Language selection

Search

Consolidated TPP Text – Chapter 1 – Initial Provisions and General Definitions

Section A: Initial Provisions 

Article 1.1: Establishment of a Free Trade Area

The Parties, consistent with Article XXIV of GATT 1994 and Article V of GATS, hereby establish a free trade area in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

Article 1.2: Relation to Other Agreements

1. Recognising the Parties’ intention for this Agreement to coexist with their existing international agreements, each Party affirms:

2. If a Party considers that a provision of this Agreement is inconsistent with a provision of another agreement to which it and at least one other Party are party, on request, the relevant Parties to the other agreement shall consult with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory solution. This paragraph is without prejudice to a Party’s rights and obligations under Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement).Footnote 1

Section B: General Definitions

Article 1.3: General Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise provided in this Agreement:

AD Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

Agreement means the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement;

APEC means Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation;

central level of government has for each Party the meaning set out in Annex 1-A (Party-Specific Definitions);

Commission means the Trans-Pacific Partnership Commission established under Article 27.1 (Establishment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Commission);

covered investment means, with respect to a Party, an investment in its territory of an investor of another Party in existence as of the date of entry into force of this Agreement for those Parties or established, acquired, or expanded thereafter;

customs administration means the competent authority that is responsible under the laws of a Party for the administration of customs laws, regulations and, where applicable, policies, and has for each Party the meaning set out in Annex 1-A (Party-Specific Definitions);

customs duty includes any duty or charge of any kind imposed on or in connection with the importation of a good, and any surtax or surcharge imposed in connection with such importation, but does not include any:

Customs Valuation Agreement means the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

days means calendar days;

enterprise means any entity constituted or organised under applicable law, whether or not for profit, and whether privately or governmentally owned or controlled, including any corporation, trust, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture, association, or similar organisation;

existing means in effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement;

GATS means the General Agreement on Trade in Services, set out in Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;

GATT 1994 means the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

goods means any merchandise, product, article or material;

goods of a Party means domestic products as these are understood in GATT 1994 or such goods as the Parties may agree, and includes originating goods of a Party;

government procurement means the process by which a government obtains the use of or acquires goods or services, or any combination thereof, for governmental purposes and not with a view to commercial sale or resale or use in the production or supply of goods or services for commercial sale or resale;

Harmonized System (HS) means the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, including its General Rules of Interpretation, Section Notes, Chapter Notes and Subheading Notes as adopted and implemented by the Parties in their respective laws;

heading means the first four digits in the tariff classification number under the Harmonized System;

measure includes any law, regulation, procedure, requirement, or practice;

national means a “natural person who has the nationality of a Party” according to Annex 1-A (Party-Specific Definitions) or a permanent resident of a Party;

originating means qualifying as originating under the rules of origin set out in Chapter 3 (Rules of Origin and Origin Procedures) or Chapter 4 (Textile and Apparel Goods);

Party means any State or separate customs territory for which this Agreement is in force;

person means a natural person or an enterprise;

person of a Party means a national or an enterprise of a Party;

preferential tariff treatment means the customs duty rate applicable to an originating good, pursuant to each Party’s Tariff Schedule set out in Annex 2-D (Tariff Commitments);

recovered material means a material in the form of one or more individual parts that results from:

remanufactured good means a good classified in HS Chapters 84 through 90 or under heading 94.02 except goods classified under HS headings 84.18, 85.09, 85.10, and 85.16, 87.03 or subheadings 8414.51, 8450.11, 8450.12, 8508.11, and 8517.11, that is entirely or partially composed of recovered materials and:

regional level of government has for each Party the meaning set out in Annex 1-A (Party-Specific Definitions);

Safeguards Agreement means the Agreement on Safeguards, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

sanitary or phytosanitary measure means any measure referred to in paragraph 1 of Annex A to the SPS Agreement;

SCM Agreement means the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

SME means a small and medium-sized enterprise, including a micro-sized enterprise;

SPS Agreement means the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, set out in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

state enterprise means an enterprise that is owned, or controlled through ownership interests, by a Party;

subheading means the first six digits in the tariff classification number under the Harmonized System;

territory has for each Party the meaning set out at Annex 1-A (Party-Specific Definitions);

textile or apparel good means a good listed in Annex 4-A (Textiles and Apparel Product-Specific Rules of Origin);

TRIPS Agreement means the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, set out in Annex 1C to the WTO Agreement;Footnote 2

WTO means the World Trade Organization; and

WTO Agreement means the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, done at Marrakesh on April 15, 1994.

Annex 1-A

Party-Specific Definitions

Further to Article 1.3 (General Definitions), for the purposes of this Agreement, unless provided elsewhere in this Agreement:

central level of government means:

customs administration means:

or any successor of such customs administration.

natural person who has the nationality of a Party means:

regional level of government means:

territory means:

Date Modified: