the representatives of the Parties, and may invite representatives of other entities of the Parties with necessary expertise relevant to the issues to be discussed, upon mutual agreement of the Parties.

4. The ROO subcommittee shall meet at such time and venue as may be agreed by the Parties but not less than once a year.

5. A provisional agenda for each meeting shall be forwarded to the Parties, as a general rule, no later than 1 month before the meeting.

Originating goods which are in the process of transportation from the exporting Party to the importing Party, or which are in temporary storage under customs control in the importing Party for a period not exceeding 6 months before the entry into force of this Agreement, shall be granted preferential tariff treatment if they are imported into the importing Party on or after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, provided that all requirements of Article 6.23 of this Agreement have been met and subject to the respective laws and regulations of the importing Party.

This Chapter shall apply to customs administration measures and performance of customs operations required for the release of goods traded between the Parties, in order to promote:

(a) transparency of customs procedures and customs formalities;

(b) trade facilitation and harmonization of customs operations;

(c) customs cooperation including exchange of information between central customs authorities of the Parties.

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "central customs authority" means the highest authorized customs authority of each of the EAEU Member States or I.R. Iran exercising, in accordance with the respective domestic laws and regulations, the functions of implementing the relevant government policies, regulations, control and supervision in the customs sphere;

(b) "customs administration" means organizational and management activities of the customs authorities of a Party as well as the activities carried out within the regulatory framework while implementing the objectives in the customs sphere;

(c) "customs laws and regulations" means any norm and regulation enforced by the customs authorities of a Party including laws, rulings, decrees, writs, rules and others;

(d) "express consignments" means goods delivered through high-speed transportation systems by any type of transport, using an electronic information management system and tracking the movement in order to deliver the goods to the recipient in accordance with an individual invoice for the minimum possible or a fixed period of time, except for goods sent by international post;

(e) "inward processing" means the customs procedure under which foreign goods can be brought into the customs territory of a Party conditionally relieved from payment of customs duties and taxes on the basis that such goods are intended for processing or repair and subsequent exportation from the customs territory of such Party within a specified period of time;

(f) "outward processing" means the customs procedure under which goods, which are in free circulation in the customs territory of a Party, may be temporarily exported for manufacturing, processing or repair abroad and then re-imported;

(g) "temporary admission" means the customs procedure under which foreign goods can be brought into the customs territory of a Party conditionally relieved totally or partially from payment of customs duties and taxes on the basis that such goods shall be re-exported within a specified period of time in accordance with the customs laws and regulations of such Party.

1. Each Party shall ensure that the customs administration measures applied by its customs authorities are predictable, consistent and transparent.

2. Customs administration measures of each Party shall, where possible and to the extent permitted by its customs laws and regulations, be based on the standards and recommended practices of the World Customs Organization.

3. The central customs authorities of each Party shall endeavour to review their customs administration measures with a view to simplifying such measures in order to facilitate trade.

1. The Parties shall endeavour to establish or maintain in their respective laws and regulations the programme of Authorized Economic Operators (AEO).

2. In order to facilitate the performance of customs procedures, the Parties, to the extent possible, shall work toward mutual recognition of respective AEO programmes. The Parties shall endeavour to enter into negotiations on mutual recognition of their respective AEO programmes as soon as the Parties are ready to commence work leading to such agreement.

1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain the performance of customs procedures and operations for the efficient release of goods in order to facilitate trade between the Parties. This shall not require a Party to release goods where its requirements for the release of such goods have not been met.

2. Pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article and to the extent possible, each Party should:

(a) provide for the release of goods within a period of time no longer than 48 hours from the registration of a customs declaration except in the circumstances stipulated in the customs laws and regulations of the Parties;

(b) endeavour to adopt or maintain electronic submission and processing of customs information in advance of arrival of the goods to expedite the release of goods upon arrival.

3. In case where the time period for the release of goods is extended by the customs authority of the importing Party in accordance with the customs laws and regulations of the Party, the respective customs authority should inform the declarant about the reasons and legal grounds for such extension.

1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain procedures allowing for the submission of import documentation and other required information, including manifests, in order to begin processing prior to the arrival of goods with a view to expediting the release of goods upon arrival.

2. Each Party shall, as appropriate, provide for advance lodging of documents in electronic format for pre-arrival processing of such documents.

1. Each Party shall, where appropriate, endeavour to accept paper or electronic copies of supporting documents including documents attached to the customs declaration required for import, export or transit formalities.

2. Where a government agency of a Party already holds the original of such a document, any other agency of that Party shall accept a paper or electronic copy, where applicable, from the agency holding the original in lieu of the original document.

3. A Party shall not require an original or copy of export declarations submitted to the customs authorities of the exporting Party as a requirement for importation <*>.

--------------------------------

<*> Nothing in this paragraph precludes a Party from requiring documents such as certificates, permits or licenses as a requirement for the importation of controlled or regulated goods.

Customs authorities of the Parties shall apply a risk management system by means of a systematic assessment of risks to focus inspections on high-risk goods and simplify the application of customs operations on low-risk goods.

1. With a view to facilitate the effective operation of this Agreement, central customs authorities of the Parties shall encourage cooperation with each other on key customs issues that affect goods traded between the Parties.

2. Where a central customs authority of a Party in accordance with such Party's respective laws and regulations has a reasonable suspicion of an unlawful activity, such central customs authority may request the central customs authority of the other Party to provide specific information normally collected in connection with the exportation and/or importation of goods.

3. A Party's request under paragraph 2 of this Article shall be in writing, specifying the purpose for which the information is sought and shall be accompanied by sufficient information to identify the concerned goods.

4. The requested Party under paragraph 2 of this Article shall provide a written response containing the requested information within 2 months from the date of receipt, if providing of such requested information does not contradict with the laws and regulations of the requested Party. In case of impossibility of providing full or partial response within the prescribed period of time the requested Party shall inform the requesting Party of the expected term for providing such information.

5. The central customs authority of the requested Party shall endeavour to provide any other information to the central customs authority of the requesting Party that would assist such central customs authority in determining whether imports from or exports to the requesting Party are in compliance with such Party's respective laws and regulations.

6. The central customs authorities of the Parties shall endeavour to establish and maintain channels of communication for customs cooperation, including establishing contact points that will facilitate the rapid and secure exchange of information and improve coordination on customs issues.

1. In order to facilitate the performance of customs operations, to expedite the release of goods and to prevent violations of customs laws and regulations, the Parties, to the extent possible, shall create and implement electronic information exchange on a regular basis covering all goods traded among the Parties, between them (hereinafter referred to as "electronic information exchange") provided that all information security measures are ensured.

2. On behalf of the EAEU the Eurasian Economic Commission shall coordinate the creation and facilitate the operation of the electronic information exchange.

3. For the purposes of this Article, "information" means relevant and authentic data from customs declarations and transport documents.

4. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article the Eurasian Economic Commission, the authorized bodies of the EAEU Member States and of I.R. Iran shall endeavour to develop the cooperation and continue consultations in order to develop electronic information exchange.

5. All the requirements and specifications for the operation of electronic information exchange as well as the specific content of information to be exchanged shall be defined in separate protocol between the authorized bodies of the EAEU Member States and of I.R. Iran. Such information shall be sufficient for identification of transported goods and performance of the efficient customs control.

6. Any information communicated in accordance with the provisions of this Article shall be treated as confidential and shall be used for customs purposes only.

7. The customs authorities of the EAEU Member States and I.R. Iran shall refuse to exchange of information if such information exchange may be detrimental to the national security.

Each Party shall ensure that its authorities and agencies responsible for the border controls and procedures dealing with the importation, exportation and transit of goods cooperate with one another and coordinate their activities in order to facilitate trade and to reduce burdensome administrative procedures.

1. The Parties shall, to the extent possible, endeavour to publish the customs laws and regulations of general application in English. Summaries of by-laws and regulations effected the trade shall, upon request, be provided in English without prejudice to national legislation of a requested Party.

2. Within 8 months from the date of entry into force of this Agreement the competent authorities of each Party shall designate or maintain one or more enquiry points to process enquiries from interested persons concerning customs issues, and shall publish on the Internet information concerning such enquiry points.

3. The competent authorities of each Party shall exchange contact information of the designated enquiry points. Enquiry point of each Party upon request of the competent authorities of the other Party provide to the extent possible information in English related to its laws and regulations relevant to the operation of this Agreement on the following issues:

(a) existing non-tariff measures including imports end export bans and restrictions;

(b) the application of refund or waive customs duties, deferral of customs duties, fees and taxes;

(c) the application of technical barriers and sanitary and phytosanitary requirements that affect the customs clearance of goods;

(d) the requirements for qualifying for tariff rate quotas;

(e) country of origin marking, if it is requested for importation; and

(f) other matters as the Parties may decide in accordance with the Parties laws and regulations.

4. To the extent possible, each Party shall publish in advance its laws and regulations of general application governing customs issues that it proposes to adopt and shall provide interested persons an opportunity to comment before adopting such laws and regulations.

1. Customs authorities of the Parties shall provide any applicant registered in the importing Party in writing with advance rulings in respect of tariff classification, origin of goods and any additional matter which a Party considers appropriate.

2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain procedures for advance rulings, which shall:

(a) provide that the applicant may apply for an advance ruling before the importation of goods;

(b) require that the applicant for an advance ruling provides a detailed description of the goods and all relevant information needed to process an advance ruling;

(c) provide that its customs authority may, within 30 days from the date of application, request that the applicant provides additional information;

(d) provide that any advance ruling be based on the facts and circumstances presented by the applicant and any other relevant information available to its customs authority;

(e) provide that an advance ruling be issued to the applicant expeditiously, or in any case within 90 days from the date of the application excluding time period for the submission of all necessary additional information requested in accordance with subparagraph (c) of this paragraph.

3. A customs authority of a Party may reject requests for an advance ruling where the additional information requested by it in accordance with subparagraph (c) of paragraph 2 of this Article is not provided within the specified period of time.

4. An advance ruling shall be valid for at least one year from the date of its issuance unless the law, facts, or circumstances supporting that ruling have changed.

5. A customs authority of a Party may modify or revoke an advance ruling:

(a) upon a determination that the advance ruling was based on false or inaccurate information;

(b) if there is a change in the customs laws and regulations consistent with this Agreement; or

(c) if there is a change in a material fact, or circumstances on which the advance ruling is based.

6. A Party may decline to issue an advance ruling to the applicant where the question raised in the application:

(a) is already pending in the applicant's case before any governmental agency, appellate tribunal, or court; or

(b) has already been decided by any appellate tribunal or court.

The customs value of goods traded between the Parties shall be determined in accordance with the customs laws and regulations of the importing Party which are based inter alia on the provisions stipulated in Annex 5 to this Agreement.

The Parties shall apply nomenclatures of goods based on the current edition of the Harmonized System to goods traded between them.

1. Each Party shall endeavour to facilitate the customs operations applied to goods in transit from (to) a Party to (from) any third party.

2. The Parties may mutually recognize identification tools and documents applied by the Parties required for the control of goods and vessels as well as other means of transport in transit.

1. Customs authorities of the Parties shall provide expedited customs clearance for express consignments while maintaining appropriate customs control.

2. Each Party shall adopt or maintain facilitated procedures for express consignments. These procedures shall:

(a) provide for information necessary to release an express consignment to be submitted and processed before the shipment arrives;

(b) allow a single submission of information covering all goods contained in an express consignment, such as a manifest, through, if possible, electronic means;

(c) to the extent possible, provide for the release of certain goods with a minimum of documentation;

(d) under normal circumstances, provide for express consignments to be released within the shortest possible time after submission of the necessary customs documents, provided the shipment has arrived;

(e) apply to shipments of any weight or value recognizing that a Party may require formal entry procedures as a condition for release, including declaration and supporting documentation and payment of customs duties, based on the good's weight or value.

With a view to preventing avoidable loss or deterioration of perishable goods, and provided all regulatory requirements of a Party have been met, each Party shall provide for the release of perishable goods in an expedited manner.

In accordance with international standards customs authorities of the Parties shall endeavour to facilitate the performance of customs operations for the customs procedure for temporary admission of goods and goods temporary imported and exported for inward or outward processing.

1. Preshipment inspection activities are all activities relating to the verification of the quality, the quantity, the price, including currency exchange rate and financial terms of goods to be exported to the territory of the Party.

2. The Parties shall not require the use of pre-shipment inspections in relation to tariff classification and customs valuation.

3. Without prejudice to the rights of the Parties to use other types of preshipment inspection not covered by paragraph 2 of this Article the Parties are encouraged not to introduce or apply new requirements regarding preshipment inspection and, to the extent possible, eliminate existing requirements in order to facilitate trade between the Parties.

The customs laws and regulations of each Party shall enable declarants to submit their customs declaration without requiring mandatory recourse to the services of customs agents.

1. The customs authorities of the Parties shall, to the extent possible, ensure that customs operations may be performed with the use of information systems and information technologies, including those based on electronic means of communication provided that all information security measures are ensured.

2. The central customs authorities of the Parties shall, to the extent possible, provide declarants an opportunity to declare goods in electronic form and make electronic systems accessible to customs users.

All information provided in accordance with this Chapter, excluding statistics, shall be treated by the Parties as confidential in accordance with the respective laws and regulations of the Parties. It shall not be disclosed by the authorities of the Parties without the written permission of the person or authority of the Party providing such information except to the extent that it may be required to be disclosed in the context of judicial proceedings.

Each Party shall ensure the possibility of administrative review of customs decisions affecting rights of interested person and judicial appeal against such decisions in accordance with the laws and regulations of such Party.

1. Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures that allow for the imposition of administrative penalties for violations of its customs laws and regulations during importation and exportation, including provisions on tariff classification, customs valuation, determination of country of origin and obtaining preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement.

2. Each Party shall ensure that penalties for a breach of a customs law, regulation, or procedural requirement are imposed only on the person(s) responsible for the breach under its laws.

3. The penalty imposed shall depend on the facts and circumstances of the case and shall be commensurate with the degree and severity of the breach.

4. Each Party shall ensure that it maintains measures to avoid:

(a) conflicts of interest in the assessment and collection of penalties and duties; and

(b) creating an incentive for the assessment or collection of a penalty that is inconsistent with paragraph 3 of this Article.

5. Each Party shall ensure that when a penalty is imposed for a breach of customs laws, regulations, or procedural requirements, an explanation in writing is provided to the person(s) upon whom the penalty is imposed specifying the nature of the breach and the applicable law, regulation or procedure under which the amount or range of penalty for the breach has been prescribed.

6. When a person voluntarily discloses to a Parties' customs administration the circumstances of a breach of a customs law, regulation, or procedural requirement prior to the discovery of the breach by the customs administration, the Party is encouraged to, where appropriate, consider this fact as a potential mitigating factor when establishing a penalty for that person.

The EAEU Member States and the EAEU shall refrain from raising any claims under Article 7.6 of this Agreement for the period of 12 months from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

The objective of this Chapter is to provide for an effective and transparent process for the settlement of the disputes arising under this Agreement to arrive at, where possible, a mutually acceptable solution.

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "Complainant" means a disputing Party to have filed a request for dispute settlement proceedings under Articles 8.5, 8.6 and 8.7 of this Agreement;

(b) "disputing Parties" means the complaining Party (Complainant) and the responding Party (Respondent). The EAEU Member States and the EAEU may act jointly or individually as a disputing Party. In the latter case, if a measure is taken by the EAEU, it shall be a disputing Party, and if a measure is taken by a EAEU Member State, the concerned State shall be a disputing Party;

(c) "notification" means an official document with information on ongoing events and procedures, which shall be sent by the Parties in cases provided for in this Chapter;

(d) "Respondent" means a disputing Party to have received a request for dispute settlement proceedings under Articles 8.5, 8.6 and 8.7 of this Agreement.

Except as otherwise explicitly provided for in this Agreement, the provisions of this Chapter shall apply to settlement of the disputes arising from the interpretation and/or application of this Agreement.

1. The disputing Parties may at any time agree to good offices, conciliation or mediation. Procedures for good offices, conciliation or mediation may begin at any time and be terminated at any time upon the request by either disputing Party.

2. If the disputing Parties so agree, good offices, conciliation or mediation may continue while the proceedings of the Arbitral Panel provided for in this Chapter are in progress.

3. Proceedings involving good offices, conciliation and mediation, and in particular positions taken by the disputing Parties during those proceedings, shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of either disputing Party in any further proceeding.

1. Any Party may request consultations with any other Party with respect to any matter arising under this Agreement, which falls under the requirements of Article 8.3 of this Agreement. The Parties shall make every attempt to reach a mutually satisfactory solution through consultations for any matter raised in accordance with this Chapter.

2. A request for consultations shall be made in writing via the designated Contact Point under this Agreement as well as to the Joint Committee. The requesting Party shall circulate the request to the other Parties respectively via designated contact points. The request shall set out the reasons for it, including identification of any measure or other matter at issue and an indication of the legal basis for the request (relevant provisions of this Agreement).

3. Upon the receipt of the request for consultations the Respondent shall:

(a) reply to the request in writing within 10 days from the date of the receipt by its contact point; and

(b) enter into consultations in good faith within 30 days, or within 10 days in cases of urgency, including those concerning perishable goods, from the date of the receipt of the request with a view to reaching a prompt and mutually satisfactory solution of the matter.

4. Periods of time set in the paragraph 3 of this Article may be changed by mutual agreement of the disputing Parties.

5. The consultations shall be confidential and without prejudice to rights of either disputing Party in any further proceedings.

6. Consultations shall take place, unless otherwise agreed by the disputing Parties, on the territory of the Respondent. Consultations may be held fully or partially by means of remote communication, including, inter alia, video conference, upon mutual consent by the disputing Parties.

1. The Complainant may request the establishment of an Arbitral Panel:

(a) if the Respondent does not comply with the periods of time set in accordance with Article 8.5 of this Agreement; or

(b) if the disputing Parties fail to settle the dispute through consultations within 60 days, or within 20 days in cases of urgency, including those concerning perishable goods, from the date of receipt of the request for such consultations.

2. The request for the establishment of an Arbitral Panel shall be made in writing by the Complainant to the Respondent via the designated Contact Point in accordance with this Agreement as well as to the Joint Committee. The notification on the request for the establishment of an Arbitral Panel shall be circulated to the other Parties by the Complainant in written form via the designated contact points. The request shall indicate whether the consultations were held, identify the specific measures at issue and provide a brief summary of the legal basis of the complaint sufficient to present the problem clearly.

3. The requirements and procedures specified in this Article may be changed by mutual agreement of the disputing Parties.

1. The Arbitral Panel shall consist of three members.

2. Within 30 days from receipt of the request to establish an Arbitral Panel by the Respondent, each disputing Party shall appoint an arbitrator and notify the other disputing Party on such appointment in writing via designated contact points.

3. Within 15 days from the appointment of the second arbitrator, the appointed arbitrators shall choose the third arbitrator - the Chair of the Arbitral Panel - who shall not fall under any of the following criteria:

(a) being a national of a EAEU Member State or I.R. Iran; or

(b) having usual place of residence in the territory of a EAEU Member State or I.R. Iran; or

(c) being a national of a state, which does not have diplomatic relations with any of the EAEU Member States or I.R. Iran.

4. If the third arbitrator has not been appointed within the period of time specified in paragraph 3 of this Article, the disputing Parties shall appoint a third arbitrator to be the Chair of the Arbitral Panel by mutual consent within 30 days.

5. If the necessary appointments have not been made within the periods of time specified in paragraphs 2 and 4 of this Article, either disputing Party may, unless otherwise agreed by the disputing Parties, invite the President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to be the appointing authority.

In the event that the President of the International Court of Justice is a national of an EAEU Member State or I.R. Iran, the Vice-President of the International Court of Justice or the officer next in seniority who is not such a national shall be requested to make the necessary appointments.

6. All arbitrators shall:

(a) have expertise and/or experience in law, international trade, other matters covered by this Agreement, or the resolution of disputes arising under international trade agreements;

(b) be chosen strictly on the basis of objectivity, impartiality, reliability and sound judgment;

(c) be independent of, and not be affiliated with or take instructions from a Party; and

(d) disclose to the disputing Parties any direct or indirect conflicts of interest in respect of the matter at hand.

7. Individuals shall not act as arbitrators for a dispute if they have previously been involved in the dispute with any capacity.

8. If an arbitrator appointed under this Article resigns or becomes unable to act, a successor arbitrator shall be appointed within 15 days in accordance with the procedure as prescribed for the appointment of the original arbitrator and the successor shall have all the powers and duties of the original arbitrator. Any period of time applicable to the proceeding shall be suspended beginning on the date the arbitrator resigns or becomes unable to act and ending on the date a replacement is selected.

9. The date of establishment of the Arbitral Panel shall be the date of the appointment of the Chair of the Arbitral Panel.

10. The requirements and procedures specified in this Article may be changed by mutual agreement of the disputing Parties.

1. The functions of an Arbitral Panel are to make an objective assessment of the dispute before it, including an objective assessment of the facts of the case and the applicability of and conformity with this Agreement, and to make such findings and rulings necessary for the resolution of the dispute referred to it as it deems appropriate as well as to determine at the request of a disputing Party the conformity of any implementing measures and/or relevant suspension of benefits with its final report.

2. The findings and rulings of an Arbitral Panel cannot add to or diminish the rights and obligations of the Parties provided for in this Agreement.

1. The Arbitral Panel proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

2. Subject to paragraph 1 of this Article, the Arbitral Panel shall establish its own procedures in relation to the rights of the disputing Parties to be heard and its deliberations in consultation with the disputing Parties. The disputing Parties in consultation with the Arbitral Panel may agree to adopt additional rules and procedures not inconsistent with the provisions of this Article.

3. After consulting the disputing Parties, the Arbitral Panel shall as soon as practicable and but not later than within 10 days after its establishment, fix the timetable for the Arbitral Panel process. The timetable shall include precise deadlines for written submissions by the disputing Parties. Modifications to such timetable may be made by mutual agreement of the disputing Parties in consultation with the Arbitral Panel.

4. Upon request of a disputing Party or on its own initiative, the Arbitral Panel may, at its discretion, seek information and/or technical advice from any individual or body which it deems appropriate. However, before the Arbitral Panel seeks such information and/or advice, it shall inform the disputing Parties. Any information and/or technical advice so obtained shall be submitted to the disputing Parties for comment. Where the Arbitral Panel takes the information and/or technical advice into account in the preparation of its report, it shall also take into account any comment by the disputing Parties on the information and/or technical advice.

5. The Arbitral Panel shall make its procedural decisions, findings and rulings by consensus, provided that where the Arbitral Panel is unable to reach consensus such procedural decisions, findings and rulings may be made by majority vote. The Arbitral Panel shall not disclose which arbitrators are associated with majority or minority opinions.

6. The Arbitral Panel shall meet in closed session. The disputing Parties shall be present at the meetings only when invited by the Arbitral Panel to appear before it.

7. The hearings of the Arbitral Panel shall be closed to the public, unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise.

8. The disputing Parties shall be given the opportunity to attend any of the presentations, statements or rebuttals in the proceedings. Any information provided or written submission made by a disputing Party to the Arbitral Panel, including any comment on the descriptive part of the initial report and response to the questions put by the Arbitral Panel, shall be made available to the other disputing Party.

9. The deliberations of the Arbitral Panel and the documents submitted to it shall be kept confidential.

10. Nothing in this Chapter shall preclude a disputing Party from disclosing statements of its own positions to the public. A disputing Party shall treat as confidential information submitted by the other disputing Party to the Arbitral Panel which that other disputing Party has designated as confidential. A disputing Party shall also, upon request of a Party, provide a non-confidential summary of the information contained in its written submissions that could be disclosed to the public.

11. The venue for hearings shall be decided by mutual agreement of the disputing Parties. If there is no agreement, the venue shall alternate between the capitals of the disputing Parties with the first hearing to be held in the capital of the Respondent.

Unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise within 20 days from the date of receipt of the request for the establishment of the Arbitral Panel, the terms of reference shall be: "To examine, in the light of the relevant provisions of this Agreement, the matter referred to in the request for the establishment of an Arbitral Panel pursuant to Article 8.6 of this Agreement and to make findings and rulings of law and fact together with the reasons therefore for the resolution of the dispute."

1. The Arbitral Panel shall be terminated upon the joint request of the disputing Parties. In such event, the disputing Parties shall jointly notify the Chair of the Arbitral Panel and the Joint Committee.

2. The Arbitral Panel shall, upon the joint request of the disputing Parties, suspend its work at any time for a period not exceeding 12 consecutive months from the date of receipt of such joint request. In such event, the disputing Parties shall jointly notify the Chair of the Arbitral Panel. Within this period, either disputing Party may authorize the Arbitral Panel to resume its work by notifying the Chair of the Arbitral Panel and the other disputing Party. In that event, all relevant periods of time set out in this Chapter shall be extended by the amount of time that the work has been suspended for. If the work of the Arbitral Panel has been suspended for more than 12 consecutive months, the Arbitral Panel shall be terminated.

3. The authority for establishment of a new Arbitral Panel by the original disputing Parties on the same matter referred to in the request for the establishment of the original Arbitral Panel shall lapse unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise.

1. The reports of the Arbitral Panel shall be drafted without presence of the disputing Parties and shall be based on the relevant provisions of this Agreement, the submissions and arguments of the disputing Parties and any information and/or technical advice provided to it in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 8.9 of this Agreement.

2. The Arbitral Panel shall issue its initial report within 90 days, or 60 days in cases of urgency, including those concerning perishable goods, from the date of establishment of the Arbitral Panel. The initial report shall contain, inter alia, both the descriptive sections and the Arbitral Panel's findings and conclusions.

3. In exceptional circumstances, if the Arbitral Panel considers it cannot issue its initial report within the periods of time specified in paragraph 2 of this Article, it shall inform the disputing Parties in writing of the reasons for the delay together with an estimate of the period of time within which it will issue its initial report. Any delay shall not exceed a further period of 30 days unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise.

4. A disputing Party may submit written comments on the initial report to the Arbitral Panel within 15 days of receiving the initial report unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise.

5. After considering any written comment by the disputing Parties and making any further examination it considers necessary, the Arbitral Panel shall present to the disputing Parties its final report within 30 days of issuance of the initial report, unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise.

6. If in its final report, the Arbitral Panel finds that a disputing Party's measure violates this Agreement, it shall include in its rulings a recommendation to remove the violation.

7. The disputing Parties shall release the final report of the Arbitral Panel as a public document within 15 days from the date of its issuance, subject to the protection of confidential information, unless any disputing Party objects. In this case the final report shall still be released for all Parties to this Agreement.

8. The final award of the Arbitral Panel shall be accepted unconditionally by disputing Parties with regard to a particular dispute. It shall not create any rights or obligations with respect to natural or legal persons.

1. The disputing Parties shall immediately comply with the rulings of the Arbitral Panel. Where it is not practicable to comply immediately, the disputing Parties shall comply with the rulings within a reasonable period of time. The reasonable period of time shall be mutually determined by the disputing Parties. Where the disputing Parties fail to agree on the reasonable period of time within 45 days of the issuance of the Arbitral Panel's final report, either disputing Party may refer the matter to the original Arbitral Panel, which shall determine the reasonable period of time after consulting with the disputing Parties.

2. Where there is disagreement between the disputing Parties as to whether a disputing Party has eliminated the non-conformity as determined in the report of the Arbitral Panel within the reasonable period of time as determined pursuant to this Article, the other disputing Party may refer the matter to the original Arbitral Panel.

3. The Arbitral Panel shall issue its report within 60 days from the date on which the matter referred to in paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article was submitted for its consideration. The report shall contain the determination of the Arbitral Panel and the reasons for its determination. When the Arbitral Panel considers that it cannot issue its report within this period of time, it shall inform the disputing Parties in writing of the reasons for the delay together with an estimate of the period of time within which it will issue its report. Any delay shall not exceed a further period of 30 days unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise.

4. The disputing Parties may at all times continue to seek mutually satisfactory resolution on the implementation of the final report of the Arbitral Panel.

1. If a disputing Party does not comply with the rulings of the Arbitral Panel within the reasonable period of time determined in accordance with Article 8.13 of this Agreement, or notifies the other disputing Party that it does not intend to do so, and/or if the original Arbitral Panel determines that a disputing Party did not comply with the rulings of the Arbitral Panel in accordance with Article 8.13 of this Agreement, such disputing Party shall, if so requested by the other disputing Party, enter into consultations with a view to agreeing on a mutually acceptable compensation. If no such agreement has been reached within 20 days from the receipt of the request, the other disputing Party shall be entitled to suspend the application of benefits granted under this Agreement in respect of the Respondent but only equivalent to those affected by the measure that the Arbitral Panel has found not to be in conformity with this Agreement.

2. In considering what benefits to suspend, a disputing Party should first seek to suspend benefits in the same sector or sectors as that affected by the measure that the Arbitral Panel has found not to be in conformity with this Agreement. If such disputing Party considers that it is not practicable or effective to suspend benefits in the same sector or sectors it may suspend benefits in other sectors.

3. A disputing Party shall notify the other disputing Party of the benefits which it intends to suspend, the grounds for such suspension and when suspension will commence at least 30 days before the date on which the suspension is due to take effect. Within 15 days from the receipt of such notification, the other disputing Party may request the original Arbitral Panel to rule on whether the benefits which a disputing Party intends to suspend are equivalent to those affected by the measure found not to be in conformity with this Agreement, and whether the proposed suspension is in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article. The rulings of the Arbitral Panel shall be given within 45 days from the receipt of such request and shall be final and binding to the disputing Parties. Benefits shall not be suspended until the Arbitral Panel has issued its rulings.

4. Compensation and/or suspension of benefits shall be temporary and shall not be preferred to full elimination of the non-conformity as determined in the final report of the Arbitral Panel. Compensation and/or suspension shall only be applied by a disputing Party until the measure found not to be in conformity with this Agreement has been withdrawn or amended so as to bring it into conformity with this Agreement, or until the disputing Parties have resolved the dispute otherwise.

5. Upon request of a disputing Party, the original Arbitral Panel shall rule on the conformity with the final report of any implementing measure adopted after the suspension of benefits and, in light of such rulings, whether the suspension of benefits should be terminated or modified. The rulings of the Arbitral Panel shall be made within 30 days from the date of the receipt of such request.

1. Unless the disputing Parties agree otherwise:

(a) each disputing Party shall bear the costs of its appointed arbitrator, its own expenses and legal costs; and

(b) the costs of the Chair of the Arbitral Panel and other expenses associated with the conduct of its proceedings shall be borne in equal parts by the disputing Parties.

2. Upon request of a disputing Party, the Arbitral Panel may decide on the expenses referred to in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article taking into account the particular circumstances of the case.

1. All proceedings and documents pursuant to this Chapter shall be in English.

2. Any document submitted for use in the proceedings pursuant to this Chapter shall be in English. If any original document is not in English, the disputing Party submitting it shall provide an English translation of such document.

Any time limit referred to in this Chapter may be adjusted by mutual agreement of disputing Parties.

1. The Parties recognize the importance of cooperation in the field of government procurement and cooperate for the purposes of greater transparency in the field of government procurement.

2. The Parties shall cooperate in particular in such areas:

(a) exchanging experience and information, such as laws and regulations, practices and statistics;

(b) developing the electronic forms of government procurement;

(c) strengthening interaction of the competent authorities in issues related to the government procurement;

(d) developing secure trusted space in e-procurement including facilitation of electronic document flow in government procurement;

(e) creating favourable and equitable environment to access information on government procurement of the other Parties;

(f) other areas of interest to the Parties.

1. The Parties shall publish their respective laws and regulations and information on government procurement in the sources listed in Annex 6 to this Agreement. In order to provide greater transparency, the Parties shall ensure public access to these sources of information.

2. The Parties shall publish in electronic form the available information about government procurement (notice on procurement bid, procurement documentation, changes to such notices and documentation, clarifications of the procurement documentation, protocols drawn up in the procurement process, information on procurement results) in the official language of the Parties.

3. The Parties shall publish any significant changes to the relevant laws and regulations and/or government procurement procedures in the sources listed in Annex 6 to this Agreement or notify each other of such changes by other means as soon as possible.

4. Each Party shall endeavour to expand the content of electronically published information on government procurement.

1. The provisions of this Chapter shall not be subject to disputes in accordance with Chapter 8 of this Agreement.

2. On request of a Party, the other Party shall provide within a reasonable period of time clarification on the issues related to government procurement.

3. For all matters concerning the application of this Chapter in the relations between the Parties, including in the event of any disagreement related to its interpretation and application, consultations shall be held upon request of either Party.

4. A request for such consultations shall be submitted to the other Party's contact point established under Article 9.4 of this Agreement. Unless the Parties agree otherwise, they shall hold consultations within 60 days from the date of receipt of the request.

5. Consultations can be conducted in the form of a meeting or by other means agreed by the Parties.

1. Each Party shall designate a contact point to monitor the implementation of this Chapter. The contact points shall work collaboratively to facilitate the implementation of this Chapter.

2. The Parties shall provide each other with the names and contact details of their contact points.

3. The Parties shall promptly notify each other of any change to their contact points.

The objectives of this Chapter are to:

(a) foster cooperation between the Parties and between economic operators of the Parties in areas of mutual interest that may include, inter alia, transport, research, innovation, MSMEs, energy, education, healthcare, environment, telecommunications, construction, automotive industries, special economic zones operations;

(b) create new value added chains;

(c) facilitate the implementation of joint projects;

(d) contribute to trade turnover increase;

(e) develop transit potential.

1. The cooperation executed in accordance with this Chapter shall be built upon:

(a) mutual benefit;

(b) respect of national interests of the Parties and their laws and regulations;

(c) fair competition;

(d) transparency and

shall be carried out taking into account national priorities of the Parties and available resources and without prejudice to existing or planned bilateral cooperation initiatives between the EAEU Members States and I.R. Iran.

2. The means of cooperation executed in accordance with this Chapter may include, on initiative and at will of the Parties:

(a) promotion of cooperation in the field of transport, including joint development of transport and logistic infrastructure and transport corridors;

(b) development of multimodal (combined) transportation;

(c) joint projects in the field of research, development and innovations;

(d) establishment of cooperation ties between enterprises of the Parties;

(e) implementation of joint projects in the field of exploration, production and transportation of oil and gas, refining, petrochemical, and other sectors of fuel and energy complex using modern technologies;

(f) facilitation of technologies and innovations exchange in the energy field;

(g) promotion of cooperation in the field of energy efficiency, energy saving and renewable energy sources;

(h) facilitation of cooperation in the field of education;

(i) promotion of cooperation in the field of medicine and medical technologies in order to develop innovative, competitive and efficient healthcare;

(j) promotion of cooperation in the field of green growth;

(k) development and modernization of telecommunications.

The Parties agree to strengthen cooperation by means of:

(a) information exchange and consultations, as well as information support for businesses of the Parties;

(b) promotion of dialogue and communication between businesses of the Parties;

(c) facilitation of joint projects;

(d) joint forums to discuss issues of sectoral cooperation, joint fairs, international workshops and scientific conferences;

(e) exchange of experience in training of experts on matters covered by this Chapter.

1. The Parties may consider establishing sub-committees or ad hoc working groups under the Joint Committee established in accordance with Article 1.5 of this Agreement to promote cooperation under this Chapter.

2. The establishment and level of such sub-committees or ad hoc working groups shall be agreed upon by the relevant authorities of the Parties on their own.

1. With respect to each area of sectoral cooperation referred to in Article 10.1 of this Agreement the relevant authorities of the Parties shall designate contact points to communicate on any matters arising from the implementation of this Chapter. The contact points' functions shall include the following:

(a) providing information exchange within the scope of this Chapter;

(b) receiving and making requests for cooperation within the scope of this Chapter and providing relevant responses;

(c) maintaining a list of cooperation projects agreed pursuant to Article 10.3 of this Agreement;

(d) receiving and making requests for consultations under Article 10.6 of this Agreement and providing relevant responses;

(e) providing information pursuant to reasonable requests of interested authorities of the other Party on matters covered by this Chapter.

2. The Parties shall provide each other with the names and contact details of their contact points.

3. Each Party shall promptly notify the other Party of any change to its contact point.

1. To foster mutual understanding between the Parties or to address specific issues that arise under this Chapter, each Party shall, upon request of the other Party, enter into consultations on issues that arise under this Chapter and are raised by the other Party. The requested Party shall accord full and comprehensive consideration to the request for consultations of other Party as promptly as reasonably possible.

2. To facilitate discussion of the issue that is the subject of the consultations, each Party shall endeavour to provide relevant non-confidential information to the other Party.

3. Consultations shall be conducted in the forms of a meeting or through other means as agreed by the Parties.

For the purposes of effective implementation and operation of this Agreement and deepening collaboration in the field of facilitation and cost-effectiveness of transit, a Sub-Committee on Transport Cooperation and Transit comprising representatives of each Party shall be established. The Sub-Committee on Transport Cooperation and Transit shall meet at such time and venue as may be agreed by the Parties but no later than one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement. The Sub-Committee on Transport Cooperation and Transit shall report its findings to the Joint Committee.

Chapter 8 of this Agreement shall not apply to this Chapter, and neither Party shall have recourse to dispute settlement under Chapter 8 of this Agreement for any matter arising under this Chapter.

All annexes and additional protocols to this Agreement shall be regarded as integral part of this Agreement.

This Agreement shall enter into force 60 days from the date of receipt of the last written notification certifying that the EAEU Member States and I.R. Iran have completed their respective internal legal procedures required by national law, including the adoption of a decision on the expression of consent of the EAEU to be bound by an international treaty between the EAEU and a third party in accordance with Article 7 of the Treaty on the EAEU. Such notifications shall be made between the Eurasian Economic Commission and I.R. Iran.

This Agreement may be amended by mutual written consent of the Parties. All amendments shall enter into force according to the provisions of Article 11.2 of this Agreement. All amendments shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement.

1. The Eurasian Economic Commission shall promptly notify I.R. Iran of any third country receiving the status of the candidate for membership in the EAEU and of any accession to the EAEU.

2. A new Member State of the EAEU shall accede to this Agreement as mutually agreed by the Parties. Such accession shall be done through an additional protocol to this Agreement.

1. Each Party may withdraw from this Agreement by giving a six-month advance notice in writing to the other Party.

2. This Agreement shall terminate for any EAEU Member State which withdraws from the Treaty on the EAEU. Any EAEU Member State, which withdraws from the Treaty on the EAEU shall ipso facto cease to be a party to this Agreement on the same date as the withdrawal from the Treaty on the EAEU takes effect. I.R. Iran shall be notified in writing by the Eurasian Economic Union of any such withdrawal 6 months in advance of the date such withdrawal should take place. In case of such a withdrawal from the Agreement each Party may propose to amend this Agreement in accordance with the procedure established by Article 11.3 of this Agreement.

3. If an EAEU Member State withdraws from this Agreement pursuant to Paragraph 2 of this Article, this Agreement shall remain in force for the EAEU and remaining EAEU Member States and I.R. Iran.

Done at Saint-Petersburg, on this 25th day of December 2023, corresponding to 4th day of Dey of 1402 of Iranian Calendar, in two originals in the English language, both texts being equally authentic.

For the purposes of this Annex:

1. For both Schedules of Tariff Commitments of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Islamic Republic of Iran bound rate of customs duty of 0% shall be applied for all goods from the date of entry into force of the Agreement except as otherwise provided for in Sections 1 and 2 of this Annex.

2. For the purposes of columns "Tariff preferences" and "Out of Quota Rate of Custom Duty" in respective subsections of Sections 1 and 2 of this Annex "MFN" means a rate of a customs duty applied by a Party with respect to a particular good of any third country, except as provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 2.1 of this Agreement.

3. In cases when preferential treatment is set in columns "Tariff Preferences" or "Out of Quota Rate of Custom Duty", in respective subsections of Sections 1 and 2 of this Annex a Party shall apply preferential customs duty rates to originating goods of the other Party according to the following formula:

where:

"Reduction" means the respective value referred to in columns "Tariff preferences" or "Out of Quota Rate of Custom Duty" in respective subsections of Sections 1 and 2 of this Annex and means the percentage reduction applied for calculation of a preferential customs duty rate.

"MFN" means a rate of a customs duty applied by a Party with respect to a particular good of any third country, except as provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 2.1 of this Agreement.

4. When calculating a preferential customs duty rate, ad valorem duty shall be rounded down to one decimal place, specific duty shall be rounded down to three decimal place.

5. In no case a rate of a preferential customs duty shall be higher than the respective bound rate referred to in columns "Tariff Preference" and "Out of Quota Rate of Custom Duty" in respective subsections of Sections 1 and 2 of this Annex.

For the purposes of this Section "HS Code" and "Description" refer to the relevant subheadings of nomenclature of the Eurasian Economic Union and its corresponding description in effect as of 31.12.2021.

For the purposes of this Section "HS Code" and "Description" refer to the relevant subheadings of nomenclature of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its corresponding description in effect as of 31.12.2021.