Appendix II

Chapter C ter
Technical Barriers to Trade

Article C ter-01: Scope

1. 

(a)  This Chapter applies to the preparation, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures of any national and provincial government body that may affect the trade in goods between the Parties.

(b)  Each Party shall take reasonable measures as may be available to it to ensure compliance by provincial government bodies with this Chapter.

2.  This Chapter does not apply to:

(a)  a purchasing specification prepared by a governmental body for production or consumption requirements of such bodies; or

(b)  sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

Article C ter-02: Incorporation of the TBT Agreement

The TBT Agreement, excluding Articles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. 1, 14. 4 and 15, is hereby incorporated into and made part of this Chapter, mutatis mutandis.

Article C ter-03: Joint Cooperation

1. The Parties shall strengthen their joint cooperation in the areas of technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures in order to facilitate trade between the Parties.  In particular, the Parties shall seek to identify bilateral initiatives that are appropriate for particular issues or sectors, including initiatives for cooperation on:

(a) convergence or equivalence of technical regulations and standards;

(b) alignment with international standards;

(c) reliance on a supplier’s declaration of conformity; and

(d) accreditation of conformity assessment bodies of the Parties, as well as cooperation between conformity assessment bodies.

2. The Parties recognize that a wide range of mechanisms exist to support regulatory harmonization and to eliminate unnecessary technical barriers to trade between the Parties, including mechanisms that promote:

(a) regulatory dialogue and cooperation to, inter alia:

(i) exchange information on regulatory approaches and practices;

(ii) develop good regulatory practices to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures;

(iii) provide technical advice to the other Party on mutually agreed terms and conditions, on the improvement of practices related to the development, implementation and review of technical regulations, standards, conformity assessment procedures and metrology; or

(iv) build capacity and support for the implementation of this Chapter on mutually agreed terms and conditions;

(b) harmonization of national standards with relevant international standards, except where inappropriate or ineffective; 

(c) greater use of relevant international standards, guides, and recommendations as the basis for the Parties’ respective technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures; and

(d) equivalence of technical regulations of the other Party.

3. The Parties shall seek to strengthen their exchange of information and collaboration on mechanisms that facilitate the acceptance of conformity assessment results, to support greater regulatory harmonization and to eliminate unnecessary technical barriers to trade.

4. At the request of a Party, the other Party shall give favourable consideration to any reasonable sector-specific proposal the Party makes for cooperation under this Chapter.

5. The Parties shall encourage cooperation between their respective bodies, including both public and private bodies that are responsible for standardization, conformity assessment, and accreditation, with a view to addressing issues related to this Chapter.

Article C ter-04: International Standards

In determining whether an international standard, guide, or recommendation exists within the meaning of Articles 2 or 5 or Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement, each Party shall consider the principles set out in the Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade since January 1, 1995 (G/TBT/1/Rev. 12, January 21, 2015) , or a successor document issued by the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Article C ter-05: Technical Regulations

1. If a Party does not accept a technical regulation of the other Party as equivalent to its own, it shall provide the reason for its decision to the other Party at that Party’s request.

2. If a Party detains at a port of entry a good that is imported from the territory of the other Party on the basis that the good may not comply with a technical regulation, it shall notify, without undue delay, the importer of the reasons for the detention of the good.

Article C ter-06: Conformity Assessment

1. The Parties recognize that there is a broad range of mechanisms to facilitate the acceptance in the Party’s territory of the results of conformity assessment procedures that are conducted in the other Party’s territory.  These mechanisms may include:

(a) the reliance by the importing Party on a supplier’s declaration of conformity;

(b) voluntary arrangements between conformity assessment bodies to accept the results of each other’s assessment procedures when the bodies are located in the territory of the other Party;

(c) accreditation procedures for qualifying conformity assessment bodies that are located in the territory of the other Party;

(d) designation of conformity assessment bodies that are located in the territory of the other Party; and

(e) recognition of the results of conformity assessment procedures that are conducted in the territory of the other Party.

2. Further to Article 6. 4 of the TBT Agreement, each Party shall accord to conformity assessment bodies located in the territory of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that accorded to bodies located in its own territory or the territory of a non-Party.  In order to ensure that it accords such treatment, each Party shall apply to conformity assessment bodies located in the territory of the other Party the same or equivalent procedures, criteria and other conditions that it applies where it accredits, approves, licenses or otherwise recognizes conformity assessment bodies located in its own territory.

3. Paragraph 2 does not preclude a Party from undertaking conformity assessment of specific products solely by government bodies located in its own territory or in the other Party’s territory, nor from verifying the results of conformity assessment procedures undertaken by conformity assessment bodies located outside its territory.

4. If a Party undertakes a conformity assessment procedure pursuant to paragraph 3 and pursuant to Articles 5. 2 and 5. 4 of the TBT Agreement concerning limitation on information requirements, the protection of legitimate commercial interests, and the adequacy of review procedures, the Party shall, at the request of the other Party, explain:

(a) why the information required is necessary to assess conformity and determine fees;

(b) how the Party ensures that the confidentiality of the information is respected in a manner that ensures that legitimate commercial interests are protected; and

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

5. Further to Article 5. 2. 5 of the TBT Agreement, each Party shall limit any conformity assessment fees imposed by the Party to the approximate cost of the services rendered to do the assessment.

6. Further to Article 9. 1 of the TBT Agreement, the Parties shall:

(a) consider adopting provisions for accreditation bodies to approve conformity assessment bodies that are signatory to an international or regional mutual recognition arrangement or agreement; and

(b) recognize that such arrangements or agreements can address the key considerations for the approval of conformity assessment bodies, including technical competence, independence, and the avoidance of conflict of interest.

7. If a Party accredits, approves, licenses or otherwise recognizes a body that assesses conformity with a specific technical regulation or standard in its territory and that Party refuses to accredit, approve, license or otherwise recognize a body that assesses conformity with that technical regulation or standard in the territory of the other Party, it shall, on request of the other Party, provide the reasons for its decision.

8. If a Party does not accept the results of a conformity assessment procedure that is conducted in the territory of the other Party it shall, on request of that other Party, provide the reasons for its decision.

9. Further to Article 6. 3 of the TBT Agreement, if a Party declines the other Party’s request to engage in negotiations or to conclude an arrangement or agreement for mutual recognition of the results of the other Party’s conformity assessment procedures it shall, on the request of the other Party, provide the reasons for its decision.

Article C ter-07: Transparency

1. The obligations in this Article supplement those set out in Chapter L (Publication, Notification and Administration of Laws) .  In the event of an inconsistency between this Article and the obligations in Chapter L, this Article prevails.

2. A Party shall ensure that transparency procedures for the development of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures allow an interested person to participate at an early appropriate stage, when amendments can still be introduced and comments taken into account, except when urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection, or national security arise or threaten to arise.  If a consultation process of a Party for the development of technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures is open to the public, each Party shall permit a person of the other Party to participate on terms no less favourable than those accorded to its own persons.

3. A Party shall recommend to standardization bodies in its territory to observe paragraph 2 with respect to the consultation processes for the development of a standard or voluntary conformity assessment procedure.

4. A Party shall allow a period of at least 60 days following its notification to the WTO’s Central Registry of Notifications of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures for the public and the other Party to provide written comments, except where urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection or national security arise or threaten to arise.

5. A Party shall, at the request of the other Party, provide information regarding the objectives of, and rationale for, a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedure that the Party has adopted or is proposing to adopt.

6. A Party shall ensure that its adopted technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures are posted on official websites that are publicly accessible without charge.

7. A Party shall provide to the other Party, in print or electronic form, any information or reason requested by that Party pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter within a reasonable time.  A Party shall endeavour to respond to a request by the other Party within 60 days. 

Article C ter-08: Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade

1. The Parties hereby establish the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (the “Committee”)  composed of representatives of each Party as follows:

(a) for Chile, the General Directorate of International Economic Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or its successor; and

(b) for Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, or its successor.

2. The Committee’s functions shall include:

(a) monitoring the implementation and administration of this Chapter;

(b) promptly addressing any issue that a Party raises under this Chapter or the TBT Agreement related to the development, adoption or application of technical regulations, standards, or conformity assessment procedures;

(c) as appropriate, establishing regulatory cooperation initiatives which may include specific sectoral sub-committees with the goal of enhancing mutual understanding and facilitating trade between the Parties;

(d) overseeing enhancement of joint cooperation in the development and improvement of technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures, as outlined in Article C ter-03(1) ;

(e) exchanging information regarding technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures;

(f) at a Party’s written request, managing consultations on any matter arising under this Chapter;

(g) reviewing this Chapter in the light of any developments under the TBT Agreement;

(h) taking other steps that the Parties consider will assist them in implementing this Chapter or the TBT Agreement, and in facilitating trade between the Parties; and

(i) developing and maintaining a list of arrangements or agreements referred to in Article C ter-06(6) .

3. Consultations under subparagraph 2

(f)  constitute consultations under Article N-06 (Consultations)  of Chapter N (Institutional Arrangements and Dispute Settlement Procedures)  and are governed by the procedures set out in Section II (Dispute Settlement)  of that Chapter.

4. The Committee shall meet as required in order to fulfill its functions as they relate to this Chapter.

5. The representatives of the Committee may communicate by electronic mail, video conference or other means as determined by the Parties.

Article C ter-09: Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Chapter, TBT Agreement means the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.

2. Except where this Agreement, including the incorporated provisions of the TBT Agreement pursuant to Article C ter-02, defines or gives a meaning to specific terms, the general terms applying to standardization and conformity assessment procedures 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 Agreement.

Annex C ter-01

Icewine

A Party shall permit wine to be labeled as “Icewine”, “ice wine”, “ice-wine” or a similar variation of those terms only if the wine is made exclusively from grapes naturally frozen on the vine.

Annex C ter-02

Organic Products

Scope

1. For the purposes of this Annex, organic products are:

(a) food and drink intended for human consumption and food intended to feed livestock, including agricultural crops used for those purposes; and

(b) certified under the current certification system of each Party.

Objectives

2. The objectives of this Annex, consistent with Articles C ter-03 and C ter-06, are to:

(a) facilitate trade in organic products between the Parties; and

(b) strengthen communication and cooperation between the Parties relating to organic products.

3. Each Party, through its competent authority, shall continue to work towards determining the equivalency of the other Party’s organic certification system with its own.  In that regard, a Party shall consider any changes to its existing organic certification system.  A Party shall notify the other Party of any change to its organic certification system in conformity with Article C ter-07.

Communication on Organics Issues

4. The Parties may:

(a) exchange information on matters relating to the certification of organic products and related control systems;

(b) cooperate with each other to develop, improve and strengthen international guidelines, standards and recommendations related to trade in organic products;

(c) request information on the other Party’s progress towards the determination of the equivalency of the other Party's organic certification system; and

(d) address other work that is within the scope of this Annex to be decided by the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade.

Competent Authorities

5.

(a) Chile shall recognize that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency of the Government of Canada, or its successor, is the competent authority responsible for the oversight of the certification of organic products in Canada.

(b) Canada shall recognize that the Agriculture and Livestock Service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Government of the Republic of Chile, or its successor, is the competent authority in charge of the certification system of organic products.