On the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member States on the one hand

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On the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member States on the one hand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the other hand

The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated February 24, 2016 No. 461-V SAM.

To ratify the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member States on the one hand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the other hand, signed in Burabaya on May 29, 2015.

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

N. NAZARBAYEV

The Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member States, on the one hand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on the other hand.

The Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the "member States of the Eurasian Economic Union") and the Eurasian Economic Union, on the one hand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as "Vietnam"), on the other hand:

UNDERSTANDING the importance of expanding and deepening long-term and strong friendly relations and traditional multifaceted cooperation between the Parties;

DESIRING to create favorable conditions for the development and diversification of trade between them, as well as for the development of trade and economic cooperation in areas of mutual interest on the basis of equality, mutual benefit, non-discrimination and international law;

REAFFIRMING the relevant rights and obligations under the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and other existing international agreements to which the Parties are Parties;

RECOGNIZING the need to support principles and practices that promote free and unhindered trade based on stability, openness and non-discrimination;

CONVINCED that this Agreement will enhance the competitiveness of the economies of the Parties in global markets and create conditions for the development of economic, trade and investment relations between them;

RECOGNIZING the importance of facilitating trade by promoting efficient and transparent procedures in order to reduce costs and increase predictability;

EMPHASIZING the complementary nature of the economies of the Parties and the significant potential for improving economic relations by further developing the foundations for trade and investment;

RECOGNIZING the important role and importance of investments in expanding trade and cooperation between the Parties, as well as the need to further develop and facilitate cooperation and the use of broader business opportunities provided for in this Agreement;

REAFFIRMING the importance of existing initiatives for economic cooperation between the Parties, as well as agreeing to further develop the existing economic partnership in areas of mutual interest;

AIMING to eliminate trade and investment barriers between the Parties, reduce business costs and increase economic efficiency;

CONVINCED that the joint efforts of the Parties to conclude a progressive Free Trade Agreement will create additional conditions for the promotion and development of economic

and trade relations between the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, on the one hand, and Vietnam, on the other hand, to achieve common interests on a mutually beneficial basis.;

WE have AGREED on the following:

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.1 General provisions and definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise provided:

a) "central customs authority" means the highest authorized customs authority of each of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union or Vietnam, which, on the basis of relevant national legislation and regulations, performs the functions of implementing relevant state policies, regulations, control and supervision in the customs sphere;

b) "customs authorities" – the customs authority or customs authorities of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union or Vietnam;

(c) "Customs duty" means any duty or payment of any kind imposed on or in connection with the importation of goods, not including the following:

i. payment equivalent to the internal tax levied

in accordance with article III.2 GATT 1994;

ii. a fee or other payment related to the import commensurate with the cost of the services provided; and

iii. the fee charged in accordance with Chapter 3 ("Trade protection measures") of this Agreement;

d) "days” – calendar days, including weekends and public holidays.;

e) "declarant" – a person who declares goods for customs purposes or on whose behalf the goods are declared;

f) The Eurasian Economic Commission is a permanent regulatory body of the Eurasian Economic Union in accordance with the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union of May 29, 2014 (hereinafter referred to as the "Treaty on the Union");

g) "GATS" – General Agreement on Trade in Services,

in accordance with Annex 1B to the WTO Agreement;

h) GATT 1994 – General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

1994 and the explanatory notes thereto, in accordance with

with Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

i) "commodity" means any commodity, product, article or material;

j) "Harmonized System" or "HS" is a Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System established by the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of June 14, 1983, with regard to adoption and application by the Parties in their respective laws and regulations;

(k) "Legislation and regulations" means any law or any other regulatory legal act;

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

m) "originating" – corresponding to the rules of origin established in Chapter 4 ("Rules of Origin determination") of this Agreement;

n) "Parties" – the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, acting jointly or separately within their respective competence arising from the Treaty on the Union, on the one hand, and Vietnam,

on the other hand;

o) "person" – a natural or legal person;

p) "SCM Agreement" – Subsidy Agreement

and countervailing measures, in accordance with Annex 1A

to the WTO Agreement;

q) "SPS Agreement" – Agreement on the Application of Sanitary

and phytosanitary measures, in accordance with Annex 1A

to the WTO Agreement;

r) "TBT Agreement" – Agreement on Technical Barriers

in trade, in accordance with Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement;

s) "TRIPS Agreement" is an Agreement on Trade–related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, in accordance with Annex 1C to the WTO Agreement;

t) "WTO" means the World Trade Organization established in accordance with the WTO Agreement;

(u) "WTO Agreement" means the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization of April 15, 1994.

Article 1.2 Creation of a free trade zone

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

Article 1.3 Objectives

The objectives of this Agreement are:

(a) Liberalize and facilitate trade in goods between the Parties by, inter alia, reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers

and simplification of customs procedures;

(b) Liberalizing trade in services and facilitating trade in services between the Parties;

(c) Facilitating, promoting and expanding investment opportunities between the Parties by further developing a favourable investment environment;

(d) Support for economic and trade cooperation between the Parties;

(e) Adequate and effective protection of intellectual property and promotion of cooperation in this field; and

(f) To create the foundations for the further development of closer cooperation in the areas provided for in this Agreement and to facilitate interaction between the Parties.

Article 1.4 Joint Committee

The Parties hereby establish a Joint Committee comprising representatives of each of the Parties, which will be headed by two representatives – one from the Eurasian Economic Union or from a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union and the other from Vietnam. The Parties will be represented by high-ranking officials authorized for this purpose.

Article 1.5 Functions of the Joint Committee

1. The Joint Committee performs the following functions:

a) consideration of any issues related to the application

and the effect of this Agreement;

(b) Monitoring the work of all committees and other bodies established under this Agreement;

(d) Consideration and preparation of recommendations to the Parties on any amendments to this Agreement; and

e) performing other actions on any issue within the framework of this Agreement in accordance with the agreement of the Parties.

2. In order to carry out its functions, the Joint Committee may establish subsidiary bodies, including ad hoc bodies, and assign them tasks on specific issues. The Joint Committee may, if necessary, seek the opinion of third parties or groups.

3. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, the Joint Committee shall be convened:

(a) To attend regular sessions each year, held alternately in the territories of the Parties; and

b) within 30 days, at the request of either Party, for special sessions held in the territory of the other Party or at another location agreed between the Parties.

4. The Joint Committee shall be convened within 30 days upon receipt of prior notification from the Party in accordance with Article 15.3 of this Agreement in order to discuss the consequences of such action for the Parties and for any agreements reached in accordance with this Agreement.

5. All decisions of the Joint Committee, committees and other bodies established in accordance with this Agreement are made on the basis of consensus of the Parties.

Article 1.6 Priority investment projects

1. Priority investment projects are approved by the respective Governments of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, on the one hand, and the Government of Vietnam.,

on the other hand.

2. Regardless of the other provisions of this Agreement and as a result of consultations between the Parties aimed at supporting priority investment projects, the Parties have the right to provide additional preferences. Such decisions are made by the relevant authorities of the relevant Parties within their competence.

Article 1.7 Contact points

1. Each Party shall designate a contact point or contact points to facilitate interaction between the Parties on any issues related to this Agreement, and notify the Joint Committee of its contact point or contact points.

2. At the request of a Party, the contact point or contact points of the other Party determine the appropriate authority or official responsible for the matter and, if necessary, assist in organizing interaction with the Party that sent the request.

Article 1.8 Confidential information

1. Each Party shall ensure the confidentiality of information provided by the other Party as confidential under this Agreement, in accordance with its legislation.

and regulatory acts.

2. Nothing in this Agreement obliges a Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which could impede law enforcement or otherwise enter into

in conflict with the public interest, or infringe on the legitimate commercial interests of public or private enterprises.

Article 1.9 General exceptions and security exceptions

1. Article XX of the GATT 1994 and Article XIV of the GATS are incorporated into this Agreement and form an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

2. Article XXI of GATT 1994 and Article XIVbis of GATS are incorporated

this Agreement is an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

3. The Joint Committee shall be informed, as far as possible, of the measures taken in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article and of their termination.

Article 1.10 Dual-use goods and services

The Parties recognize the sovereign rights of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam in the field of regulating trade in dual–use goods and services in accordance with their respective laws and regulations in the field of export control, as well as international obligations.

Article 1.11 Measures to protect the balance of payments

Article XII of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on the Balance of Payments Provisions of GATT 1994 are incorporated into this Agreement and form an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

Article 1.12 Relation to other international agreements

1. This Agreement shall apply without prejudice to the rights and obligations of the Parties arising from bilateral and multilateral agreements to which the Parties are parties, including the WTO Agreement and the relevant obligations of the Parties within the WTO.

2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 4.7 of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement shall not apply either between the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union or between the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, and shall not grant Vietnam the rights and privileges that the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union grant exclusively to each other.

Article 1.13 Transparency

1. Each Party shall ensure, in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, that its laws and regulations of general application, as well as relevant international agreements, on any matters falling within the scope of this Agreement, will be published in a timely manner or otherwise made freely available, including, if possible, in electronic form. the form.

2. To the extent possible, each Party, in accordance with its respective legislation and regulations:

(a) Publish in advance such laws and regulations referred to in paragraph 1 of this article as are planned

to be accepted; and

b) provides interested persons and the other Party with reasonable opportunities to comment on such laws and regulations referred to in paragraph 1 of this article that are planned to be adopted.

3. At the request of one of the Parties, the other Party shall immediately answer specific questions and provide information on the laws and regulations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

CHAPTER 2 TRADING IN GOODS

Article 2.1 Most-favored-nation treatment

1. With respect to Customs duties and charges of any kind imposed on or in connection with imports or exports, or imposed on the international transfer of import or export payments, and with respect to the method of collection of such duties and charges, and with respect to all rules and formalities in connection with imports and exports, and with respect to all the issues referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article III of GATT 1994, any advantage, favor, privilege or immunity granted by a Party to any product originating in or destined for a third country, They must be provided immediately and unconditionally to a similar product of the other Party or to a similar product intended for the territory of such a Party.

2. Nothing in paragraph 1 of this article obliges a Party to grant another Party an advantage, favor, privilege or immunity based on the most-favored-nation treatment that the first Party grants to any other third State subject to any of the following criteria:

(a) To neighboring countries in order to facilitate cross-border trade;

(b) Participants in a customs union, free trade area or regional economic organization, or participants in any other regional trade agreements, in accordance with the provisions of Article XXIV of GATT 1994; or

c) developing and least developed countries in accordance with GATT 1994, the Common System of Tariff Preferences within the framework of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development or in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Parties on these issues.

Article 2.2 National treatment

Article III of GATT 1994 and the explanatory notes to this article are incorporated into this Agreement and form an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

Article 2.3 Reduction and/or cancellation of customs duties

1. Unless otherwise provided by this Agreement, each Party shall gradually reduce and/or eliminate customs duties on goods originating from the territory of the other Party, in accordance with its list of tariff obligations in Annex 1 to this Agreement, and shall not increase any of the customs duties or impose any new customs duties, as a result of which The amount of the customs duty rate for goods originating from the territory of the other Party will exceed the level determined in accordance with the list of tariff obligations of the first Party., specified in Annex 1 to this Agreement.

2. A Party may at any time unilaterally accelerate the reduction and/or cancellation of customs duties on goods originating from the territory of the other Party, established in accordance with the list of tariff obligations of the first Party specified in Annex 1 to this Agreement. This provision does not prevent either Party from increasing the customs duty to the level set out in its list of tariff obligations in Annex 1 to this Agreement for the relevant year following the unilateral reduction. The Party considering the possibility of such an increase, reduction and/or cancellation of the customs duty must inform the other Party as soon as possible before the new customs duty rate comes into force.

3. The Parties may consider the possibility of an accelerated reduction and/or cancellation of customs duties established in their lists of tariff obligations in Annex 1 to this Agreement by making amendments to this Agreement in accordance with Article 15.5 of this Agreement.

4. If the rate of customs duty on goods originating from the territory of a Party applied in accordance with Annex 1 to this Agreement is higher than the rate of customs duty applied in accordance with the most-favored-nation regime for the same product, the latter shall apply to such goods.

Article 2.4 Changes to HS code and description

1. Each Party shall ensure that any changes made to its HS codes and descriptions are carried out without prejudice to the tariff obligations established in accordance with Annex 1.

to this Agreement.

2. Such changes to the HS codes and the description of the Eurasian Economic Union and to the HS codes and the description of Vietnam should be carried out by the Eurasian Economic Commission and Vietnam, respectively. The Parties should make any changes to their HS codes and descriptions freely available in a timely manner and inform each other every three months.

Article 2.5 Payments, fees and formalities related to import and export

1. Articles VIII of GATT 1994 and the explanatory notes to this article are incorporated into this Agreement and form an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

2. Each Party must ensure that its competent authorities make information about the fees and charges it imposes freely available through their official websites.

Article 2.6 Application of trade rules

Each Party shall ensure the uniform, unbiased and reasonable application of all its national laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative orders of general application with respect to trade in goods between the Parties in accordance with the provisions of Article X of GATT 1994.

Article 2.7 Subsidies

1. The rights and obligations of the Parties with respect to subsidies for goods not covered by the Agreement on Agriculture contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement are governed by the provisions of Article XVI of the GATT 1994, the SCM Agreement, as well as their respective obligations under the WTO.

2. The Parties share the goal of eliminating export subsidies for agricultural products on a multilateral basis.

3. The rights and obligations of the Parties with respect to export subsidies for any agricultural products intended for supply to the territory of the other Party shall be governed by their respective WTO obligations.

4. Each Party shall ensure transparency in the field of subsidies covered by this Article. At the request of either Party, the other Party shall, within a reasonable period of time, provide information on the specific subsidies provided or applied by it, as defined by the provisions of the SCM Agreement. Such information includes information provided for in Article 25.3 of the SCM Agreement.

Article 2.8 Licensing of imports

1. Each Party shall ensure that its import licensing procedures, as defined in Articles 1 to 3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures), are implemented in a transparent and predictable manner and applied in accordance with the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.

2. Each Party shall ensure the publication of its rules and information regarding licensing procedures in accordance with Article 1.4 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. The Party that introduces licensing procedures or modifies such procedures must notify the other Party no later than 60 days from the date of publication. Such notifications should contain the information specified in Articles 5.2 and 5.3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. Such information should be transmitted through the contact point of each Party designated for these purposes.

Article 2.9 Quantitative restrictions

1. Neither Party may establish or maintain any quantitative restrictions, including prohibitions or restrictions on the import of any goods of the other Party or on the export of any goods destined for the territory of the other Party, except in cases determined by its obligations under the WTO.,

to this end, Articles XI and XIII of GATT 1994 and explanatory notes

The amendments to these articles are incorporated into this Agreement

and they form an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

2. Each Party shall ensure transparency of any quantitative restrictions permitted in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article and ensure that no such measures are introduced, adopted or applied for such a purpose or with such consequences as to create unnecessary obstacles to trade between the Parties.

Article 2.10 Trigger protection measures

1. The Eurasian Economic Union may apply a trigger protection measure in respect of the goods listed in Annex 2 to this Agreement originating from Vietnam and imported into the territory of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union.,

if the volume of imports is during any calendar year

exceeds the trigger level specified for this year

in Appendix 2 to this Agreement.

2. A trigger safeguard measure is applied in the form of a customs duty equivalent to the most-favored-nation customs duty rate applicable to the goods in question on the effective date of the trigger safeguard measure.

3. The trigger protection measure is applied for a period not exceeding six months.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3 of this article, if, as of the date of commencement of the trigger protective measure, the volume of imports in question exceeds 150 percent of the corresponding trigger level, the period of validity of such measure may be extended for another three months.

5. The Eurasian Economic Commission shall ensure the publication of data on the volume of imports in question in a manner that ensures Vietnam's access to them. Upon establishing that the conditions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article have been fulfilled, the Eurasian Economic Commission shall immediately notify Vietnam in writing. Without prejudice to the right of the Eurasian Economic Union to apply a trigger safeguard measure, the Eurasian Economic Commission shall also send a written notification no later than 20 calendar days before the decision to apply the trigger safeguard measure is made, as well as within three calendar days after such decision is made, provided that such decision comes into force no earlier than 30 calendar days from the date of its adoption. In the event of a decision not to apply a trigger protective measure, the Eurasian Economic Union shall immediately notify Vietnam of this.

in writing.

6. At the request of a Party, the other Party shall immediately enter into

in consultation and/or provides the requested information in order to clarify the conditions for the introduction and application of a trigger protective measure

in accordance with paragraphs 1-4 of this article.

7. Every three years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall review the operation of this Article and, if necessary, take joint decisions on amendments to this Article and Annex 2 to this Agreement in accordance with Article 15.5 of this Agreement.

Article 2.11 State-owned commercial enterprises

Each Party ensures the functioning of its State-owned trading enterprises in accordance with Article XVII of the GATT 1994 and its obligations under the WTO.

Article 2.12 Committee on Trade in Goods

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

2. The Goods Committee shall meet at the request of any Party to consider any issues arising under the provisions of this Chapter and Chapter 3 ("Trade protection measures"), Chapter 4 ("Rules of Origin"), Chapter 5 ("Customs administration and Trade facilitation"), Chapter 6 ("Technical barriers to trade") and Chapter 7 ("Sanitary and phytosanitary measures").

3. The functions of the Goods Committee include:

(a) Review and monitor the implementation and application of the provisions of the chapters referred to in paragraph 2 of this article;

(b) Review and make appropriate recommendations, if necessary, to the Joint Committee on Any Amendments

to the provisions of this chapter and the lists of tariff obligations in Annex 1 to this Agreement for development purposes

and facilitating easier market access;

(d) Transmitting to the Joint Committee the results of the consideration of any other issues related to the application of the provisions of this chapter.

CHAPTER 3 TRADE PROTECTION MEASURES

Article 3.1 Compensatory measures

1. The Parties shall apply compensatory measures in accordance with

with the provisions of Articles VI and XVI of GATT 1994 and the SCM Agreement.

2. For the purposes of Vietnam's compensation investigations and the application of compensation measures, the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union are considered individually and not as the Eurasian Economic Union as a whole, except in cases where subsidies are available within the meaning of Article XVI of GATT 1994

and the SCM Agreements, which are available at the level of the Eurasian Economic Union to all member States of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Article 3.2 Anti-dumping measures

1. The Parties shall apply anti-dumping measures in accordance with

with the provisions of Article VI of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on the Application of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.

2. For the purposes of Vietnam's anti–dumping investigations and the application of anti-dumping measures, the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union are considered separately, and not as the Eurasian Economic Union as a whole, except in cases where both Parties agree otherwise.

Article 3.3 Special protective measures

The Parties shall apply special protective measures in accordance with the provisions of Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Special Protective Measures contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.

Article 3.4 Bilateral protective measures

1. If, as a result of the reduction or cancellation of customs duties in accordance with this Agreement, any goods originating from one Party are imported into the territory of the other Party in such increased quantities, in absolute terms or relative to domestic production and under such conditions that this is a significant cause of serious damage or threat to the domestic economy, producing similar or directly competing goods on the territory of the importing Party, The importing Party may apply a bilateral protective measure during the transitional period in respect of such goods to the extent necessary to eliminate or prevent serious damage or threat thereof, in accordance with the provisions of this article.

2. A two-way safeguard measure is applied only after there is clear evidence that increased imports are a significant cause of serious damage or the threat of it.

3. A Party intending to apply a bilateral safeguard measure in accordance with this Article shall, without delay and in any case prior to the introduction of such measure, notify the other Party and the Joint Committee accordingly. The notification should contain all relevant information, which should include evidence of serious damage or threat of damage caused by increased imports, an accurate description of the product and the proposed measure, as well as the expected date of its introduction, expected duration and, if appropriate, a timetable for its gradual abolition.

4. The Party that may be affected by the measure should be offered compensation in the form of substantially equivalent trade liberalization with respect to imports from such a Party. This Party shall, within 30 days from the date of notification referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, examine the information provided in order to facilitate a mutually acceptable solution to the issue. In the absence of such a solution, the importing Party may apply a bilateral safeguard measure to resolve the problem and, in the absence of mutually agreed compensation, the Party to whose goods the bilateral safeguard measure is applied may apply a compensatory measure. The other Party is immediately notified of the application of a bilateral protective measure and a compensatory measure. A compensatory measure is usually the suspension of concessions having a substantially equivalent effect on trade and/or the suspension of concessions substantially equivalent to the value of additional duties expected from the application of a bilateral safeguard measure. A countervailing measure is applied for the minimum period necessary to achieve a substantially equivalent effect on trade, and in any case only for the duration of the bilateral safeguard measure adopted in accordance with paragraph 5 of this article.

5. If the conditions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article are fulfilled, the importing Party may apply a bilateral protective measure in the form of:

(a) Suspending the further reduction of any applicable customs duty rate provided for in this Agreement for the goods in question; or

(b) Raising the applicable customs duty rate for the goods in question to the required level, not exceeding the base rate set out in Annex 1 to this Agreement.

6. The Parties may apply bilateral protective measures during the following periods::

a) in the case of goods for which the customs duty reaches the final reduction level within three years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Party may apply a bilateral protective measure for a period not exceeding two years. A Party may not apply a bilateral protective measure against the same product repeatedly within one year from the expiration date of the previous bilateral protective measure. No two-way protective measure may be applied to the same product more than twice.

b) in the case of goods for which the customs duty reaches the final reduction level after three years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Party may apply a bilateral protective measure for a period not exceeding two years. The validity period of a bilateral safeguard measure may be extended for no more than one year, if there is evidence that this is necessary to eliminate or prevent serious damage or the threat of it and that the industry is adapting. A Party shall not apply a bilateral protective measure repeatedly against the same product for a period equal to the period during which the previous bilateral protective measure was applied. No two-way protective measure may be applied to the same product more than twice.

7. Upon termination of the bilateral protective measure, the customs duty rate is set at the level that would have been in effect on the expiration date of the measure.

8. Neither Party may apply to the same product at the same time.:

(a) A bilateral protective measure; and

(b) The measure provided for in Article XIX of GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Protective Measures contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.

9. The domestic industry referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article means collectively producers of similar or directly competing goods operating in the territory of a Party, or those producers whose combined production of similar or directly competing goods accounts for the majority, but not less than 25 percent of the total domestic production of such goods.

10. The transitional period specified in paragraph 1 of this article in respect of certain goods to which a bilateral protective measure is applied is understood to mean:

a) the period from the date of entry into force of this Agreement to seven years from the date of completion of the process of cancellation or reduction of customs duties in the case of goods for which the customs duty reaches the level of final reduction within three years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement;

b) the period from the date of entry into force of this Agreement to five years from the date of completion of the process of cancellation or reduction of customs duties in the case of goods for which the customs duty reaches the level of final reduction after three years, but before the expiration of five years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement; and

c) the period from the date of entry into force of this Agreement to three years from the date of completion of the cancellation or reduction of customs duties in the case of goods for which the customs duty reaches the level of final reduction after five years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

Article 3.5 Notifications

1. Official communications and the exchange of all documents between the Parties on matters falling within the scope of this Chapter shall be carried out between the relevant authorities authorized to initiate and conduct investigations in accordance with the provisions of this chapter (hereinafter referred to as the investigating authorities). If Vietnam intends to apply a measure in accordance with this chapter, the other Party may designate another authorized body, which it must notify Vietnam about.

2. Within 30 days from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties shall exchange information on the names and contact details of the investigating authorities. The Parties shall immediately notify each other of any changes concerning the investigating authorities.

3. The Party intending to apply a special protective measure shall immediately send to the other Party a written notification containing all necessary information regarding the initiation of the investigation, as well as the preliminary and final conclusions of the investigation.

CHAPTER 4 RULES FOR DETERMINING ORIGIN, SECTION I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 4.1 Scope of application

The rules for determining origin provided for in this chapter are applied exclusively for the purpose of granting preferential tariff treatment in accordance with this Agreement.

Article 4.2 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter:

a) "aquaculture" means the breeding of aquatic organisms, including fish, shellfish, crustaceans, other aquatic invertebrates and aquatic plants, from source material such as eggs, fry, fingerlings and larvae, by influencing development and growth processes in order to increase production, for example, through regular stocking, feeding or protection from predators;

b) "authorized body" – the competent authority appointed by the Party for the purpose of issuing certificates of origin for the purposes of this Agreement;

c) "CIF delivery cost" – the cost of imported goods, including the cost of freight and insurance to the port or place of entry into the country of import;

d) "consignment" means goods that are sent simultaneously under one or more transport documents to the address of one consignee from one shipper, as well as goods sent under one postal waybill or transported as baggage by one person crossing the border;

(e) "Exporter" means a person registered in the territory of the Party from which the goods are exported.;

f) "FOB delivery cost" – the cost of goods on a "free on board" basis, including the cost of transportation to the port or place of final shipment abroad;

(g) "Importer" means a person registered in the territory of the Party to which the goods are imported by such person;

h) "material" means any substance or substance, including ingredients, raw materials, components or parts used or consumed in the production of goods, physically incorporated into goods or processed in the production of other goods;

(i) "Non–originating goods" or "non-originating materials" - goods or materials that do not meet the criteria of origin set out in this chapter;

(j) "Originating goods" or "originating materials" – goods or materials that meet the criteria of origin set out in this chapter;

k) "manufacturer" means a person who manufactures goods on the territory of a Party;

(l) "Production" means methods of obtaining goods, including the cultivation, extraction, harvesting, breeding, extraction, harvesting, trapping, fishing and hunting, manufacture, processing or assembly of such goods; and

(m) "Verification authority" means the competent governmental authority designated by a Party to carry out verification procedures.

Article 4.3 Criteria of origin

For the purposes of this chapter, goods are considered to originate from this Party if they:

(a) Are fully obtained or produced in such a Party in accordance with Article 4.4 of this Agreement; or

(b) Produced entirely in one or both Parties solely from materials from one or both Parties; or

c) produced on the territory of the Party using non-originating materials and meet the requirements of the special criteria of origin set out in Annex 3 to this Agreement.

Article 4.4 Fully received or manufactured goods

For the purposes of applying Article 4.3 of this Agreement, the following goods are considered to be fully received or produced by the Party:

a) plants and products of plant origin, including fruits, berries, flowers, vegetables, trees, algae, fungi and live plants grown or harvested in the territory of the Party;

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

c) products obtained from live animals in the territory of the Party;

d) products obtained as a result of harvesting, hunting, trapping, fishing, cultivation, breeding and aquaculture in the territory of the Party;

e) minerals and other minerals extracted or extracted from the air, soil, water, seabed or subsurface in the territory of the Party;

(f) Products of marine fisheries and other products of marine fisheries obtained on the high seas in accordance with international law by a vessel registered or assigned to a Party and flying its flag;

(g) Products obtained exclusively from the products specified in subparagraph (f) of this article on board a processing vessel registered or assigned to a Party and flying its flag;

h) waste and scrap resulting from production and consumption in the territory of a Party, provided that such products are suitable only for processing raw materials;

i) used products collected in the territory of a Party, provided that such products are suitable only for processing raw materials;

(j) Products obtained in outer space on spacecraft registered in the Party;

(k) Goods produced or received in the territory of a Party exclusively from the goods specified in subparagraphs (a) to (j) of this Article.

Article 4.5 Share of value added

For the purposes of applying this chapter and the special criteria of origin listed in Annex 3 to this Agreement, the formula for calculating the share of value added (hereinafter referred to as "VAC") should be as follows::

(a) The value of the CIF delivery terms at the time of importation of the materials into the territory of the Party; or

b) the earliest established price paid or payable for these non-originating materials in the territory of the Party in which the goods were processed and processed.

If a manufacturer purchases non-originating materials in the territory of the Party where they will be further processed, the cost of such materials should not include the cost of freight, insurance, packaging and other additional costs associated with the delivery of these materials from the supplier to the place of production.

Article 4.6 Insufficient processing or processing

1. The following operations, carried out individually or in combination with each other, are considered insufficient to meet the requirements of Article 4.3 of this Agreement:

a) operations to ensure the preservation of the condition of the goods during its storage or transportation;

b) freezing and defrosting;

c) Packaging and repackaging;

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

e) ironing or pressing of textiles;

f) painting, polishing, varnishing, coating (impregnation) with oil;

g) peeling, partial or complete bleaching, sanding

and polishing of grain and rice;

h) sugar coloring or lump sugar formation;

i) peeling and extraction of seeds, peeling of fruits, vegetables and nuts;

j) Simple sharpening, grinding, grinding;

k) cutting;

l) Sieving, selection, sorting, classification;

m) filling, packing into cans, vials, bags, boxes, boxes, fixing on the surface and all other simple packaging operations;

n) affixing or printing of trademarks, logos, labels and other similar distinguishing marks on products or their packaging;

o) simple mixing of products (components), which does not lead to a significant difference between the resulting product and the original components;

p) simple operations of assembling goods from parts and disassembling goods into parts; and

q) slaughter of animals, sorting of meat.

2. For the purposes of applying paragraph 1 of this article, a "simple" operation is an operation that does not require the use of special skills, machines, devices or equipment specifically designed for this operation.

Article 4.7 Accumulation of origin

Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 4.3 of this Agreement, goods or materials originating from the territory of one of the Parties and used in the production of goods in the other Party should be considered as originating in the Party where the last operations were performed, with the exception of those specified in paragraph 1 of Article 4.6 of this Agreement. The origin of such materials must be confirmed by a certificate of origin (EAV Form) issued by an authorized body.

Article 4.8 De Minimis

1. Goods that do not meet the requirements for changing the tariff classification in accordance with Annex 3 to this Agreement, however, will be considered as originating goods if:

a) the cost of all non-originating materials that are used in the production of goods and are not subject to the necessary changes in tariff classification does not exceed 10 percent of the value of such goods on FOB terms; and

b) the goods meet all other requirements of this chapter.

2. The cost of the materials referred to in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 1 of this article must be included in the cost of non-originating materials for any applicable value-added requirement.

Article 4.9 Direct delivery

1. Preferential tariff treatment in accordance with this chapter is granted in respect of originating goods on condition of their direct delivery from the territory of the exporting Party to the territory of the importing Party.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, originating goods may be transported through the territory of third countries under the conditions that:

a) transit through the territory of third countries is caused by geographical or transport reasons;

b) the goods were not the object of trade or consumption;

c) the goods have not been subjected to any operations, except for unloading, reloading, storage and any necessary operations aimed at ensuring the safety of their condition.

3. The declarant must present to the customs authorities of the importing Party the relevant documentary evidence of compliance with the requirements established by paragraph 2 of this Article. Such evidence is provided to the customs authorities of the importing Party by submitting:

a) transport documents certifying the route of movement from the territory of one Party to the territory of the other Party, containing the following information:

i. accurate description of the goods;

ii. the dates of unloading and reloading of the goods (if the transport documents do not contain information about the date of unloading and reloading of the goods, then other documents containing such information must be submitted in addition to them); and

iii. where applicable:

- names of ships or other vehicles used;

- container numbers;

- the conditions under which the goods were in proper condition in the transit country;

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

b) invoices for the relevant goods.

4. The declarant may submit other documents confirming the fulfillment of the requirements of paragraph 2 of this article.

5. If it is impossible to present transport documents, documents issued by the customs authorities of the transit country and containing all the information specified in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 3 of this article must be submitted.

6. If the declarant is unable to provide the customs authorities of the importing Party with documentary evidence of the fulfillment of the conditions of direct delivery, preferential tariff treatment is not provided.

Article 4.10 Direct purchase

1. The importing Party shall grant preferential tariff treatment in respect of originating goods in cases where the invoice is issued by a person registered in a third country, provided that all the requirements of this chapter in respect of such goods are fulfilled.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, the importing Party should not grant preferential tariff treatment in cases where the invoice is issued by a person registered in a third country included in the list of offshore countries established by the joint protocol. The relevant competent authorities of the Parties are authorized to adopt such a protocol on the basis of mutual agreement and make it publicly available.

3. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article, prior to the adoption of such a protocol, the list of offshore countries or territories listed in Annex 4 to this Agreement shall apply.

Article 4.11 Packaging materials for retail sale

1. If a change in the tariff classification code serves as a criterion for sufficient processing in accordance with the requirements of Annex 3 to this Agreement, packaging materials and containers intended for retail trade in goods and classified together with these goods should not be taken into account when determining origin.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, when determining whether goods meet the value added requirement, the cost of packaging used for retail trade will be taken into account as originating or non-originating materials, depending on the situation, in order to calculate the value added share of goods.

Article 4.12 Packaging materials for transportation

Packaging materials and containers intended exclusively for the transportation of goods should not be taken into account when determining the origin of the goods.

Article 4.13 Fixtures, accessories, spare parts, tools, instructions and other information materials

1. In determining whether the goods comply with the requirements of the tariff classification change specified in Annex 3 to this Agreement, accessories, spare parts, tools, instructions and other information materials that are an integral part of conventional equipment and included in its price under the FOB delivery terms, and for which separate invoices have not been issued, should be considered as part of the goods in question and should not be taken into account in determining whether these goods originate.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this article, when determining whether goods meet the value-added requirement, the cost of accessories, spare parts, tools, instructions and other information materials must be considered as originating or non-originating materials, depending on the situation, in order to calculate the value-added share of goods.

3. This article should be applied only in cases where:

a) devices, accessories, spare parts and tools, instructions and information materials intended for the goods are not billed separately from the goods; and

b) the quantity and cost of fixtures, accessories, spare parts and tools, instructions and information materials are common for this product.

Article 4.14 Sets

Sets of products, in accordance with Rule 3 of the Basic Rules of Interpretation of the Harmonized System, are considered to be occurring if all the products that are their components are occurring. However, if the set consists of both originating and non-originating products, the set as a whole should be considered originating, provided that the value of the non-originating products does not exceed 15 percent of the value of the set on the FOB delivery terms.

Article 4.15 Indirect materials

For the purposes of determining the origin of goods, the origin of the following indirect materials that can be used in production and are not included in the final product is not taken into account.:

a) fuel and electric energy;

b) tools, dies and molds;

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

(d) Lubricants, additives and other materials used in the manufacture or operation of equipment and buildings;

e) gloves, glasses, shoes, clothing, safety equipment;

f) equipment, devices used for testing or verifying goods;

(g) Catalysts and solvents; and

h) any other materials that are not included in such goods, but the use of which in the manufacture of goods can be represented as part of the production process.

SECTION II. DOCUMENTARY PROOF OF ORIGIN

Article 4.16 Application for preferential tariff treatment

1. For the purposes of obtaining preferential tariff treatment, the declarant is obliged to submit to the customs authority of the importing Party a certificate of origin in accordance with the requirements of this section.

2. The certificate of origin submitted to the customs authorities of the importing Party must be original, valid, and comply with the format set out in Annex 5 to this Agreement, and must be duly completed in accordance with the requirements set out in Annex 5 to this Agreement.

3. The authorized body of the exporting Party must ensure that the certificates of origin of the goods are properly completed in accordance with the requirements set out in Annex 5 to this Agreement.

4. The certificate of origin of the goods must be valid for 12 months from the date of issue and must be submitted to the customs authorities of the importing Party during this period, but not later than the date of filing the import customs declaration, except in cases specified in paragraph 2 of Article 4.20 of this Agreement.

5. In the case of the development and implementation by the central customs authorities and authorized bodies of the Parties of the Electronic System of Certification and Verification of the origin of Goods (hereinafter referred to as the ESA) specified in Article 4.29 of this Agreement, the customs authorities of the importing Party, in accordance with their respective national legislation and regulations, may not require the submission of the original certificate of origin on paper, if The customs declaration has been submitted in electronic form. In this case, the date and number of such certificate of origin must be indicated in the customs declaration. If the customs authority of the importing Party has reasonable doubts about the origin of the goods in respect of which preferential tariff treatment has been requested, and/or a discrepancy has been identified with the information contained in the ESA, the customs authority of the importing Party may require the presentation of the original certificate of origin on paper.

Article 4.17 Circumstances in which the presentation of a certificate of origin is not required

The presentation of a certificate of origin for the purpose of obtaining preferential tariff treatment is not required for commercial or non-commercial imports of originating goods, the customs value of which does not exceed USD 200 or an equivalent amount in the currency of the importing Party, or such a large amount as such importing Party may determine, provided that this delivery is not part of one or several batches, which can reasonably be considered as a way to avoid submitting a certificate of origin.

Article 4.18 Issuance of a certificate of origin

1. The manufacturer or exporter of goods or their authorized representative shall apply to the authorized body of the exporting Party in writing or by electronic means of communication to issue a certificate of origin.

2. A certificate of origin of goods is issued by the authorized body of the exporting Party to the manufacturer or exporter of goods or their authorized representative before or at the time of export of goods in all cases when the exported goods can be considered originating from the territory of the Party within the meaning of this chapter.

3. A certificate of origin is issued for one batch of goods.

4. Each certificate of origin must have a unique registration number assigned separately by the authorized body.

5. If all the goods indicated in the certificate of origin cannot be listed on one page, the additional sheets provided for in Annex 5 to this Agreement are used.

6. The certificate of origin of the goods must be executed on paper and must consist of one original and two copies.

7. One copy of the certificate must remain with the authorized body of the exporting Party. Another copy must be kept by the exporter.

8. Without prejudice to paragraph 4 of Article 4.16 of this Agreement, in exceptional cases where a certificate of origin has not been issued before or at the time of export of the goods, it may be issued after export of the goods, with the certificate marked "ISSUED SUBSEQUENTLY" ("ISSUED RETROSPECTIVELY").

9. The submitted originals of the certificates of origin of the goods must be kept by the customs authorities of the importing Party, except in cases provided for by relevant national laws and regulations.

Article 4.19 Minor discrepancies

1. If the origin of the goods is beyond doubt, the discovery of minor discrepancies between the information contained in the certificate of origin and the information contained in the documents submitted to the customs authority of the importing Party should not, in itself, constitute grounds for invalidating the certificate of origin if the information indicated therein is actually they correspond to the presented products.

2. If several goods are declared in the certificate of origin, then the settlement of the problem that has arisen with respect to one of the listed goods should not affect or lead to a delay in granting preferential tariff treatment for the remaining goods specified in the certificate of origin.

Article 4.20 Special cases of issuing a certificate of origin

1. In case of theft, loss or destruction of the certificate of origin of the goods, the manufacturer or exporter of the goods or their authorized representative has the right to apply to the authorized body of the exporting Party with an application for the issuance of an officially certified duplicate certificate of origin, indicating the reasons for submitting such an application. A duplicate must be made on the basis of a previously issued certificate of origin and accompanying documents. The certified duplicate must contain the words "DUPLICATE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER__ DATE__" ("DUPLICATE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER_DATE_"). A certified duplicate of the certificate of origin is valid for no more than 12 months from the date of issue of the original certificate of origin.

2. In case of accidental errors or omissions made in the original certificate of origin, the authorized body must issue a new certificate of origin to replace the existing one. In this case, the certificate of origin must contain a note: "ISSUED IN PLACE OF THE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER___DATE___" ("ISSUED IN SUBSTITUTION FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER___DATE___"). The period of application of such a certificate may not exceed 12 months from the date of issue of the original certificate of origin.

Article 4.21 Amendments to the certificate of origin

Neither blots nor corrections are allowed in the certificate of origin. Any change is made by deleting erroneous data and typing in any additional information required. Such a change must be certified by a person authorized to sign the certificate of origin and the official seal of the relevant authorized body.

Article 4.22 Document retention requirements

1. The manufacturer and/or exporter of goods must keep all documentation and copies of documents submitted for the issuance of the certificate of origin for at least three years from the date of issue of the certificate of origin.

2. An importer who has been granted preferential tariff treatment must keep a copy of the certificate of origin on the basis of which preferential tariff treatment was granted for at least three years from the date of granting such preferential treatment.

3. An application for a certificate of origin and all documents related to such an application must be kept by the authorized body for at least three years from the date of issue of the certificate of origin.

SECTION III. PREFERENTIAL TARIFF TREATMENT

Article 4.23 Granting preferential tariff treatment

1. Preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement should be applied to originating goods that meet the requirements of this chapter.

2. The customs authorities of the importing Party shall grant preferential tariff treatment to goods originating from the exporting Party, subject to the following conditions::

a) the imported goods meet the criteria of origin specified in Article 4.3 of this Agreement;

b) the declarant demonstrates compliance with the requirements of this chapter;

c) the original certificate of origin of the goods has been submitted to the customs authorities of the importing Party, valid and completed in accordance with the requirements of section II "Documentary proof of origin" of this chapter. If the Parties have implemented the ESA provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 4.16 of this Agreement, the original certificate of origin may not be required.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article, if the Customs authorities of the importing Party have reasonable doubts about the origin of the goods for which preferential tariff treatment has been requested and/or about the authenticity of the submitted certificate of origin, such customs authorities may refuse or suspend the application of preferential tariff treatment to the relevant goods. Nevertheless, the goods may be released in accordance with the requirements of the national legislation and regulations of such a Party on these issues.

Article 4.24 Refusal to grant preferential tariff treatment

1. If the goods do not comply with the requirements of this chapter or if the importer or exporter of the goods does not ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter, the customs authority of the importing Party may refuse to grant preferential tariff treatment and collect unpaid customs duties in accordance with national legislation and regulations.

2. The customs authorities of the importing Party have the right to refuse to grant preferential tariff treatment if:

a) the goods do not meet the requirements of this Chapter, which does not allow them to be considered as goods originating from the exporting Party, and/or

b) other requirements of this chapter are not fulfilled, including:

i. requirements of Article 4.9 of this Agreement;

ii. requirements of Article 4.10 of this Agreement;

iii. The submitted Certificate of Origin has not been completed in accordance with the requirements for issuing a Certificate of Origin set out in Annex 5 to this Agreement.;

c) the verification procedures carried out in accordance with Articles 4.30 and 4.31 of this Agreement do not allow to establish the origin of the goods or indicate that the goods do not meet the criteria of origin;

d) the verifying authority of the exporting Party has confirmed that the certificate of origin has not been issued (i.e. is fake) or has been cancelled (revoked);

e) the customs authorities of the importing Party have not received a response from the inspection authority of the exporting Party within six months from the date of sending the verification request, or the response received does not contain sufficient information to determine whether the goods originate from that Party; or

f) the customs authority of the importing Party, within 60 days from the date of sending the notification provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 4.31 of this Agreement, has not received written consent from the verifying authority in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 4.31 of this Agreement to conduct an on-site inspection or has been refused to conduct such an on-site inspection.

3. If the importing Party has established during the verification procedures that the exporter or manufacturer of the goods provides false and/or incomplete information for the purpose of obtaining certificates of origin, the customs authorities of the importing Party may refuse to grant preferential tariff treatment for identical goods specified in the certificates of origin issued to such exporter or manufacturer in accordance with relevant national legislation and regulations.

4. In the cases specified in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 2 of this Article and paragraph 1 of Article 4.25 of this Agreement, the customs authorities of the importing Party are not required to send the verification request provided for in Article 4.30 of this Agreement to the authorized body for the purpose of deciding on the refusal to grant preferential tariff treatment.

Article 4.25 Temporary suspension of preferential tariff treatment

1. If the Party has identified:

(a) Systematic violations in the application of preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement in respect of goods exported or manufactured by a person of the other Party; or

b) that the other Party systematically and unreasonably refuses to fulfill the obligations stipulated in Articles 4.30 and/or 4.31 of this Agreement;

In exceptional cases, such a Party may temporarily suspend the provision of preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement.

2. The temporary suspension of preferential tariff treatment in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article may be applied to goods related to:

a) with a person of the exporting Party, if the importing Party has concluded that this person is involved in the commission of systematic violations regarding the application of preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement;

b) with the person appearing in the verification request or the request for an on-site inspection specified in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this article.

6. If the Parties have not reached a mutually acceptable decision within 30 days within the framework of consultations provided for in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 5 of this Article, the Party that made the conclusion shall refer the issue to the Joint Committee for consideration.

7. If the Joint Committee has not taken a decision on this issue within 60 days, the Party that has made such a conclusion may, in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, temporarily suspend the provision of preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement. The Party that has decided to temporarily suspend the provision of preferential tariff treatment must immediately notify the other Party and the Joint Committee. The temporary suspension of preferential tariff treatment does not apply to goods exported from the territory of the exporting Party on the effective date of such temporary suspension. The date of dispatch of the goods must be the date indicated in the transport document issued by the carrier.

8. A temporary suspension of the preferential tariff regime in accordance with this Article may be applied until the exporting Party provides convincing evidence of its ability to meet the requirements of this chapter and ensure compliance with all provisions of this chapter by exporters or producers of goods, but may not last more than four months, which may be extended for a period not exceeding three months.

9. Any suspension of preferential tariff treatment under this Article, as well as any extension of the suspension of preferential tariff treatment, shall be the subject of periodic consultations between the Parties in order to resolve the issue.

SECTION IV. ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION

Article 4.26 Language of administrative cooperation

Any notification and interaction between the Parties under this section should be carried out through the relevant authorities in English.

Article 4.27 Authorized and verifying bodies

The Governments of the Parties will appoint or retain authorized and verification bodies.

Article 4.28 Notifications

1. Prior to the issuance by the authorized body of any certificates of origin in accordance with this Agreement, each of the Parties will send to each other, through the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, respectively, information on the names and addresses of all authorized and verifying authorities, along with original and legible samples of the prints of the seals used by them, as well as a sample the form of the certificate of origin of the goods to be used, and information about the security features of the certificate of origin.

2. Vietnam will send to the Eurasian Economic Commission the initial information specified in paragraph 1 of this article in six copies. The Eurasian Economic Commission may request Vietnam to provide additional copies of this information.

3. The Eurasian Economic Commission and Vietnam must publish information on the Internet about the names and addresses of the authorized and verifying bodies of each of the Parties.

4. Any changes to the information provided for in this article must be notified in advance by the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam in the same manner.

Article 4.29 Development and implementation of an Electronic System of Certification and verification of Origin

1. The Parties will strive to implement the ESA no later than within two years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

2. The purpose of the ESIA is to create a database on the Internet containing information on all certificates of origin issued by authorized bodies, accessible to the customs authorities of the other Party for the purpose of verifying the validity and content of any issued certificate of origin.

3. For this purpose, the Parties should establish a working group that will seek to develop and implement the ESA.

Article 4.30 Verification of origin

1. In case of reasonable doubts about the authenticity of the certificate of origin and/or the conformity of the goods declared in the certificate of origin with the criteria of origin set out in Article 4.3 of this Agreement, as well as during a simple spot check, the customs authorities of the importing Party may apply to the authorized or verifying authority of the exporting Party with a request to confirm the authenticity of the certificate of origin. the origin of the goods and/or the conformity of the goods with the criteria of origin, and/or provide, upon request, documentary evidence from the exporter and/or manufacturer of the goods.

2. All verification requests must be accompanied by information sufficient to identify the goods in question. The request to the verification authority must include information about the circumstances and reasons for its initiation, as well as contain a copy of the certificate of origin.

3. The recipient (authorized or verifying body) of this request in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article must provide a response to the customs authorities of the importing Party within six months from the date of such verification request.

4. In response to a request pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article, the verifying authority of the exporting Party must clearly indicate whether the certificate of origin of the goods is genuine and/or whether the goods can be considered to originate from the territory of such a Party, including providing the requested documentary evidence obtained from the exporter and/or manufacturer of the goods. Until a response to the verification request is received, the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 4.23 of this Agreement may apply. The customs duties paid in this case must be refunded if the results of the verification request confirm and clearly indicate that these goods qualify as original and that they meet all other requirements of this chapter.

Article 4.31 On-site inspection

1. If the Customs authorities of the importing Party are not satisfied with the results of the verification request specified in Article 4.30 of this Agreement, they may, in exceptional circumstances, send a request to the exporting Party to conduct an on-site inspection in order to examine the records specified in Article 4.22 of this Agreement and/or to inspect facilities used in the manufacture of goods.

2. Prior to conducting an on-site inspection in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, the customs authorities of the importing Party must send a written notification of their intention to conduct such an inspection to the inspection authority of the Party in whose territory such an inspection is to be carried out.

3. The written notification referred to in paragraph 2 of this article must be as complete as possible and include, among other things:

a) the name of the Customs authorities of the Party that sent the notification;

b) the name of the manufacturer and/or exporter whose premises are to be visited;

c) estimated dates of the on-site inspection;

(d) The scope of the proposed on-site inspection, including information on the goods being inspected and doubts about their origin;

e) the names or positions of the officials conducting the on-site inspection.

4. The verifying authority of the exporting Party must request written consent from the manufacturer and/or exporter of the goods to conduct an on-site inspection and send it to the requesting Party within 60 days from the date of sending the notification in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.

5. If the written consent of the verifying authority is not received within 60 days from the date of sending the notification referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, or if the on-site inspection is refused, the Party that sent the notification refuses to grant preferential tariff treatment for the goods specified in that certificate(s) on the origin of the goods in respect of which verification is being carried out.

6. Any on-site inspection must be initiated within 60 days from the date of written consent and completed within a reasonable time.

7. The body conducting the on-site inspection must, no later than 90 days from the first day of the on-site inspection, provide the manufacturer and/or exporter of goods whose goods and premises are the subject of the on-site inspection, as well as the verifying authority of the exporting Party with a written decision on the results of such inspection.

8. An on-site inspection, including an actual inspection and determination of whether the affected goods are occurring or not, must be carried out and the results sent to the authorized body within a period not exceeding 210 days. The provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 4.23 of this Agreement may apply until the verification results are received.

9. A suspended or cancelled preferential tariff regime must be restored on the basis of a written decision certifying that these goods qualify as original and that certain criteria of origin have been met in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

10. The inspection group is formed by the central customs authority of the importing Party in accordance with the relevant national legislation and regulations.

11. The verifying body or the authorized body of the exporting Party must assist in conducting an on-site inspection by the customs authorities of the importing Party.

12. The manufacturer and/or exporter of goods who has agreed to conduct an on-site inspection must assist in its implementation, provide access to production facilities, financial (accounting) and other production documents related to the subject of the on-site inspection, and, if necessary, must provide any additional information and/or documents.

13. If, during an on-site inspection, the authorities or organizations of the inspected Party create obstacles to conducting an on-site inspection that make it impossible to conduct such an inspection, the importing Party has the right to refuse to provide the relevant goods with preferential tariff treatment.

14. All costs associated with the on-site inspection must be paid by the importing Party.

Article 4.32 Confidentiality

All information provided in accordance with this chapter should be treated as confidential by the Parties in accordance with their respective national laws and regulations. Such information should not be disclosed without the permission of the person or authority of the Party that provided such information.

Article 4.33 Fines and other anti-fraud measures

Each of the Parties provides for measures of criminal or administrative liability for violations of its relevant legislation and regulations related to this chapter.

Article 4.34 Subcommittee on Rules of Origin Determination

1. For the purposes of effective implementation and implementation of the provisions of this Chapter, the Parties hereby establish a Subcommittee on Rules of Origin Determination (hereinafter referred to as the Subcommittee on Rules of Origin).

2. The Subcommittee on Rules of Origin has the following functions:

a) consideration and adoption of the relevant recommendations of the Joint Committee and the Committee on Goods on:

i. revision of Annex 3 to this Agreement regarding the nomenclature of the revised HS after periodic changes to the HS. Such a review should be carried out in a timely manner and without prejudice to existing obligations.;

ii. the application and operation of this chapter, including with respect to proposals for the establishment of rules for its application;

iii. failure by one of the Parties to fulfill the obligations defined in this section;

iv. technical amendments to this chapter;

v. amendments to Annex 3 to this Agreement;

vi. disputes arising between the Parties during the implementation of this chapter; and

vii. any amendments to the provisions of this Chapter and Annexes 3, 4 and 5 to this Agreement;

(b) Consideration of any other issues related to this chapter proposed by either Party;

(d) Performing other functions that may be assigned by the Joint Committee in accordance with article 1.5 of this Agreement.

3. The Subcommittee on Rules of Origin shall consist of representatives of the Parties and, by mutual agreement of the Parties, may involve representatives of other organizations of the Parties with the necessary competence in the discussion of issues.

4. The Subcommittee on Rules of Origin shall be convened at a time and place determined by agreement of the Parties, but at least once a year.

5. The provisional agenda of each meeting is sent to the Parties, as a rule, no later than one month before the meeting.

SECTION V. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Article 4.35 Goods during transportation or storage

Preferential tariff treatment should be provided in respect of originating goods that were in the process of transportation from the exporting Party to the importing Party or in temporary storage in customs warehouses in the importing Party for a period not exceeding one year prior to the entry into force of the Agreement, if such goods are imported at or after the entry into force of this Agreement, provided presentation to the customs authorities of the importing Party of a certificate of origin issued subsequently, as well as taking into account the need to comply with the relevant national legislation and regulations or administrative procedures of the importing Party.

CHAPTER 5 CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION AND TRADE FACILITATION

Article 5.1 Scope of application

This chapter applies to customs administration measures and customs operations necessary for the release of goods in trade between the Parties in order to facilitate:

(a) Transparency of customs procedures and customs formalities;

(b) Simplification of trade and harmonization of customs operations; and

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

Article 5.2 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter:

a) "customs administration" – the organizational and managerial activities of the customs authorities of the Parties, as well as activities carried out within the framework of the regulatory framework in achieving goals in the field of customs;

b) "customs legislation and regulations" – any rules and regulations applied by the customs authorities of the Parties, including laws, resolutions, decrees, orders, rules, etc.;

c) "express cargoes" - goods delivered via high–speed transport systems of any type of transport using an electronic information management and tracking system for the purpose of delivering goods to the recipient in accordance with a separate payment document in the shortest possible or fixed period of time, with the exception of goods sent by international mail;

d) "processing in the customs territory" is a customs procedure in which foreign goods can be imported into the customs territory of a Party with conditional exemption from customs duties and taxes, provided that such goods are intended for processing or repair and subsequent export from the customs territory of such Party within a specified period of time.;

e) "processing outside the customs territory" is a customs procedure in which goods in free circulation in the customs territory of a Party may be temporarily exported for processing operations abroad and then re–imported with full exemption from customs duties and taxes; and

f) "temporary importation" is a customs procedure in which foreign goods can be imported into the customs territory of a Party with full or partial conditional exemption from customs duties and taxes, provided that such goods must be re–exported within a certain period of time in accordance with the customs legislation and regulations of such Party.

Article 5.3 Simplification of customs administration measures

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

2. The customs administration measures of each Party should, to the extent possible and to the extent permitted by the customs legislation and regulations of such Party, be based on the standards and recommended practices of the World Customs Organization.

3. The central customs authorities of each of the Parties will strive to review their customs administration measures aimed at simplifying them in order to facilitate trade facilitation.

Article 5.4 Release of goods

1. Each Party shall establish or continue to implement customs procedures and operations for the effective release of goods in order to simplify trade between the Parties. This does not oblige a Party to release goods in cases where the requirements for the release of such goods have not been met.

2. In accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, each Party:

a) ensures the release of goods within a period of time not exceeding 48 hours from the date of registration of the customs declaration, except in cases provided for by customs legislation and regulations of the Parties; and

b) seeks to establish or maintain the possibility of electronic presentation and processing of preliminary Customs information prior to the arrival of goods in order to accelerate the release of goods upon their arrival.

Article 5.5 Risk management

The Customs authorities of the Parties should apply a risk management system that allows them to focus inspection procedures on high-risk goods and simplify customs operations for low-risk goods through a systematic risk assessment.

Article 5.6 Customs cooperation

1. In order to facilitate the effective implementation of this Agreement, the central customs authorities of the Parties shall strengthen mutual cooperation on key issues in the field of customs affairs affecting goods in trade between the Parties.

2. If the central customs authority of a Party, in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, has a reasonable suspicion of illegal activities, the central customs authority of such Party has the right to make a request to the central customs authority of the other Party in order to obtain specific confidential information normally collected in relation to the export and/or import of goods.

3. A Party's request made in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article must be executed in writing, contain the purpose for which this information is requested, as well as contain information sufficient to identify those goods in respect of which such a request is being made.

4. The Party to which the request is addressed in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article shall provide a written response containing the requested information.

5. The central customs authority of the Party to which the request is addressed shall seek to provide the central customs authority of the requesting Party with any other information that may assist this central customs authority in establishing the compliance of import or export shipments to/from such Party with the requirements of its relevant legislation and regulations.

6. The central customs authorities of the Parties shall take measures to establish or maintain communication channels for customs cooperation, including the establishment of contact points that will facilitate accelerated and secure information exchange and improve coordination on customs matters.

Article 5.7 Information exchange

1. In order to simplify customs operations, accelerate the release of goods and prevent violations of customs legislation and regulations, the central customs authorities of the Parties will establish and ensure the use of electronic information exchange on a regular basis (hereinafter referred to as electronic information exchange) within five years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

2. On behalf of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Eurasian Economic Commission coordinates the process of creating electronic information exchange and promotes its application.

3. For the purposes of this article, "information" means relevant reliable information from customs declarations and transport documents.

4. Within one year from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the central customs authorities of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, with the assistance of the Eurasian Economic Commission, and the central Customs authority of Vietnam will begin consultations in order to develop an electronic information exchange system in accordance with paragraph 6 of this Article.

5. All the requirements and technical conditions necessary for the functioning of electronic information exchange, as well as the composition of the transmitted information, will be determined in separate protocols between the central customs authorities of the Parties. Such information should be sufficient to identify the goods being transported and to carry out effective customs control.

6. The implementation of electronic information exchange should be divided into the following stages:

a) no later than two years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the above-mentioned authorities will organize an experimental electronic information exchange between individual customs authorities of the Parties responsible for customs clearance of certain types of goods in trade between the Parties. Such separate customs authorities and goods will be determined by the central customs authorities of the Parties in the protocol provided for in paragraph 5 of this Article.;

b) no later than three years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, electronic information exchange will be carried out in respect of goods whose trade turnover between the Parties will increase by more than 20 percent from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.;

c) no later than five years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the central customs authorities of the Parties will ensure the implementation of electronic information exchange between all Customs authorities concerned in respect of all goods in trade between the Parties.

7. All information transmitted in accordance with the provisions of this article should be treated as confidential and used only for customs purposes.

8. The implementation of electronic information exchange does not prevent the application or establishment of any other information exchange based on the international obligations of the Parties.

Article 5.8 Publication

1. The competent authorities of each Party shall publish on the Internet or through any other appropriate media information concerning the customs legislation and regulations of such Party.

2. The competent authorities of each of the Parties will establish or maintain one or more contact points to consider requests from interested persons on customs issues and publish information about such contact points on the Internet.

3. The competent authorities of the Parties shall send each other the contact information about the established contact points.

4. To the extent possible, each Party shall publish in advance the proposed legislation and regulations of general application governing customs issues and provide an opportunity for interested parties to comment on them before adoption.

Article 5.9 Preliminary decisions

1. The Customs authorities of the Parties shall provide in writing to any applicant registered in the importing Party preliminary decisions on tariff classification, on the origin of goods, as well as on any additional issues that the Party considers relevant. The Parties shall make efforts to create or preserve the possibility of issuing preliminary decisions regarding the application of the method of determining the customs value of goods.

2. Each Party shall establish or maintain mechanisms for making preliminary decisions, which:

a) provide that the applicant may apply for a preliminary decision before importing the goods;

(b) Require that, in order to obtain a preliminary decision, the applicant provide in advance a detailed description of the goods and other relevant information necessary for the issuance of such a preliminary decision;

c) provide that the customs authority of the Party may, within 30 days from the date of filing the application, require the applicant to provide additional information within the agreed time limit;

d) provide that any preliminary decision is based on the facts and circumstances provided by the applicant, as well as on other information available to the Customs authorities;

e) provide that a preliminary decision is issued to the applicant as soon as possible or, in any case, no later than 90 days from the date of filing the application or 60 days from the date of receipt of all necessary additional information.

3. The Customs authority of a Party may refuse to issue a preliminary decision if the additional information requested by it in accordance with subparagraph (c) of paragraph 2 of this Article has not been provided within the specified period.

4. The preliminary decision is valid for at least three years from the date of issue or for another period of time exceeding the specified period, if this is established by the customs legislation and regulations of the Parties.

5. The Customs authority may change or revoke the preliminary decision.:

a) if it is established that the preliminary decision is based on false or inaccurate information;

b) if changes have been made to the customs legislation or regulations in accordance with this Agreement; or

c) if the essential facts or circumstances on which the issuance of the preliminary decision was based have changed.

6. The Customs authorities of the Parties shall publish preliminary decisions in accordance with confidentiality requirements.

Article 5.10 Determination of customs value

The customs value of goods in trade between the Parties is determined in accordance with the customs legislation and regulations of the importing Party, which are based on the provisions of Article VII of the GATT 1994 and the Agreement on the Application of the Provisions of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994, contained in Annex 1A to the WTO Agreement.

Article 5.11 Tariff classification

The Parties apply commodity nomenclatures based on the current version of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System in relation to goods in trade between the Parties.

Article 5.12 Transit of goods

The Parties may mutually recognize the means of identification and documents used by the Parties and necessary for the control of goods and ships, as well as other vehicles in transit.

Article 5.13 Express cargo

1. The customs authorities of the Parties shall ensure accelerated customs clearance of express cargoes, while maintaining an appropriate level of customs control.

2. Express cargoes must be placed under the customs procedure in an expedited manner in accordance with the customs legislation and regulations of the relevant Party.

Article 5.14 Temporary importation of goods

In accordance with international standards, the customs authorities of the Parties strive to simplify the performance of customs operations in respect of goods within the framework of the customs procedure for temporary importation of goods.

Article 5.15 Processing in and outside the customs territory

In accordance with international standards, the customs authorities of the Parties strive to simplify customs operations for the temporary import or export of goods for processing within the country or for processing abroad.

Article 5.16 Confidentiality

All information provided in accordance with this chapter, with the exception of statistics, should be treated as confidential by the Parties in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Parties. Information should not be disclosed by the competent authorities of the Parties without the permission of the person or body of the Party that provided such information.

Article 5.17 Customs agents (representatives)

The customs legislation and regulations of the Parties should provide declarants with the right to submit customs declarations independently, without requiring mandatory access to the services of customs agents (representatives).

Article 5.18 Automation

1. The customs authorities of the Parties shall ensure the possibility of carrying out customs operations using information systems and information technologies, including those based on electronic means of communication.

2. The central customs authorities of the Parties shall provide declarants with the possibility of electronic declaration of goods.

Article 5.19 Review and appeal

Each Party shall ensure the possibility of administrative review of decisions taken by customs authorities affecting the rights of interested parties, and the possibility of judicial appeal of such decisions in accordance with the legislation and regulations of the relevant Party.

Article 5.20 Fines

Each Party shall adopt or maintain measures involving the imposition of administrative fines for violations of its customs laws and regulations on the import or export of goods, including provisions on tariff classification, determination of customs value, determination of country of origin and preferential tariff treatment under this Agreement.

CHAPTER 6TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE

Article 6.1 Objectives

The objectives of this chapter are to simplify trade between the Parties by:

(a) Developing cooperation in the development, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in order to eliminate unnecessary technical barriers to trade and, where possible, reduce unnecessary costs incurred by exporters;

(b) Developing a mutual understanding of the standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures of each Party;

c) development of information exchange between the Parties in the field of development, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;

(d) Strengthening cooperation between the Parties in the course of the work of international bodies in the field of standardization and conformity assessment;

(e) Providing a framework for achieving these objectives; and

(f) Developing cooperation on issues related to technical barriers to trade.

Article 6.2 Scope of application

1. This chapter applies to all standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures of the Parties that may directly or indirectly affect trade in goods between the Parties, with the exception of:

(a) Procurement specifications prepared by government agencies for procurement purposes for the production and consumption needs of government agencies; and

(b) Sanitary and phytosanitary measures as defined in Chapter 7 ("Sanitary and phytosanitary measures") of this Agreement.

2. In accordance with this Chapter and the TBT Agreement, each Party has the right to develop, adopt and apply standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

Article 6.3 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, the definitions set out in Annex 1 to the TBT Agreement apply, mutatis mutandis.

Article 6.4 Incorporation of the TBT Agreement

Unless otherwise specified in this chapter, the TBT Agreement applies between the Parties and is hereby incorporated into this Agreement and forms an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

Article 6.5 Transparency

1. The Parties recognize the importance of transparency in the development, adoption and application of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

2. Each Party shall provide a comment period of at least 60 days after the publication of the notification provided for in Articles 2.9 and/or 5.6 of the TBT Agreement, except in cases where urgent safety, health, environmental or national security issues arise or threaten to arise for the Parties.

3. Each Party shall provide for at least 180 days between the adoption of the technical regulation and/or the conformity assessment procedure and its entry into force, except in cases where urgent problems of safety, health, environmental protection or national security arise or threaten to arise for the Parties.

4. The Parties shall, to the greatest extent possible, strive to exchange information in English.

Article 6.6 Labeling and labeling

The Parties note that, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Annex 1 to the TBT Agreement, technical regulations may include or exclusively contain labeling or labeling requirements and agree, in cases where such technical regulations contain mandatory labeling or labeling requirements, to act in accordance with the principles contained in Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement, in accordance with with which technical regulations should not be developed, adopted and applied in this way, to create or lead to the creation of unnecessary obstacles to international trade and to have a more restrictive effect on trade than is necessary to achieve legitimate goals.

Article 6.7 Consultations

1. In cases where the day-to-day application of standards, technical regulations or conformity assessment procedures affects trade between the Parties, the Party may request consultations to resolve this issue. The request for consultations must be sent to the contact point of the other Party established in accordance with Article 6.9 of this Agreement.

2. Each Party shall make every effort to promptly and positively consider any request from the other Party for consultations on matters related to the implementation of this chapter.

3. In cases where an issue related to this chapter cannot be clarified or resolved through consultations, the Parties may establish an ad hoc working group to develop an acceptable and practical solution that will simplify trade. The working group includes representatives of the Parties.

4. If a Party rejects the other Party's request to establish a working group, it shall, upon request, explain the reasons for its decision.

Article 6.8 Cooperation

1. In order to ensure that standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures do not create unnecessary obstacles in the trade of goods between the Parties, the Parties, whenever possible, cooperate in the field of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.

2. Cooperation under paragraph 1 of this article may include the following:

(a) Holding joint seminars to improve mutual understanding of the standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures of each Party;

b) exchange of officials of the Parties for the purpose of professional development;

(d) Strengthening cooperation in international forums, including in the framework of international bodies for standardization and conformity assessment procedures, as well as in the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, in areas of mutual interest;

(e) Support the cooperation of the authorities responsible for standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in each Party on issues of mutual interest;

(f) Ensuring scientific and technical cooperation in order to improve the quality of technical regulations;

g) effective use of regulatory and legal opportunities.

3. The implementation of paragraph 2 of this Article depends on the availability of allocated funds and on the relevant legislation and regulations of each of the Parties.

4. Cooperation in the field of technical barriers to trade can be carried out, inter alia, through dialogue through appropriate channels, joint projects and technical support.

5. The Parties may carry out joint projects, technical support and cooperation on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures in certain areas by mutual agreement.

6. The Parties agreed to exchange views on issues related to technical barriers to trade related to market surveillance and law enforcement practices in this area regarding technical barriers to trade.

7. Upon request, a Party shall pay due attention to proposals for cooperation under this Chapter submitted by the other Party.

8. In order to facilitate the development of cooperation under this chapter, the Parties may conclude ad hoc agreements on the issues covered by it.

Article 6.9 Competent authorities and contact points

1. The Parties shall designate competent authorities and contact points, as well as exchange information containing the names of designated competent authorities and contact points, as well as contact details of relevant officials in these organizations, including telephone, fax, e-mail and other data.

2. The Parties shall immediately notify each other of any changes related to the competent authorities or contact points, as well as changes in information about the relevant officials.

3. The functions of the contact point include:

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 the other Party;

b) transmission of requests from the other Party to the relevant regulatory authorities.

4. The functions of the competent authorities include:

(a) Monitoring the implementation of this chapter;

(b) Facilitating cooperation, as appropriate, in accordance with Article 6.8 of this Agreement;

c) prompt resolution of any issue of the other Party related to the development, adoption, application and enforcement of standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures;

(d) To facilitate, at the request of a Party, consultations on any issues arising under this chapter;

(e) Performing any other actions that, in the view of the Parties, will assist them in the implementation of this chapter; and

(f) Performing such other functions as may be delegated by the Joint Committee.

CHAPTER 7 SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES

Article 7.1 Objectives

The purpose of this chapter is to simplify trade in goods between the Parties by:

a) finding solutions to issues related to sanitary and phytosanitary measures for the protection of human, animal and plant life and health in the territories of the Parties;

(b) Strengthening cooperation between the Parties and their competent authorities, including in the development and application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures as defined in the SPS Agreement;

(c) To simplify the exchange of information in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and to increase knowledge and understanding of the control (supervision) system of each Party.

Article 7.2 Scope of application

This chapter applies to sanitary and phytosanitary measures of the Parties that may, directly or indirectly, affect trade between the Parties.

Article 7.3 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter:

(a) The definitions contained in Annex A to the SPS Agreement apply, mutatis mutandis; and

b) the relevant definitions developed by international organizations: the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and international and regional organizations operating under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) are used mutatis mutandis in the application of this chapter.

Article 7.4 Incorporation of the SPS Agreement

Unless otherwise specified in this Chapter, the SPS Agreement applies between the Parties and is hereby incorporated into this Agreement and forms an integral part of it, mutatis mutandis.

Article 7.5 Equivalence

1. The Parties recognize that equivalence is an important means of facilitating trade.

2. The Parties may recognize the equivalence of a measure, group of measures, or system to the extent feasible and acceptable.

Article 7.6 Adaptation to regional conditions

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

2. When determining such zones, the Parties consider such factors as information from the Parties confirming the status of pest- or disease-free zones and areas with a low spread of pests or diseases, audit results, inspection monitoring results, information provided by the OIE and the IPPC, as well as other factors.

Article 7.7 Audit and inspections

1. Each Party may conduct audits and/or inspections in order to ensure the safety of products (goods).

2. The parties agree to expand their further cooperation in the field of audit and inspections.

3. When conducting an audit and/or inspection, each Party shall take into account relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations.

4. The Party conducting the audit or inspections provides the audited Party with the opportunity to submit comments on the results of the audit and/or inspections.

5. The expenses incurred by the Party conducting the audit or inspections shall be borne by the Party conducting the audit or inspections, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

Article 7.8 Security documents

1. If any document is required to confirm the safety of products (goods) traded between the Parties, the exporting Party shall ensure that the requirements of the importing Party are met. The importing Party shall ensure that the requirements for documents confirming the safety of products (goods) traded between the Parties are applied only to the extent necessary to protect the life or health of humans, animals or plants.

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

3. The Parties may agree on the development of bilateral documents to confirm the safety of a particular product (product) or groups of products (goods) traded between the Parties.

4. In order to simplify trade, the Parties shall promote the use of electronic technologies in the development of documents confirming the safety of products (goods).

Article 7.9 Emergency measures

1. If a Party introduces emergency measures necessary to protect the life or health of people, animals or plants, then such Party

notify the other Party of such measures as soon as possible. The Party that introduced such emergency measures should take into account the relevant information provided by the other Party.

2. At the request of either Party, consultations of the relevant competent authorities on emergency measures are held as soon as possible, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

Article 7.10 Contact points and information exchange

1. The Parties shall notify each other of the contact points for sending information in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, as well as of the authorized competent authorities responsible for matters related to this chapter and the distribution of responsibilities between them.

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

3. The Parties, through their contact points, promptly send each other written notifications regarding:

(a) Any significant food safety issues or changes concerning the life or health of animals or plants, or the incidence or spread of pests in their territories; and

(b) Any changes in legislation or other sanitary or phytosanitary measures.

4. The Parties shall inform each other through their contact points about cases of systematic or significant non-compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary measures, as well as exchange relevant documents confirming such non-compliance.

Article 7.11 Cooperation

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

2. The Parties shall explore opportunities for expanding cooperation, interaction and information exchange on issues of sanitary and phytosanitary measures of mutual interest, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Such opportunities may include trade facilitation initiatives and technical support.

3. The Parties shall strive to work together in international forums, including in international organizations, on issues of mutual interest.

4. In order to develop cooperation within the framework of this chapter, the Parties may reach an ad hoc agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.

Article 7.12 Consultations

1. If a Party considers that any sanitary or phytosanitary measure affects its trade with another Party, it may request consultations through an appropriate contact point in order to resolve this issue.

2. A Party should consider holding consultations under this chapter at the request of the other Party in order to resolve issues arising under this chapter.

3. If either Party considers that such an issue cannot be resolved through consultations in accordance with this Article, that Party has the right to resort to a dispute resolution procedure in accordance with Chapter 14 ("Dispute resolution") of this Agreement.

CHAPTER 8 TRADE IN SERVICES, INVESTMENTS, AND MOVEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS SECTION 1. "HORIZONTAL" PROVISIONS

Article 8.1 Objectives

The objectives of this chapter are to maintain the effectiveness, competitiveness and economic growth of the Parties by facilitating the expansion of trade in services, the establishment, investment and movement of individuals of the Parties to this chapter within a transparent and stable legal system, provided that the rights of the Parties to this chapter to legal regulation for the implementation of national policy objectives are recognized.

Article 8.2 Scope of application

1. This chapter applies only between the Russian Federation and Vietnam, hereinafter referred to as the "Parties to this Chapter" for the purposes of this chapter.

2. This chapter applies to measures of the Parties to this chapter affecting trade in services, establishment, investment and movement of natural persons.

3. With regard to air transportation services, this chapter does not apply to measures affecting air transportation rights, however granted, or to measures affecting services directly related to the exercise of air transportation rights, with the exception of measures affecting aircraft repair and maintenance, sale and marketing of air transportation services, computer system services reservations, as provided for in paragraph 6 of the Annex on Air Transport Services to the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services. The definitions contained in paragraph 6 of the Annex on Air Transport Services to the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services are incorporated into this chapter and become part of it.

4. This chapter does not apply to:

a) public procurement regulated by Chapter 10 of this Agreement;

(b) Measures affecting individuals who seek access to the employment market of a Party to this chapter; or

5. This Chapter does not prevent a Party to this chapter from applying measures to regulate the entry of individuals of the other Party to this Chapter into its territory or their temporary stay there, including measures necessary to protect the integrity of its borders and ensure the orderly movement of individuals across its borders, provided that these measures are not applied in such a way, to cancel or reduce the benefits arising from the other Party to this chapter in accordance with the terms of a specific obligation. The mere fact of requiring a visa for individuals of a Party to this Chapter, but not for persons of any other third State, is not considered to be a cancellation or reduction of benefits in accordance with the obligations assumed in this chapter.

Article 8.3 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter:

(a) "Trade in services" means the supply of services:

i. from the territory of one Party of this Chapter to the territory of the other Party of this Chapter;

ii. in the territory of one Party to this Chapter, the consumer of the services of the other Party to this Chapter;

b) "Service delivery" includes the production, distribution, marketing, sale and delivery of services;

(c) "Services" includes any service in any sector, with the exception of services provided neither commercially nor in competition with one or more service providers;

(d) "Service provider" means any person who provides a service;

(e) "Consumer of the service" means any person who receives or uses the service;

(f) "Person" means both a legal entity and an individual;

(g) "Natural person of a Party to this Chapter" means an individual who, in accordance with the laws and regulations of that Party to this Chapter, is a national of such Party to this Chapter;

(h) "Legal entity" means any legal entity duly incorporated or otherwise organized in accordance with laws and regulations.

Legal entity:

"belongs" to persons of a Party to this Chapter, if more than 50% of the participation in it is actually owned by persons of such a Party to this Chapter.;

It is "controlled" by persons of the Party to this Chapter, if such persons are authorized to appoint the majority of its directors or otherwise lawfully direct its activities.

(i) "Legal entity of a Party to this Chapter" means a legal entity established or otherwise established in accordance with the laws and regulations of such Party;

(j) "Economic integration agreements" means international agreements that comply with the requirements of Article V and/or Article Vbis of the GATS;

(k) "Measure" means any measure taken by a Party to this chapter, whether in the form of a law, regulation, rule, procedure, decision, administrative action or in any other form;

(l) "Measure of a Party to this Chapter" means measures taken:

i. by central, regional or local Governments and other authorities of such Party to this Chapter, and

ii. non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local Governments and other authorities of such a Party to this Chapter.

(m) "Measures of the Parties to this chapter affecting trade in services" include measures in respect of:

i. purchase, payment or use of the service;

ii. access to services and the use, in connection with the supply of services, of services for which the Parties to this Chapter have established the requirements of a wide public offering.

(n) "Measures of the Parties to this chapter affecting the establishment, commercial presence and activities" include measures

with respect to the establishment and commercial presence of legal entities of one Party to this Chapter in the territory of the other Party to this chapter, or measures with respect to their activities;

(o) "Institution" means:

i. establishment (or establishment) and/or acquisition of a legal entity (participation in the capital of an existing legal entity) of any organizational and legal form and form of ownership provided for by the legislation and regulations of the Party to this Chapter in whose territory such a person is established, created or acquired;

ii. acquisition of control over a legal entity by the Parties to this Chapter by legally determining, directly or indirectly, the decisions of such a legal entity, including through voting shares (stakes), participation in the governing bodies of such a legal entity (including the board of directors, supervisory board, etc.); or

iii. establishment of a branch office; or

iv. establishment of a representative office,

for the purpose of providing services and/or carrying out economic activities in non-service sectors;

p) "commercial presence" means established, established, acquired or controlled legal entities and/or branches or representative offices established for the purpose of providing services and/or carrying out economic activities in sectors other than services. For the purposes of this Section, an established, formed, acquired, operated, or established commercial presence is hereinafter referred to as an "established commercial presence";

(q) "Activity" means activities of an industrial, commercial or professional nature of the legal entities, branches, representative offices referred to in subparagraph (o) of this article, with the exception of activities carried out neither on a non-commercial basis nor in competition with one or more persons engaged in the same activity.

Article 8.4 Other international agreements

If an international agreement to which both Parties to this chapter participate, including the WTO Agreement, provides for more favorable treatment for their persons (service providers) and/or their commercial presence, services or investments in matters covered by this chapter, then this Agreement does not affect such more favorable treatment.

Article 8.5 Internal regulation

1. Article VI of the GATS applies mutatis mutandis between the Parties to this Chapter.

2. Without prejudice to the right of a Party to this Chapter to establish and apply licensing procedures and requirements related to the service sectors for which such Party has entered into specific obligations under section II ("Trade in services") of this chapter, as well as related to the establishment and activities covered by section III ("Establishment, commercial presence and activities") of this Chapter, such Party shall ensure that:

a) its licensing procedure, as such, will not constitute a restriction on the establishment, operation or supply of the service, and its licensing requirements directly related to the acceptability for the purpose of supplying the service, as such, will not constitute an unjustified obstacle to the supply of such a service.;

b) its authorized authorities shall decide on the issue/refusal to issue a license without undue delay and within the time period specified in the relevant legislation and regulations of such Party.;

c) any fee charged in connection with the filing and consideration of a license application, as such, will not constitute a restriction on the provision of services, institutions or activities;

d) after the expiration of any period of consideration of the license application established by the legislation and regulations of such Party, and at the request of the applicant, the competent authorities of such Party shall inform the applicant of the status and completeness of his application. If such authorities require additional information from the applicant, they will notify the applicant without undue delay and specify what additional information is required to complete the application. Applicants should be able to provide the requested additional information and make technical corrections to the application. The application will not be considered complete until all the information and documents provided for by the relevant legislation and regulations of such a Party have been received.;

e) at the written request of the applicant whose application has been rejected, the authorized body that rejected the application shall inform the applicant in writing of the reasons for rejecting the application. However, this provision does not imply a requirement for disclosure of information by a supervisory authority if such disclosure impedes law enforcement or otherwise contradicts the public interest or essential security interests.;

f) if the application is rejected, the applicant has the right to submit a new application in order to resolve any previous problems with obtaining a license.

Article 8.6 Contact points

Each Party to this chapter should identify its national contact points in order to facilitate interaction between the Parties to this Chapter on issues covered by this chapter, as well as exchange information on such contact points with the other Party to this Chapter. The parties to this chapter must immediately notify each other of any changes in the information about their contact points.

Article 8.7 Denial of benefits

A Party to this chapter may refuse to provide the benefits provided for in this section to a person of the other Party to this Chapter if the first Party establishes that such person is a legal entity that does not conduct significant business operations in the territory of the other Party to this chapter and is owned or controlled by persons:

(a) Any third State; or

b) the first Party.

Article 8.8 Restrictions to protect the balance of payments

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 8.18 and 8.37 of this Agreement, each Party to this Chapter may establish and maintain restrictions on trade in services, institutions and investments in respect of which such Party has entered into obligations under this Chapter, including payments or transfers for transactions related to such obligations referred to in Articles 8.18 and 8.37. in the event of serious difficulties with the balance of payments and external financial difficulties or threats thereof, provided that such restrictions:

a) are applied on the basis of the most-favored-nation treatment;

b) comply with the articles of the Agreement on the International Monetary Fund;

c) should avoid causing unnecessary damage to the commercial, economic and financial interests of the other Party to this Chapter;

(d) Do not exceed the limits of necessity in the circumstances set out in this paragraph;

(e) Should be temporary and gradually eliminated as the situation referred to in this paragraph improves.

2. A Party to this chapter that imposes a restriction in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article must immediately notify the other Party to this chapter of such a measure.

3. In determining the scope of such restrictions, the Parties to this chapter may give preference to the supply of services that are more important for their economic or development programs. However, such restrictions should not be imposed or maintained in order to protect a particular service sector.

4. No provisions of this Agreement shall affect the rights and obligations of a Party to this Chapter that is a member of the International Monetary Fund in accordance with the articles of the Agreement on the International Monetary Fund, including the application of currency exchange measures consistent with the articles of the Agreement on the International Monetary Fund, provided that such Party to this Chapter will not apply restrictions that do not comply with the conditions provided for in paragraph 1 of this article.

5. The dispute resolution procedures provided for in Article 8.38 of this Agreement will not apply to this Article.

Article 8.9 Accession

1. Notwithstanding article 15.2 of this Agreement, any member State of the Eurasian Economic Union may accede to this chapter on the terms agreed upon between such Member State of the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam with respect to Lists of Specific Obligations and Lists of Exemptions.

2. In case of accession of a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union to this chapter, the provisions of this chapter should neither be applied between the Parties to this chapter that are member States of the Eurasian Economic Union, nor grant Vietnam any rights and privileges granted by the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union exclusively to each other.

Article 8.10 Introduction of amendments

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15.5 of this Agreement, this chapter may be amended with the mutual written consent of the Parties to this chapter.

2. Amendments to this chapter resulting from the accession of a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union must be made with the mutual written consent of the Parties to this chapter and the member State of the Eurasian Economic Union acceding to this chapter.

Article 8.11 Consultations

1. At the request of any of the Parties to this Chapter, the Parties to this chapter shall consult on the interpretation or application of the provisions of this chapter.

2. The consultations provided for in paragraph 1 of this article may be conducted by a Joint Committee established in accordance with Article 1.4 of this Agreement.

3. For the purposes of this chapter, the Joint Committee should be co-chaired by representatives of the Parties to this chapter, and any decisions of the Joint Committee on matters covered by this Chapter should be taken by consensus only by the Parties to this chapter.

Article 8.12 Settlement of disputes between the Parties to this Chapter

1. The provisions of Chapter 14 ("Dispute resolution") of this Agreement shall apply to the settlement of disputes between the Parties to this Chapter on the interpretation or application of this chapter, as amended in paragraph 2 of this article.

2. For the purposes of this chapter:

(a) The term "Party to the dispute" referred to in chapter 14 of this Agreement shall mean "Party to this Chapter";

b) the request for consultations referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 14.6 of this Agreement must be submitted in writing to the Respondent Party through its contact points designated in accordance with Article 8.6 of this Agreement.;

(c) The request for the establishment of the Panel of Arbitrators referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 14.7 of this Agreement must be submitted in writing to the Respondent Party through its contact points designated in accordance with Article 8.6 of this Agreement; and

(d) The suspension of the benefits referred to in article 14.15 of this Agreement may be applied only to the benefits provided for in this chapter.

Article 8.13 Lists of obligations

"List of specific obligations under section II (Trade in services)", "List of exemptions under section III (Establishment, commercial presence and activity)", "List of specific obligations under section IV (Movement of individuals)" and "List of most-favored-nation exemptions under articles 8.15 and 8.22 of this Agreement" must be signed in the form of Protocol No. 1 between the Russian Federation and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

to the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member States, on the one hand,

and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on the other hand (hereinafter referred to in this chapter as "Protocol No. 1"), on the date of signing this Agreement. Protocol No. 1 should form an integral part of this Agreement and should impose obligations only on the Russian Federation and Vietnam.

SECTION II. TRADE IN SERVICES

Article 8.14 Scope of application

1. This section applies to any measures of the Parties to this chapter affecting trade in services.

2. This section does not apply to the provision of subsidies or other forms of state or municipal support to service providers or their services.

Article 8.15 Most-favored-nation treatment

1. With respect to any measure covered by this section, each Party to this Chapter shall immediately and unconditionally provide the services and service providers of the other Party to this Chapter with treatment no less favourable than that which it provides to similar services and service providers of any third country.

2. A Party to this chapter may retain a measure that does not comply with paragraph 1 of this Article, provided that such measure is indicated in the individual national List in Annex 1 to Protocol No. 1.

3. The provisions of this section shall not be interpreted as preventing a Party to this Chapter from transferring or providing advantages for the purpose of facilitating trade in services within the border territories that are both supplied and used.

within such territories.

4. Nothing in this Agreement implies the obligations of a Party to this Chapter to provide the services or service providers of the other Party to this Chapter with benefits or advantages that the first Party provides or will provide in the future.:

(a) In accordance with the economic integration agreements of the first Party; or

b) on the basis of agreements for the avoidance of double taxation or other arrangements on tax matters.

Article 8.16 Market access

1. With regard to market access through the methods of supply defined in Article 8.3 of this Agreement, each Party to this Chapter provides services and service providers of the other Party to this Chapter with a regime no less favorable than that provided in accordance with the conditions, restrictions and provisions agreed upon and provided for in its List in Annex 2 to Protocol No. 1.1.

2. In sectors where market access obligations have been undertaken, measures that a Party to this Chapter does not maintain or establish within a regional division or throughout its territory, unless otherwise specified in its List in Annex 2 to Protocol No. 1, are defined as:

a) restrictions on the number of service providers in the form of quantitative quotas, monopolies, exclusive service providers or in the form of economic feasibility test requirements;

b) restrictions on the total value of transactions on services or assets in the form of quantitative quotas or requirements of the economic feasibility test;

c) restrictions on the total number of transactions with services or the total volume of production of services, expressed in the form of established quantitative units of measurement in the form of quotas or requirements of the economic feasibility test.

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1 If a Party undertakes a market access obligation with respect to the supply of a service from the territory of one Party to the territory of the other Party and if the cross-border movement of capital is an essential part of the service itself, such Party undertakes to allow such capital movement.

Article 8.17 National treatment

1. In the sectors included in its List in Annex 2 to Protocol No. 1, and in accordance with the conditions and requirements specified therein, each Party to this Chapter shall provide services and service providers of the other Party to this Chapter with treatment no less favorable than that of all measures affecting the supply of services. the mode that it provides to its own similar services and service providers.2

2. A Party to this chapter may comply with the requirement of paragraph 1 of this Article by providing the services and service providers of the other Party to this Chapter with either formally the same treatment or a regime formally different from that which it provides to its own similar services and service providers.

3. A formally similar or formally different regime is considered less favorable if it changes the conditions of competition in favor of services or service providers of a Party to this Chapter, compared with similar services or service providers of another Party to this Chapter.

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2 The specific obligations assumed in accordance with this Article should not be interpreted as a requirement for a Party to this Chapter to compensate for the loss of competitive advantages resulting from the foreign nature of the services or service providers.

Article 8.18 Payments and transfers

1. With the exception of the cases specified in Article 8.8 of this Agreement, a Party to this Chapter will not apply restrictions on international transfers and payments for current transactions related to its specific obligations under this section.

2. Nothing in this chapter affects the rights and obligations of the Parties to this chapter as members of the International Monetary Fund in accordance with the articles of the Agreement on the International Monetary Fund, including conducting currency transactions that are compatible with the articles of the Agreement on the International Monetary Fund, provided that the Party to this Chapter does not impose restrictions on any capital transactions, incompatible with its specific obligations assumed in accordance with this section and relating to such transactions, with the exception of those, as provided for in Article 8.8 of this Agreement, or at the request of the International Monetary Fund.

Article 8.19 Recognition

The provisions of Article VII of the GATS apply mutatis mutandis between the Parties to this Chapter.

SECTION III. INSTITUTION, COMMERCIAL PRESENCE, AND ACTIVITY

Article 8.20 Scope of application

1. This section applies to any measures of the Parties to this chapter affecting the institution, commercial presence and activities.

2. The provisions of this section shall apply to a commercial presence established by a person of one Party to this Chapter in the territory of the other Party to this Chapter on or after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

3. This section does not apply to the provision of subsidies or other forms of state or municipal support to individuals and their commercial presence in connection with an institution and/or activity.

Article 8.21 National treatment

1. With respect to the institution and in accordance with the reservations set out in its individual national List reflected in Annex 3 to Protocol No. 1, each Party to this Chapter shall grant on its territory to persons of the other Party to this chapter a regime no less favourable than that which it grants in similar circumstances to its own persons.

2. With respect to activities and in accordance with the reservations set out in its individual national List reflected in Annex 3 to Protocol No. 1, each Party to this Chapter shall provide a commercial presence established by a person of the other Party to this Chapter in the territory of the first Party with a regime no less favorable than that which it provides in similar circumstances. the commercial presence of its own entities established on its territory.

Article 8.22 Most-favored-nation treatment

1. With respect to the institution and in accordance with the reservations set out in its individual national List reflected in Annex 1 to Protocol No. 1, each Party to this Chapter shall grant persons of the other Party to this chapter treatment no less favourable than that which it grants in similar circumstances to persons of any third State.

2. With respect to activities and in accordance with the reservations set out in its individual national List reflected in Annex 1 to Protocol No. 1, each Party to this Chapter shall provide a commercial presence established by a person of the other Party to this Chapter in the territory of the first Party with a regime no less favorable than that which it provides in similar circumstances. commercial presence of persons from any third country.

3. In order to avoid discrepancies, this article does not apply to such procedures or mechanisms for resolving international disputes as those provided for in Article 8.38 of this Agreement.

4. Nothing in this Agreement implies the obligations of a Party to this Chapter to provide benefits or advantages to persons or commercial presence of persons of the other Party to this Chapter that the first Party provides or will provide in the future.:

(a) In accordance with the economic integration agreements of the first Party; or

b) on the basis of agreements for the avoidance of double taxation or other arrangements on tax matters.

Article 8.23 Market access

With respect to the establishment and/or activities, none of the Parties to this Chapter retains or applies to persons of the other Party to this chapter and/or their established commercial presence in the territory of the first Party, respectively, restrictions on:

a) forms of commercial presence, including the organizational and legal form of the person;

b) the total number of established commercial presence units;

(c) The maximum percentage limitation on the size of the share of persons of the other Party to this chapter in the capital of a legal entity of the first Party or the degree of control over such a legal entity;

d) transactions/operations carried out by a commercial presence established by a person of the other Party to this Chapter in the course of its activities, in the form of a quota or a requirement for an economic feasibility test;

with the exception of the restrictions provided for by the individual national List of the first Party, reflected in Annex 3.

to Protocol No. 1.

Article 8.24 Activity requirements

1. In accordance with the exceptions recorded in its individual national List, reflected in Annex 3 to Protocol No. 1, none of the Parties to this Chapter will, in connection with the establishment and/or activities, impose or enforce the commercial presence of persons of the other Party to this chapter established in the territory of the first Party, respectively, no requirements:

a) export a certain amount or share of goods or services;

b) purchase, use or provide advantages to goods produced in its territory.;

(c) Establish in any way the dependence of the volume or value of imports on the volume or value of exports or on the amount of foreign currency receipts in connection with such an institution and/or such activities;

d) restrict the sale of goods or services in its territory that are produced or supplied by such a commercial presence by correlating such sales, in one way or another, with the volume or value of its exports or foreign currency earnings;

e) transfer certain technology, production process or other proprietary information to persons in the territory of the first Party; or

f) to supply exclusively from the territory of the first Party the goods that it produces or the services that it supplies to a specific regional or global market.

2. None of the Parties to this Chapter will condition the receipt or continuation of an advantage in connection with the establishment and/or operation of a commercial presence of persons of the other Party to this chapter established in the territory of the first Party on compliance with any of the following requirements:

a) purchase, use or provide advantages to goods produced in the territory of the first Party;

b) establish in any way the dependence of the volume or value of imports on the volume or value of exports, or on the amount of foreign currency receipts in connection with such an institution and/or activity;

(c) Restrict the sale of goods or services in its territory that are produced or supplied by such a commercial presence by correlating such sales in one way or another with the volume or value of its exports or foreign exchange earnings.

3. Nothing in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be interpreted as preventing a Party to this Chapter from obtaining or continuing to receive benefits in connection with the establishment and/or activities of persons of the other Party to this Chapter and/or the commercial presence of such persons established in the territory of the first Party, compliance with the requirements of localization of production, provision of services, training or recruitment employees, the construction or expansion of any production facilities or the conduct of research and development on the territory of the first Party.

4. In order to avoid discrepancies, nothing in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be interpreted as preventing a Party to this chapter from applying or enforcing any requirements, in connection with the commercial presence of persons of the other Party to this Chapter, with respect to the hiring or training of employees in its territory, provided that such hiring or training does not require transfer of a specific technology, production process, or know-how to a person in that territory.

5. Subparagraph (e) of paragraph 1 of this article does not apply:

(a) If a Party to this Chapter authorizes the use of intellectual property rights in accordance with article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement, or to measures requiring disclosure of private information that fall within or comply with Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement; or

b) if the requirement is applied or enforced by a judicial or other appropriate authority in accordance with

with the competition law and regulations of the Party to this Chapter that applies or enforces such a requirement.

6. Sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this article and sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 2 of this article do not apply to qualification requirements for goods or services in relation to export promotion and assistance programs to foreign States.

7. This article does not affect the rules of origin applied by the Parties to this Chapter and which are the subject of Chapter 4 ("Rules for Determining Origin").

Article 8.25 Top management, Board of Directors

In connection with the institution and/or activity and in accordance with the restrictions provided for in the individual national List of the first Party in Annex 3 to Protocol No. 1, as well as in accordance with the conditions and restrictions set out in section IV ("Transfer of natural persons") of this Chapter, none of the Parties to this Chapter will require that a legal entity of such a Party appoint individuals of a certain nationality to senior management positions.

SECTION IV. MOVEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS

Article 8.26 Scope of application

1. This Chapter applies to measures affecting the temporary entry and stay of individuals of one Party to this Chapter in the territory of the other Party to this Chapter in respect of the categories of such individuals listed in the List of such other Party in Annex 4 to Protocol No. 1. These categories of individuals may include:

a) business visitors;

b) intra-company transfer;

c) installers or maintenance personnel;

d) investors;

e) Contractual service providers.

This section does not apply to the provision of subsidies or other forms of State or municipal support to service providers or their services covered by this section.

2. This chapter does not apply to measures affecting individuals of a Party to this Chapter who seek access to the employment market of another Party to this Chapter, as well as to measures relating to citizenship, nationality, permanent residence or permanent employment.

3. In order to avoid discrepancies, nothing in this Agreement should be interpreted as an obligation of a Party to this Chapter with respect to any requirements or procedures related to the issuance of visas to individuals of the other Party to this Chapter.

4. For the purposes of this chapter, "temporary entry or stay" means the entry or stay of an individual of one Party to this Chapter in the territory of the other Party to this Chapter without the intention of permanent residence.

5. With the exception of what is provided for in its List in Annex 4 to Protocol No. 1, none of the Parties to this Chapter may impose or maintain in force any quantitative restrictions or requirements of the economic feasibility test with respect to the temporary entry or stay of individuals referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

Article 8.27 Recognition

The provisions of Article VII of the GATS apply mutatis mutandis between the Parties to this Chapter.

SECTION V. CAPITAL INVESTMENTS

Article 8.28 Definitions

For the purposes of this section, the following terms mean:

a) "capital investment" means any type of property assets invested by an investor of one Party to this Chapter in the territory of the other Party to this Chapter in accordance with the laws and regulations of the latter Party that qualify for investment, including such attributes as investment obligations with respect to capital or other resources, expected profit and risk assumption, including, but not limited to:

i. movable and immovable property, as well as any property rights such as liens or mortgage rights;

ii. shares, deposits and any other forms of participation in the capital of a legal entity;

iii. bonds and other debt obligations;

iv. rights of claim for monetary funds or for contracts having economic value3 related to capital investments;

v. Intellectual property rights;

vi. business reputation;

vii. business rights with economic value granted on the basis of a law or contract, including, in particular, rights to construction, production, income distribution agreements and concession agreements related, in particular, to the exploration, development, extraction and exploitation of natural resources.

No change in the form of invested or reinvested property assets affects the qualification as an investment. Such a change is carried out in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Party to this Chapter in whose territory the investments were made.

b) "investor of a Party to this Chapter" means any natural or legal person of such a Party to this Chapter, in accordance with its laws and regulations, who has made investments in the territory of another Party to this Chapter.;

(c) "Income" means funds received from investments, including, but not limited to, profits, dividends, interest, capital gains, royalties and other remuneration; and

(d) "Freely convertible currency" means a freely convertible currency as defined by the International Monetary Fund in accordance with the articles of Agreement on the International Monetary Fund.

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3 For the avoidance of doubt, the term "investments" does not mean monetary claims arising solely by virtue of:

a. commercial contracts for the purchase and sale of goods or services, or

b. providing credit in connection with such commercial contracts.

Article 8.29 Scope of application

1. The provisions of this section shall apply to all investments made by investors of one of the Parties to this Chapter in the territory of the other Party to this Chapter after June 19, 1981 and existing on the date of entry into force of this Agreement, but shall not apply to any action or fact that has taken place, or to any situation or dispute that arose or ceased prior to the entry into force of this Agreement.

2. Investments made by investors of one Party to this Chapter in the territory of the other Party to this Chapter in the form of an establishment and commercial presence, as defined and regulated by section III ("Establishment, commercial presence and activity") of this Chapter, do not fall within the scope of Articles 8.30, 8.31, 8.32 and 8.33 of this Agreement.

3. This section does not apply to the provision of subsidies or other forms of state or municipal support for investors and their investments, with the exception of subsidies and other forms of state or municipal support for investors and their investments provided for in Article 8.34 of this Agreement.

Article 8.30 Encouragement and admission of investments

Each Party to this Chapter encourages investors of the other Party and creates favorable conditions for them to make investments in its territory and allows investments by investors of the other Party to this chapter in accordance with the laws and regulations of the first Party.

Article 8.31 Fair and equitable treatment and full protection and security

1. Each Party to this Chapter shall provide the investments of investors of the other Party to this Chapter with fair and equitable treatment, as well as full protection and security.

2. "Fair and equitable treatment", as referred to in paragraph 1 of this article, requires, in particular, each Party to this chapter not to deny justice in any judicial or administrative proceedings.

3. "Full protection and security", as specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, requires each Party to this Chapter to take such measures as may be reasonably necessary to ensure the protection and security of the investments of an investor of the other Party to this chapter.

4. With respect to investments by an investor of the other Party to this chapter in the territory of the first Party, the concepts of "fair and equitable treatment" and "full protection and security", as indicated in paragraph 1 of this article, do not require the provision of a more favorable regime than that provided to the first Party's own investors and/or investors of any third State in accordance with its legislation and regulations.

5. The discovery of a violation of another provision of this Agreement or a separate international agreement does not imply a violation of this article.

Article 8.32 National treatment

1. Each Party to this Chapter shall provide investors of the other Party to this Chapter and investments of investors of the other Party to this Chapter with a regime no less favorable than that which it provides in similar circumstances to its own investors and their investments in its territory.

2. Each Party to this chapter reserves the right, in accordance with its legislation and regulations, to apply and introduce exemptions from the national regime specified in paragraph 1 of this article in relation to foreign investors and their investments, including repeat investments.

Article 8.33 Most-favored-nation treatment

1. Each Party to this Chapter shall grant investors of the other Party to this Chapter and investments of investors of the other Party to this chapter a regime no less favorable than the regime it grants in similar circumstances to investors of any third State and their investments in its territory.

2. In order to avoid discrepancies, this article does not apply to such procedures or mechanisms for resolving international disputes as those provided for in Article 8.38 of this Agreement.

3. Nothing in this section should be interpreted as an obligation of a Party to this Chapter to provide investors of the other Party to this Chapter or their investments with benefits or advantages that the first Party provides or will provide in the future.:

(a) In accordance with the economic integration agreements of the first Party; or

b) on the basis of agreements for the avoidance of double taxation or other arrangements on tax matters.

Article 8.34 Compensation for damage

Each Party to this Chapter shall provide investors of the other Party to this Chapter and investments of investors of the other Party to this Chapter with respect to measures that it establishes or maintains relating to damage caused to investments of such investors in its territory in connection with military operations or other armed conflicts, rebellions, uprisings, revolutions, riots, civil unrest or riots., the regime is no less favorable than it provides in similar circumstances:

(a) Its own investors and their investments; or

b) investors of any third country and their investments.

Article 8.35 Expropriation and compensation

1. None of the Parties to this Chapter shall subject investments of an investor of the other Party to this Chapter to nationalization, expropriation or other measures equivalent in consequences of nationalization or expropriation (hereinafter referred to as expropriation), except in cases when expropriation is carried out:

a) in the public interest;

b) in accordance with the procedure established in accordance with the legislation and regulations of the first Party;

(d) With the payment of prompt, adequate and effective compensation in accordance with paragraph 3 of this article.

2. Determining whether such a measure or a series of such measures results in consequences equivalent to nationalization or expropriation by a Party to this chapter requires a case-by-case factual examination that will take into account, among other things:

(a) The economic impact of a measure or series of measures, although the mere fact that a measure or series of measures of any Party to this chapter adversely affects the economic value of investments does not establish that expropriation has taken place;

(b) The nature of the measure or series of measures of each of the Parties to this chapter.

3. Compensation provided for in subparagraph (d) of paragraph 1 of this article:

a) paid without undue delay;

b) must be equivalent to the fair market value of the expropriated investments calculated on the date when the actual or impending expropriation was publicly announced, whichever is earlier.;

c) is paid in freely convertible currency or, with the consent of the investor, in the currency of the Party to this chapter that carried out the expropriation, and is freely transferred in accordance with the provisions of Article 8.37 of this Agreement. From the date of expropriation to the date of payment of compensation, interest will be accrued on the amount of compensation at a commercial rate determined on a market basis.

4. This article does not apply to the issuance of compulsory licenses issued in connection with intellectual property rights in accordance with the TRIPS Agreement.

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Article, the expropriation of land in the territory of one of the Parties to this Chapter must be carried out in accordance with the laws and regulations of such Party for the purposes established in accordance with the above legislation and regulations, and with the payment of compensation, which is assessed with due regard to market value and paid without unjustified delay in accordance with the laws and regulations of such a Party.

Article 8.36 Subrogation

1. If a Party to this chapter or an agency authorized by it has made a payment to an investor of such Party on the basis of a guarantee, insurance contract or other form of guaranteed compensation for losses related to non-commercial risks that it provided in connection with investments, the other Party to this chapter recognizes the subrogation or transfer of any right or claim of the investor in connection with such investments to the first The Party or the agency designated by it. The subrogated or transferred right or claim must not exceed the original right or claim of the investor. In order to avoid discrepancies, such a right or requirement must be exercised in accordance with the laws and regulations of the latter Party, but without prejudice to Articles 8.21, 8.22, 8.23, 8.24 and 8.25 of this Agreement.

2. If a Party to this chapter or an agency authorized by it has made a payment to an investor of such Party and obtained the rights and claims of the investor, such investor shall not use these rights and claims against the other Party to this chapter, except in cases where he is authorized to act on behalf of such Party or on behalf of the agency authorized by it making such payment.

Article 8.37 Transfer of payments

1. With the exception of the cases provided for in Article 8.8 of this Agreement, each Party to this Chapter guarantees investors of the other Party to this Chapter, provided that they fulfill all tax and other obligations in accordance with the laws and regulations of the first Party, the free transfer abroad of payments related to their investments, in particular:

a) income;

(b) Funds for repayment of loans and credits recognized by each Party to this chapter as investments, as well as accrued interest;

(d) Compensation provided for in articles 8.34 and 8.35 of this Agreement;

e) salaries and other remuneration received by the investor and individuals of the other Party to this Chapter who have received a work permit in connection with investments in the territory of the first Party.

2. The transfer of payments shall be carried out without undue delay in freely convertible currency at the exchange rate valid on the date of transfer, in accordance with the provisions of the currency legislation and regulations of the Party to this Chapter in whose territory the investments were made.

Article 8.38 Dispute resolution between a Party to this Chapter and an investor of the other Party to this Chapter

1. Disputes between a Party to this Chapter and an investor of the other Party to this Chapter arising in connection with a claimed violation of the obligations of the first Party under this chapter in connection with an investment made by an investor in the territory of the first Party shall, if possible, be resolved amicably through negotiations. Such negotiations may include the use of non-binding procedures involving a third party, such as good offices, conciliation and mediation.

2. A written request for negotiations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article submitted by an investor must include:

a) the name and address of the investor who is a party to the dispute;

b) for each claim, the specific provisions in accordance with this chapter that are alleged to have been violated;

d) the claims and the approximate amount of the claimed damage.

3. If the dispute cannot be resolved amicably through negotiations within six months from the date of receipt by the Party to the dispute of a written request from the investor of the other Party to this Chapter, such dispute shall be referred, at the investor's choice, to the:

(a) The competent court of the Party to this Chapter in whose territory the investment was made; or

(b) An ad hoc arbitral tribunal in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law; or

(c) The International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes established in accordance with the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States, opened for signature in Washington on March 18, 1965 (ICSID Convention), provided that the disputing Party and the Party whose investor participates in the dispute is a party to the ICSID Convention; or

(d) Arbitration in accordance with the ICSID Supplementary Procedure, provided that either the disputing Party or the Party whose investor is involved in the dispute is a party to the ICSID Convention; or

e) subject to the agreement of the parties to the dispute, any other arbitration institution or in accordance with any other rules of arbitration.

4. The choice of the institution referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article is final.

5. Any decision of the arbitration is final and binding on both parties to the dispute. Each Party to this chapter undertakes to enforce the said decision in accordance with its legislation and regulations.

6. No claims may be submitted to arbitration in accordance with this section if more than three years have passed since the date when the plaintiff first learned or when he reasonably should have first learned about the alleged violation in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article.

7. An individual who was a citizen of a Party to this Chapter on the date of the investment shall not have the right to file a claim against such Party in accordance with this Article.

CHAPTER 8 CIS STATE-OWNED, STATE-CONTROLLED ENTERPRISES AND ENTERPRISES WITH SPECIAL OR EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGES

Article 8 BIS.1 Scope

This chapter applies only between the Russian Federation and Vietnam.

Article 8 BIS.2 Enterprises owned by the State, controlled by the State and enterprises with special or exclusive privileges

The Russian Federation and Vietnam ensure that the activities of their State-owned, State-controlled enterprises and enterprises with special or exclusive privileges will comply with their respective WTO obligations contained in the Protocol on Accession to the WTO of the Russian Federation and Vietnam, respectively.

CHAPTER 9 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Article 9.1 Objectives

The Parties reaffirm their commitment to reducing barriers to trade and investment by promoting deeper economic integration through the creation of intellectual property and the effective and adequate use, protection and protection of intellectual property rights, taking into account the differences in their respective laws and regulations and levels of economic development and opportunities., as well as the need to maintain an appropriate balance between the rights of intellectual property owners and the legitimate interests of users in relation to objects protected by intellectual property rights.

Article 9.2 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter:

a) "intellectual property" means objects of copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications (including names of places of origin), inventions (including useful solutions), utility models, industrial designs, integrated circuit topologies, plant varieties and undisclosed information;

(b) "Geographical indication" means an indication that identifies the product as originating in the territory of a Party, or from a region or locality in that territory, if the specified quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product are directly related to its geographical origin, as defined in article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement;

(c) "Appellation of origin" means a geographical designation representing or containing a modern or historical, official or unofficial, full or abbreviated name of a country, region or locality or other geographical area that has become known as a result of its use in the country of origin in relation to goods whose quality and properties are solely or primarily determined by geographical environment, including natural and human factors;

d) "goods with an improperly used trademark" means goods, including their packaging, marked without permission with a trademark that is identical to a trademark lawfully registered for such goods, or which cannot be distinguished from a similar trademark by essential features and which therefore violates the rights of the trademark owner in accordance with legislation and regulations. certificates of the country of import. The definition of goods with an improperly used trademark, given above, applies, mutatis mutandis, to goods with an improperly used geographical indication or appellation of origin; and

e) "goods produced in violation of copyright" means goods that are copies created without the consent of the copyright holder or a person duly authorized by the copyright holder in the country of manufacture, and which are directly or indirectly copied from such an item, if the creation of the said copy was a violation of copyright or related rights under the law and regulatory acts of the country of import.

Article 9.3 International agreements

1. The Parties that are parties to the TRIPS Agreement confirm their obligations specified therein. The Parties that are not parties to the TRIPS Agreement will follow the principles of the TRIPS Agreement. The Parties confirm their obligations established in international intellectual property agreements to which they are parties, in particular, in such areas as:

(a) The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of March 20, 1883 (hereinafter referred to as the "Paris Convention");

(b) The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of 9 September 1886;

(c) International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations of October 26, 1961 (Rome Convention);

(d) Convention on the Protection of the Interests of Producers of Phonograms from the Unlawful Reproduction of Their Phonograms of October 29, 1971;

(e) The Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks of April 14, 1891 and the Protocol to the Madrid Agreement on the International Registration of Marks of June 27, 1989; and

(f) The Patent Cooperation Agreement of June 19, 1970.

2. Parties that are not parties to one or more of the international agreements listed below shall take measures to join them.:

(a) The WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty of December 20, 1996;

(d) The Singapore Trademark Law Treaty of March 27, 2006.

3. The Parties will strive to apply the provisions of the following international agreements:

(a) The Strasbourg Agreement on the International Patent Classification of March 24, 1971;

(b) The Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Registration of Marks of 15 June 1957; and

Article 9.4 National treatment

Each Party provides citizens of the other Party with a regime no less favorable than that provided by it to its own citizens.

with regard to the protection of intellectual property, as provided for in articles 3 and 5 of the TRIPS Agreement.

Article 9.5 Most-favored-nation treatment

Each Party shall provide citizens of the other Party with treatment no less favourable than that provided by it to citizens of any other State with respect to the protection of intellectual property, as provided for in articles 4 and 5 of the TRIPS Agreement.

Article 9.6 Copyright and related rights

1. Without prejudice to the obligations set out in international agreements to which the Parties are parties, each Party, in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, guarantees and ensures effective protection of the interests of authors, performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations in relation, respectively, to their works, performances, phonograms and broadcasts.

2. Each Party shall strive to ensure that its relevant legislation and regulations ensure effective protection and enforcement of copyright and related rights in the digital environment.

Article 9.7 Trademarks

Each Party ensures adequate and effective trademark protection in respect of goods and services in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, international agreements to which it is a party, and the TRIPS Agreement, in particular articles 15 to 21.

Article 9.8 Geographical indications/Names of places of origin of goods

1. Each Party shall ensure in its territory adequate and effective legal protection of geographical indications and/or appellations of origin in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, international agreements to which it is a party, and the TRIPS Agreement, in particular articles 22-24.

2. The provisions on appellations of origin in this chapter apply to a designation that allows the identification of goods as originating from the territory of a particular geographical area and which, although it does not contain the name of that area, has become known as a result of the use of this designation in relation to goods whose quality and properties comply with the requirements specified in subparagraph (c) of the article. 9.2 of this Agreement.

3. The Parties recognize that any Party may grant geographical indications protection through a sui generis system for the protection of appellations of origin in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations. A Party that provides such a security system is not required to provide a separate security system for geographical indications. The Parties shall provide in their respective legislation and regulations other legal means for the protection of geographical indications other than the names of the places of origin of goods, such as collective marks and/or certification marks. The definition of the appellation of origin contained in subparagraph (c) of Article 9.2 of this Agreement and paragraph 2 of this Article applies only to the Party that provides a sui generis system for the protection of appellations of origin at the time of entry into force of this Agreement.

4. With regard to geographical indications and/or names of places of origin of goods, the Parties shall provide for legal measures allowing interested parties of the other Party to prevent:

a) the use of any means in the designation or presentation of goods that indicate or suggest that the goods originate from a geographical area other than the present place of origin, in such a way that it misleads consumers about the place of origin of the goods;

(b) Any use that constitutes an act of unfair competition within the meaning of article 10 bis of the Paris Convention.

5. Nothing in this chapter shall oblige a Party to apply the provisions of this chapter concerning geographical indications and/or appellations of origin of goods of the other Party in respect of goods or services for which the relevant designation is identical to the term that is commonly used as a common name for such goods or services in the territory of that Party.

6. In order to protect the interests of their producers, the Parties exchange lists of geographical indications and/or names of places of origin of goods registered by them in relation to goods produced in their territories. The Parties may also agree to exchange lists of geographical indications protected by other legal means. The appropriate procedures for such an exchange will be determined by the authorized bodies of the Parties in the ways provided for in Article 9.17 of this Agreement. The Parties may agree to enter into negotiations on the mutual protection of geographical indications and/or appellations of origin, taking into account their respective laws, regulations and policies, the availability of resources and the interests of each Party.

7. Each Party ex officio, if its legislation and regulations allow it, or at the request of an interested person of the other Party, refuses registration or cancels registration of a trademark that includes or represents a geographical indication and/or an appellation of origin related to goods not originating from the designated territory, if the use of such trademark The designations in the trademark in relation to such goods in the first Party are capable of misleading the public about the actual place of origin.

Article 9.9 Inventions and utility models

1. Each Party shall ensure adequate and effective protection of inventions in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, international agreements to which it is a party, and the TRIPS Agreement, in particular articles 27 to 34.

2. Utility models are protected in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulations of the Parties and the Paris Convention.

Article 9.10 Industrial designs

Each Party shall ensure adequate and effective protection of industrial designs in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, international agreements to which it is a party, and the TRIPS Agreement, in particular articles 25 and 26.

Article 9.11 Topology of integrated circuits

Each Party provides adequate and effective protection for integrated circuit topologies in accordance with its relevant legislation and regulations, international agreements to which it is a party, and the TRIPS Agreement, in particular articles 35 to 38.

Article 9.12 New plant varieties

Each Party recognizes the importance of providing a system for the protection of new plant varieties in its relevant legislation and regulations and strives to ensure the protection of all genera and species of plants in accordance with the Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Plant Varieties of March 19, 1991 and the TRIPS Agreement.

Article 9.13 Undisclosed information

Each Party ensures adequate and effective protection of undisclosed information in its relevant legislation and regulations in accordance with the TRIPS Agreement, in particular article 39.

Article 9.14 Protection against unfair competition

Each Party provides effective protection against unfair competition in accordance with its relevant legislation, regulations and article 10 bis of the Paris Convention.

Article 9.15 Enforcement of intellectual property rights

The Parties shall provide in their respective legislation and regulations for measures and procedures to ensure compliance with intellectual property rights at the same level as provided for in the TRIPS Agreement, in particular in articles 41-50.

Article 9.16 Border measures

1. Each Party shall ensure the effective application of measures at the border in accordance with Articles 51 - 57, 59 and 60 of the TRIPS Agreement, as well as that additional measures, procedures and remedies that are covered by its relevant legislation and regulations on customs procedures effectively counteract goods with an illegally used trademark, goods with an improperly used geographical indication and the name of the place of origin of the goods, goods produced in violation of copyright.

2. Each Party, unless otherwise provided by this Agreement, shall establish procedures allowing the copyright holder, who has good reason to suspect that the import or export of goods with an improperly used trademark, goods with an improperly used geographical indication and appellation of origin, goods produced in violation of copyright, to submit an application to the customs authorities with the requirement to apply measures to protect intellectual property rights, provided, that the import or export of these goods violates intellectual property rights in accordance with the laws and regulations of the country where the goods are found.

3. Without prejudice to the protection of confidential information, the customs authorities should be authorized to provide the copyright holder with sufficient opportunity to inspect any goods detained by the customs authorities in order to substantiate the claims of the copyright holder. The Customs authorities should also be authorized to provide the importer with an equal opportunity to inspect any such goods. The Customs authorities must provide the rightholder with information about the names and addresses of the shipper, importer and recipient, as well as the quantity of the relevant goods. The Customs authorities should at least provide the owner of the detained goods with information about the name and address of the copyright holder.

4. The Parties are recommended to exclude from the scope of application of the above provisions small cargo of a non-commercial nature contained in the personal baggage of passengers.

Article 9.17 Competent authorities, contact points and information exchange

1. The Parties shall notify each other of the competent authorities responsible for carrying out the procedures provided for in this Chapter and of the contact points designated by each Party in order to facilitate interaction between the Parties on any issues related to this chapter.

2. The Parties shall immediately notify each other of any changes to the contact points or any significant changes in the structure or powers of their authorized bodies.

3. The Parties, through their contact points, promptly send each other written notifications on any material issue or any changes in the legal system of intellectual property and, if necessary, request consultations to resolve any problems related to this issue.

4. In order to strengthen cooperation relationships, the Parties agree to cooperate in writing and/or immediately hold expert meetings at the request of either Party, taking into account the financial capabilities of the Parties, on issues related to international agreements referred to in this chapter or future international agreements in the field of intellectual property, membership in international organizations, such as The World Trade Organization and the World Intellectual Property Organization, as well as the Parties' relations with third countries on intellectual property and other matters related to the implementation of this chapter.

CHAPTER 10 GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT

Article 10.1 Cooperation

1. The Parties recognize the importance of cooperation in the field of public procurement in accordance with their respective laws and regulations and taking into account available resources.

2. The parties cooperate in order to increase transparency, promote fair competition and apply electronic technologies in the field of public procurement.

3. The Parties shall inform each other as soon as possible of any significant changes in their respective laws and regulations and/or public procurement procedures.

4. Cooperation includes the exchange, where appropriate, of non-confidential information, consultations provided for in Article 10.3 of this Agreement, as well as technical assistance.

5. The Parties shall seek to cooperate in the following areas::

(a) Facilitating the participation of suppliers in public procurement, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises;

(b) Exchange of experience and information, for example, on legal regulation, best practices and statistical data;

(d) Professional development of civil servants in the application of best practices in public procurement;

(e) Strengthening institutional structures to implement the provisions of this chapter; and

(f) Increased multilingual access to procurement processes.

6. The Parties shall develop further cooperation based on the exchange of experience in the field of public procurement, including in terms of electronic forms of procurement.

Article 10.2 Information on the procurement system

1. In order to ensure transparency, the Parties shall provide public access to their respective laws and regulations related to public procurement.

2. The Parties exchange lists of information resources in which the Parties publish information on public procurement.

3. The Parties shall strive to create and maintain electronic means of publishing their respective laws and regulations and information on public procurement, taking into account available resources.

4. Each Party may expand the content of information on public procurement and the scope of services provided in electronic form.

Article 10.3 Consultations

1. In case of disagreement regarding the application of the provisions of this chapter, the Parties shall make every effort to reach a mutually acceptable solution through consultations.

2. Each Party shall consider favourably and provide an adequate opportunity for consultations on the application of this chapter.

3. A request for consultations shall be sent to the contact point of the Party designated in accordance with Article 10.5 of this Chapter. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, they shall consult within 60 days from the date of receipt of such request.

4. Consultations may be conducted in the form of a face-to-face meeting or via e-mail, teleconference, videoconference or other means agreed upon by the Parties.

Article 10.4 Non-application of Chapter 14 ("Dispute resolution")

Any issue arising in connection with the application of this chapter is not subject to the dispute resolution mechanism provided for in Chapter 14 ("Dispute Resolution") of this Agreement.

Article 10.5 Contact points

1. Each Party shall establish a contact point for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the provisions of this chapter. The contact points work in a spirit of cooperation in order to facilitate the implementation of the provisions of this chapter.

2. The Parties provide each other with the names and contact details of their contact points.

3. The Parties shall immediately notify each other of any changes to their contact points.

Article 10.6 Further negotiations

The parties may, if necessary, initiate negotiations on liberalizing their respective public procurement markets and discussing access to potential markets, if necessary.

CHAPTER 11COMPETITION

Article 11.1 Basic principles

1. The Parties recognize the importance of free and undistorted competition in their trade relations and take into account the differences in their capabilities in the field of competition policy.

2. Each Party, in accordance with its laws and regulations, shall take such measures as it deems appropriate by prohibiting anti-competitive business conduct in order to promote the effective functioning of its respective market and the welfare of consumers.

3. The measures that each Party takes and maintains in order to prohibit anti-competitive behavior must comply with the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and fairness.

Article 11.2 Anticompetitive behavior

1. The Parties shall take all necessary measures in accordance with their legislation and regulations in order to prevent and suppress anticompetitive behavior that affects trade between the Parties. Special attention should be paid to the following types of anti-competitive behavior that are incompatible with the normal operation of this Agreement:

a) all agreements between business entities, decisions taken by associations of business entities, and coordinated actions between business entities, the purpose or result of which is to prevent, restrict, or distort competition;

b) abuse of a dominant position committed by one business entity or a large number of business entities;

c) unfair competition.

2. Issues related to State monopolies and enterprises endowed with special and exclusive rights are not the subject of this chapter.

Article 11.3 Cooperation

1. The Parties recognize the importance of cooperation in the application of competition law and competition policy. Cooperation is carried out in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Parties and based on the availability of necessary resources. Cooperation includes the exchange of non-confidential information, consultations, cooperation in the implementation of law enforcement activities provided for in paragraph 2 of this article, and technical cooperation, including:

a) exchange of experience in the field of promotion and application of competition law and policy;

b) conducting joint seminars in the field of competition law and law enforcement activities of the Parties;

c) any other forms of cooperation agreed by the Parties.

2. Cooperation in law enforcement activities is carried out as follows:

a) if one of the Parties considers that its interests are affected in the territory of the other Party within the meaning of Article 11.2 of this Agreement, it may request the other Party to initiate appropriate law enforcement actions. Such a request should be made, as far as possible, at an early stage of the anti-competitive behavior specified in Article 11.2 of this Agreement, and should be sufficiently detailed.;

(b) The Party to which the request is addressed shall carefully consider the possibility of initiating enforcement actions or expanding existing enforcement actions in accordance with the requirements of its legislation and regulations and shall inform the requesting Party of the results of such review as soon as possible.

c) when initiating or expanding enforcement actions, the Party to whom the request is addressed informs the requesting Party of the results of the actions and, if possible, of significant interim actions.

(d) Nothing in this chapter restricts the freedom of action of the Party to whom the request is addressed to decide whether to take enforcement action against the anti-competitive conduct specified in the request, nor does it prevent the requesting Party from withdrawing its request.

Article 11.4 Consultations

1. In order to strengthen mutual understanding between the Parties, or to resolve individual issues that arise in accordance with this Chapter, each Party, at the request of the other Party, shall enter into consultations. Such consultations do not limit the right of each Party to ensure the enforcement of its respective legislation and regulations. In the request for consultations, the Party requesting consultations indicates how the subject of the consultations affects trade between the Parties. The Party receiving such a request shall immediately organize consultations in order to achieve mutually satisfactory results in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

2. During consultations conducted in accordance with this Article, the Party to which the request is addressed shall ensure the fullest and most comprehensive consideration of the relevant aspects of the matter being the subject of consultations within a reasonable time. Both Sides strive to reach a consensus on the issue through constructive dialogues.

3. If a Party considers that its interests continue to be affected after the consultations provided for in this Article, it may request consultations in the Joint Committee.

Article 11.5 Use of information

1. When one Party provides information to the other Party for the purpose of implementing this chapter, such information is used by the other Party only for this purpose and should not be disclosed or shared with other organizations and/or individuals without the consent of the Party providing the information.

2. Regardless of the provisions of this chapter, neither Party is obligated to provide the other Party with information if the provision of such information is prohibited by their respective laws and regulations.

Article 11.6 Non-application of Chapter 14 ("Dispute resolution")

Any issue arising in connection with the application of this chapter is not subject to the dispute resolution mechanism provided for in Chapter 14 ("Dispute Resolution") of this Agreement.

Article 11.7 Contact points

1. Each Party shall establish a contact point for the purpose of monitoring the implementation of the provisions of this chapter. The contact points work together to facilitate the application of the provisions of this chapter.

2. The parties provide each other with information about the name of the authorized organization, which is the contact point, as well as the contact information of the relevant officials in this organization, including phone and fax numbers, e-mail address and other relevant details.

3. The Parties shall immediately notify each other of any change in their contact points or relevant contact details.

CHAPTER 12 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Article 12.1 Objectives

1. The Parties to the Agreement have agreed to apply the provisions of this chapter in compliance with the principles of occupational safety and environmental protection, as well as the rational use of their natural resources. In this regard, the Parties:

(a) Strengthen cooperation on environmental and occupational safety issues;

(b) Promote the application of the principles of sustainable development.

2. The Parties recognize that economic development, social development and environmental protection are interrelated and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development.

3. The Parties confirm their commitment to develop their trade relations in such a way as to contribute to the goals of sustainable development as much as possible.

Article 12.2 Scope of application

This chapter applies to measures taken or maintained by the Parties that affect trade-related aspects of environmental and occupational safety issues.

Article 12.3 General principles

1. The Parties recognize the importance and necessity of expanding opportunities to address environmental and occupational safety issues, taking into account the levels of development of the Parties.

2. The Parties recognize the need to strengthen cooperation in order to address environmental and occupational safety issues of bilateral, regional and global importance.

3. The Parties recognize the sovereign right of each Party to establish its own national level of environmental protection and occupational safety, to determine its policies and priorities in the field of environmental protection and occupational safety, as well as to adopt or modify its relevant legislation, regulations and policies in the field of environmental protection and occupational safety.

4. The Parties may recognize the importance of using scientific, technical or other information, as well as relevant generally recognized international standards, in the process of preparing and implementing environmental and occupational safety measures affecting trade between the Parties.

5. The provisions of this chapter shall not violate the obligations set out in other chapters of this Agreement, including Chapter 8 ("Trade in services, investments and movement of natural persons").

Article 12.4 Compliance with protection levels

1. The Parties recognize the importance of mutually beneficial policies and practices in the field of trade, ecology and labor, as well as efforts aimed at improving environmental protection and labor protection, as well as the development of trade between the Parties.

2. The Parties strive to ensure that their legislation, regulations, policies and actions in the field of environmental protection and occupational safety are not used as trade protectionism.

3. None of the Parties seeks to promote or benefit from trade or investment as a result of continuous or repeated actions or omissions that lead to a decrease in the level of application or refusal to apply or enforce their legislation, regulations, policies, practices in the field of environmental protection and occupational safety, in such a way that it affects trade between the Parties.

Article 12.5 Cooperation in the field of environmental protection and labor protection

1. The Parties recognize the importance of expanding opportunities to protect the environment and working conditions, as well as to promote sustainable development in their trade and investment relations in accordance with their respective laws and regulations.

2. The Parties strive to expand cooperation at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels on environmental protection and labor protection, recognizing that such cooperation will contribute to the achievement of common goals and objectives in the fields of ecology and labor protection, including the development and improvement of environmental protection and labor protection, actions and technologies.

3. Cooperation in accordance with this chapter may take the following forms::

a) Exchange of knowledge and experience;

b) exchange of experts and researchers;

(d) Facilitating cooperation between relevant ministries, research institutes and private enterprises; and

(e) The development and implementation of joint research, projects and other relevant work in the field of common interests.

4. The Parties recognize the special importance of cooperation in the following areas::

(a) Addressing trade-related environmental issues;

(b) Development of environmental protection and institutional development policies;

(d) Exchange of experience and information on the development and application of legislation, regulations and policies in the field of employment and occupational safety;

(e) Technical assistance and implementation of joint/cooperative projects aimed at human resource development and social protection to create decent working conditions and to protect the environment;

f) other mutually agreed issues in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the Parties;

(g) Exchange of information, technologies and experience in the fields of environmental standards and models, training of personnel

and training;

(h) Environmental education and training aimed at raising public awareness; and

(i) Technical assistance and joint regional research programmes.

Article 12.6 Consultations in the field of environmental protection and occupational safety

1. Each Party may request advice from the other Party on any issues related to this Chapter by sending a written request to the contact point designated by the other Party in accordance with Article 1.7 of this Agreement. The request must contain detailed and sufficient information for the receiving Party to respond to it. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, consultations begin no later than 30 days after the Party receives the request for consultations.

2. The purpose of consultations is to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem. The parties shall make every effort to achieve a mutually acceptable result, including considering the possibility of joint action to resolve the problem. The Parties may, by mutual agreement, consult with such national experts as they deem appropriate.

3. If one of the Parties considers that the problem requires additional discussion, such a Party may submit the issue for discussion to a Joint Committee in order to achieve an acceptable solution to the problem.

Article 12.7 International standards and agreements on labor protection

1. The Parties reaffirm their obligations arising from their membership in the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, as amended, adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 86th session in 1998.

2. The Parties reaffirm their commitment, expressed in the Ministerial Statement at the 2006 session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on Full Employment and Decent Work, to recognizing full and effective employment and decent work as a core element of sustainable development for all countries and as a priority goal of international cooperation, as well as the commitment to promote the development of international trade in a way that aims at full and productive employment and decent working conditions for all.

Article 12.8 Assessment of the impact on sustainable development

At meetings of the Joint Committee, the Parties periodically assess progress towards achieving the goals set out in this chapter and may, if necessary, review relevant international experience in order to identify areas where further actions can contribute to the goals set.

Article 12.9 Non-application of Chapter 14 ("Dispute resolution")

Any issue arising in connection with the application of this chapter is not subject to the dispute resolution mechanism provided for in Chapter 14 ("Dispute Resolution") of this Agreement.

CHAPTER 13 ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES IN TRADE

Article 13.1 Scope and scope

1. The Parties recognize that electronic commerce can significantly increase trade opportunities and promote economic growth, and emphasize the importance of developing electronic technologies in trade to reduce costs and simplify trade activities, as well as the importance of cooperation between the Parties on electronic commerce issues in accordance with this chapter.

2. This chapter applies to measures implemented by a Party in relation to:

(a) The use of electronic documents in trade between the Parties using an electronic signature and a trusted third party; and

(b) Electronic commerce, as defined in paragraph (b) of Article 13.2 of this Agreement.

3. For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this article, such measures include measures implemented by:

(a) Central, regional or local Governments and authorities; and

(b) Non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local Governments or authorities.

4. In fulfilling obligations under this Chapter, each Party shall take such reasonable measures as may be available to it to ensure compliance with obligations by regional and local Governments and authorities, as well as non-governmental organizations in its territory.

Article 13.2 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter:

a) "digital certificate" means an electronic document issued by an authorized organization containing information confirming that a specific digital signature belongs to a specific person;

(b) "Electronic commerce" means trade using electronic technology;

(c) "Electronic document" means a document in which information is presented in electronic form and which can be digitally signed.;

d) "digital signature" means information in electronic form obtained as a result of cryptographic methods with a public key, which consist in converting information using a personal (private) signature key and verifying it using a public signature key, as well as attached or attached to other information in electronic form (signed information) for confirmation its integrity and authenticity, and to exclude the possibility of repudiation of authorship;

(e) "Electronic technology" means a combination of software and hardware that enables interaction between persons of the Parties using electronic documents;

(f) "Electronic authentication" means the process of verifying user identification information provided in an information system in electronic form; and

g) "trusted third party" means an organization that, in accordance with the national legislation and regulations of each Party, has the rights to verify digital signatures in electronic documents digitally signed at a certain point in time, in relation to the author and/or recipient of the electronic document.

Article 13.3 Electronic authentication

The Parties strive to carry out work aimed at mutual recognition of digital signatures when exchanging electronic documents through the services of a trusted third party.

Article 13.4 Use of electronic documents

1. The Parties strive to:

(a) Not to adopt or enforce national legislation and regulations that require authentication of transactions carried out electronically by providing hard copy documents; and

b) ensure that documents related to trade transactions are submitted to the competent authorities of the Parties in the form of digitally signed electronic documents.

2. The Parties shall strive to ensure that, in cases where any document is required for the importation of goods, a participant in a foreign trade transaction can obtain such a document confirming that the goods are imported in accordance with the requirements of the importing country, in electronic form.

Article 13.5 Protection of personal data

The Parties strive to take and maintain measures aimed at protecting the personal data of e-commerce participants.

Article 13.6 Cooperation in the field of electronic technologies in trade

1. The Parties shall exchange information and experience in the field of laws, regulations and programs in the field of electronic technologies in trade, in particular, on the protection of personal data and increasing consumer confidence.

2. The Parties recognize the need for cooperation at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels on the creation of a legal framework governing electronic commerce.

Article 13.7 Development of electronic commerce

Recognizing the global nature of electronic commerce and the importance of facilitating its use and development, the Parties will:

(a) Strive to develop a legal framework governing relations in the field of electronic commerce, using relevant international data collection standards and in accordance with international practices, including, where possible, using WTO decisions on electronic commerce;

(b) Encourage the adoption of self-regulatory measures in the private sector, including through codes of conduct, model contracts, recommendations and impact mechanisms that promote e-commerce;

(c) Promote transparent and effective measures to protect consumers from fraudulent and misleading commercial practices in electronic commerce;

(d) To encourage cooperation between relevant national consumer protection authorities on issues related to cross-border electronic commerce, with a view to improving consumer welfare.

Article 13.8 Implementation mechanism

1. The competent authorities of the Parties may conclude agreements on the mechanism for the implementation of any agreements falling within the scope of this chapter. In particular, agreements on the implementation mechanism should establish the principles developed in accordance with Articles 13.3, 13.4 and 13.5 of this Agreement.

2. The Parties, through the relevant competent authorities, shall take all necessary actions to apply mechanisms for the implementation of agreements within a reasonable period of time, determined by mutual agreement of the Parties.

CHAPTER 14 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Article 14.1 Objectives

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure an effective and open dispute resolution process arising under this Agreement.

Article 14.2 Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter:

a) "Arbitration Group" – the arbitration group established in accordance with Article 14.7 of this Agreement;

b) "Parties to the dispute" – the Claimant Party and the Respondent Party. The member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Union may act as Parties to the dispute jointly or separately. In the latter case, if the measure is adopted by a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union, then such a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union is a Party to the dispute, and if the measure is adopted by the Eurasian Economic Union, then the Union is a Party to the dispute.

Article 14.3 Scope and scope

1. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, this chapter should be used to resolve disputes between the Parties regarding the interpretation and/or application of this Agreement in cases where a Party believes that the other Party is not fulfilling its obligations under this Agreement.

2. Disputes on the same issue between the same Parties to the dispute arising simultaneously under this Agreement and the WTO Agreement may be resolved under any of the dispute resolution methods provided for in these international treaties at the option of the Claimant Party. The method of dispute resolution chosen in this way excludes the use of another method.

3. For the purposes of this Agreement, the procedural provisions of the relevant articles of the WTO Agreement incorporated into this Agreement and related to dispute resolution, in case of inconsistency or possible violation, shall not apply to any member State of the Eurasian Economic Union that is not a WTO member.

4. For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this Article, dispute resolution procedures under the WTO Agreement are considered initiated at the request of a Party to the dispute to establish an arbitration panel in accordance with Article 6 of the WTO "Agreement on Rules and Procedures Governing Dispute Resolution", while dispute resolution procedures under this Agreement are considered initiated at the request of arbitration of the dispute in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 14.7 of this Agreement.

Article 14.4 Exchange of information and amicus curiae

1. The dissemination between the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Union of any procedural documents related to the dispute resolution procedure for any of the disputes arising under this Agreement shall not be considered a violation of confidentiality provisions in accordance with this Agreement and/or in accordance with the WTO Agreement.

2. Any member State of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Union that has a significant interest in the issue being considered by the Arbitration Panel has the opportunity to address the Arbitration Panel and provide written statements to it as an amicus curiae.

Article 14.5 Good offices, conciliation and mediation

1. The parties to the dispute may at any time agree to use the procedure of good offices, conciliation or mediation. Good offices, conciliation or mediation may be initiated and terminated at any time at the request of any Party to the dispute.

2. If the Parties to the dispute agree on this, the good offices, conciliation and mediation may continue after the commencement of the Arbitration Group's procedures provided for in this chapter.

3. Proceedings involving good offices, conciliation and mediation, and in particular the positions of the Parties to the dispute taken during these proceedings, are confidential and without prejudice to the rights of any of the Parties to the dispute in any further proceedings.

Article 14.6 Consultations

1. The Parties shall make every effort to find a mutually acceptable solution through consultations on any issue arising under this chapter.

2. A request for consultations shall be submitted in writing to the Respondent Party through its contact point or contact points designated in accordance with Article 1.7 of this Agreement, as well as to the Joint Committee, outlining the basis of the request, including an indication of all measures or other issue under consideration and the legal basis for the complaint.

3. In the event that the claimant Party submits a request for consultations in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article, the respondent Party:

a) responds to the request in writing within 10 days from the date of receipt of the request; and

b) enter into consultations in good faith within 30 days, or 10 days in urgent cases, including situations involving perishable goods, from the date of receipt of the request, in order to reach an early and mutually beneficial solution to the issue.

4. The time limits specified in paragraph 3 of this Article may be changed by mutual agreement of the Parties to the dispute.

5. Consultations are confidential and do not prejudice the rights of any Party to the dispute in any further proceedings.

6. A Party to the dispute may request the other Party to the dispute to involve experts from their government agencies or other authorities with experience in the matter under discussion.

Article 14.7 Establishment of an Arbitration Panel

1. The claimant Party that has sent a request for consultations in accordance with Article 14.6 of this Agreement may submit a written request for the establishment of an Arbitration Panel.:

a) if the Respondent Party does not comply with the time limits provided for in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 14.6 of this Agreement;

(b) If the Parties to the dispute have not been able to resolve the dispute through consultations within 60 days, or within 20 days in urgent cases, including situations involving perishable goods, from the date of receipt of the request for such consultations; or

(c) If the Parties to the dispute jointly come to the understanding that consultations have not resulted in a resolution of the dispute within the time period specified in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph.

2. In urgent cases, including situations involving perishable goods, the Parties to the dispute shall make every effort to expedite the proceedings as much as possible.

3. A request for the establishment of an Arbitration Panel shall be sent in writing to the Respondent Party through its contact points designated in accordance with Article 1.7 of this Agreement, as well as to the Joint Committee. The request indicates whether consultations have been held, identifies specific measures on the disputed issue, and provides a summary of the legal basis of the complaint, sufficient to clearly present the problem.

4. The requirements and procedures specified in this Article may be changed by mutual agreement of the Parties to the dispute.

Article 14.8 Appointment of arbitrators

1. The Arbitration Panel consists of three members.

2. Within 30 days from the date of receipt by the Respondent Party of the request for the establishment of an Arbitration Group, the Parties to the dispute appoint one arbitrator each. Within 15 days from the date of the appointment of the second arbitrator, the appointed arbitrators, by mutual agreement, select the chairman of the Arbitration Group, who should not fall under any of the following qualification criteria:

a) be a citizen of a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union or Vietnam; or

b) permanently reside in the territory of a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union or Vietnam.

3. If the necessary appointments are not made within the time limits specified in paragraph 2 of this Article, any of the Parties to the dispute may, unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise, invite the Secretary General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (hereinafter referred to as the "PCA") as the appointing person. If the Secretary General of the PCA is a citizen of a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union or Vietnam or is unable to perform the function of appointing person, the request for making the necessary appointments is addressed to the Deputy Secretary General of the PCA or the next senior official who is not a citizen of a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union or Vietnam and can perform the function of appointing person.

4. All arbitrators must:

a) have sufficient knowledge and/or experience in the field of law, international trade and other matters covered by this Agreement, or in the settlement of disputes under international trade agreements;

b) to be elected solely on the basis of objectivity, impartiality, reliability and reasonableness of judgments;

c) be independent and have no communication and receive no instructions from any of the Parties;

d) inform the Parties to the dispute about any direct or indirect conflicts of interest in relation to the issue under consideration.

5. Individuals who have previously been involved in the issue under consideration in any other capacity, including in accordance with the provisions of Article 14.5 of this Agreement, may not be arbitrators on disputes.

6. If an arbitrator appointed in accordance with this article resigns or is unable to perform his/her duties, his/her successor shall be appointed within 15 days in accordance with the same procedure that applies to the appointment of the original arbitrator, with the newly appointed arbitrator having the same powers and duties as the original arbitrator. The course of any procedural time limits applied during the consideration of a dispute is suspended from the moment the arbitrator resigns his powers or the occurrence of circumstances that do not allow him to exercise his powers, and is resumed from the date of appointment of his successor.

7. The date of establishment of the Arbitration Group is the date of appointment of the Chairman of the Arbitration Group.

8. The requirements and procedures specified in this Article may be changed by mutual agreement of the Parties to the dispute.

Article 14.9 Functions of the Arbitration Panel

1. The functions of the Arbitration Panel are to objectively consider the submitted dispute, including an objective assessment of the factual circumstances of the case, the applicability of this Agreement and its compliance, and to formulate conclusions and decisions necessary, in its opinion, to resolve the dispute referred to it, as well as to determine, at the request of the Parties to the dispute, the compliance of any the measures taken and/or the corresponding suspension of benefits through the final report of the Arbitration Panel.

2. The conclusions and decisions of the Arbitration Panel may not increase or decrease the scope of the rights and obligations of the Parties provided for in this Agreement.

Article 14.10 Procedure of the Arbitration Panel

1. The work of the Arbitration Panel shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

2. In accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, the Arbitration Group, in agreement with the parties to the dispute, develops its own procedure for dealing with the rights of the Parties to the dispute to appear before the Arbitration Group and to organize the discussion of the Arbitration Group. The parties to the dispute, in agreement with the Arbitration Group, may agree on the adoption of additional rules and procedures that do not contradict the provisions of this article.

3. After consultations with the Parties to the dispute, the Arbitration Panel shall determine the schedule of work of the Arbitration Panel as soon as possible, if possible, within 10 days after its establishment. The schedule includes precise deadlines for the submission of written statements by the Parties to the dispute. Changes to such a schedule may be made by mutual agreement of the Parties to the dispute in consultation with the Arbitration Group.

4. At the request of a Party to the dispute or on its own initiative, the Arbitration Panel may, at its discretion, request information and/or technical advice from any person or body it deems appropriate. However, before the Arbitration Panel requests such information and/or advice, it notifies the Parties to the dispute. Any information and/or technical advice obtained in this way is transmitted to the Parties to the dispute for comment. If the Arbitration Panel takes such information and/or technical advice into account when preparing its report, it will also take into account any comments by the Parties to the dispute regarding such information and/or technical advice.

5. The Arbitration Panel shall adopt procedural decisions, conclusions and decisions by consensus, provided that if the Arbitration Panel is unable to reach consensus, such procedural decisions, conclusions and decisions may be adopted by a majority vote. The arbitration panel should not disclose information about how individual arbitrators voted.

6. The meetings of the Arbitration Group are closed. The parties to the dispute attend the meetings only at the invitation of the Arbitration Panel.

7. The meetings of the Arbitration Group are closed to the public, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties to the dispute.

8. The parties to the dispute are given the opportunity to attend any presentations, when making statements or when refuting evidence. Any information or written statements submitted by one Party to the dispute to the Arbitration Panel, including any comments regarding the narrative of the preliminary report and the answers to the questions posed by the Arbitration Panel, should be available for consideration by the other Party to the dispute.

9. The discussions of the Arbitration Panel and the documents submitted to it are confidential.

10. Nothing in this chapter prevents a Party to a dispute from disclosing its own position to the public. The Party to the dispute considers as confidential information provided by the other Party to the dispute to the Arbitration Group, which the other Party to the dispute has designated as confidential. The Party to the dispute, at the request of either Party, also provides a non-confidential summary of the information contained in its written statements, which may be disclosed to the public.

11. The venue of the hearing is chosen by mutual agreement of the Parties to the dispute. If no agreement is reached, the hearings are held alternately in the capitals of the Parties to the dispute, with the first hearing being held in the capital of the Respondent Party.

Article 14.11 Powers of the Arbitration Panel

Unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise within 20 days from the date of receipt of the request for the establishment of an Arbitration Panel, the following powers shall be determined:

"To examine, in the light of the relevant provisions of this Agreement, the issue referred to in the request for the establishment of an Arbitration Panel in accordance with Article 14.7 of this Agreement and to draw conclusions and make decisions based on the law and facts, together with the establishment of reasons, in order to resolve this dispute."

Article 14.12 Termination or suspension of proceedings

1. The Arbitration Panel shall terminate its work upon the joint request of the Parties to the dispute. In this case, the Parties to the dispute jointly notify the Chairman of the Arbitration Group and the Joint Committee.

2. The arbitration panel, based on a joint request from the Parties to the dispute, shall suspend its work at any time for a period not exceeding 12 consecutive months, starting from the date of receipt of such a joint request. In this case, the Parties to the dispute jointly notify the Chairman of the Arbitration Group. During this period, either Party to the dispute may authorize the Arbitration Panel to continue its work by notifying the Chairman of the Arbitration Panel and the other Party to the dispute. In this case, all relevant deadlines set out in this chapter will be extended for the period of time during which the work was suspended. If the work of the Arbitration Group is suspended for a period of more than 12 consecutive months, the Arbitration Group shall cease its work. The right to establish a new Arbitration Panel by the same Parties to the dispute on the same issue specified in the initial request for the establishment of an Arbitration Panel shall expire unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise.

Article 14.13 Reports of the Arbitration Panel

1. The draft reports of the Arbitration Panel are drawn up in the absence of the Parties to the dispute and are based on the relevant provisions of this Agreement, statements and arguments of the Parties to the dispute and any information and/or technical advice received in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 14.10 of this Agreement.

2. The Arbitration Panel must submit a preliminary report within 90 days, or 60 days in urgent cases, including situations involving perishable goods, from the date of the establishment of the Arbitration Panel. The preliminary report includes, inter alia, both descriptive sections and the conclusions and conclusions of the Arbitration Panel.

3. In exceptional cases, if the Arbitration Panel considers that it will not be able to submit a preliminary report within the time period specified in paragraph 2 of this article, it shall inform the Parties to the dispute in writing of the reasons for this delay and indicate within what time frame it expects to submit its preliminary report. Any delay should not exceed an additional period of 30 days, unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise.

4. A party to the dispute may submit its written comments on the preliminary report to the Arbitration Panel within 15 days from the date of receipt of the preliminary report, unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise.

5. After reviewing all written comments from the Parties to the dispute and conducting any additional review it deems necessary, the Arbitration Panel shall send the final report to the Parties to the dispute within 30 days from the date of sending the preliminary report, unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise.

6. If, in its final report, the Arbitration Panel concludes that the measure taken by the Party to the dispute does not comply with this Agreement, it must include in its conclusions and decisions a requirement to eliminate the discrepancy.

7. The Parties to the dispute shall make the final report of the Arbitration Panel publicly available within 15 days from the date of its transmission, subject to the protection of confidential information, unless objections are received from any of the Parties to the dispute. In this case, the final report will be transmitted to all Parties to this Agreement.

8. The final report of the Arbitration Panel is final and binding on the Parties to the dispute in relation to the specific dispute.

Article 14.14 Implementation

1. The parties to the dispute shall immediately implement the decisions of the Arbitration Panel. If immediate enforcement is not possible, the Parties to the dispute shall implement such decisions within a reasonable time. A reasonable period of time is determined by mutual agreement of the Parties to the dispute. If the Parties to the dispute are unable to determine a reasonable time within 45 days from the date of sending the final report by the Arbitration Panel, either Party to the dispute may refer the matter to the original composition of the Arbitration Panel, which will set a reasonable time after consultation with the Parties to the dispute.

2. If there is disagreement between the Parties to the dispute as to whether the Respondent Party has eliminated the discrepancy according to the report of the Arbitration Panel within a reasonable time provided for in this article, the other Party to the dispute may refer the matter to the original composition of the Arbitration Panel.

3. The Arbitration Panel shall send its report within 60 days from the date of submission for consideration of the issue provided for in paragraphs 1 or 2 of this article. The report includes the definition of the Arbitration Panel and the reasons for its establishment. If the Arbitration Panel decides that it is impossible to submit a report within this time period, it shall inform the Parties to the dispute in writing of the reasons for such delay and indicate within what time frame it expects to submit its report. Any delay should not exceed an additional period of 30 days, unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise.

4. The parties to the dispute may at any time continue to search for a mutually acceptable solution to implement the final report of the Arbitration Panel.

Article 14.15 Compensation and suspension of benefits

1. If the Party to the dispute does not comply with the decision of the Arbitration Panel within a reasonable period provided for in accordance with Article 14.14 of this Agreement, or notifies the other Party to the dispute of its refusal to do so, and/or if the original composition of the Arbitration Panel decides that the Party to the dispute has not complied with the decision of the Arbitration Panel in accordance with Article 14.14 of this Agreement, such a Party to the dispute, at the request of the other Party to the dispute, enters into consultations in order to agree on mutually acceptable compensation. If such an agreement is not reached within 20 days of receiving such a request, the other Party to the dispute has the right to suspend the application of the benefits provided under this Agreement, but only to an equivalent extent that corresponds to the impact of those measures that the Arbitration Panel has found to be inconsistent with this Agreement.

2. When considering which benefits should be suspended, the Party to the dispute primarily seeks to suspend benefits in the same sector or sectors that were affected by those measures that the Arbitration Panel found to be inconsistent with this Agreement. If such a Party to the dispute considers that the suspension of benefits in the same sector or sectors is not feasible or effective, it has the right to suspend benefits in other sectors.

3. A Party to the dispute shall notify the other Party to the dispute of the benefits it intends to suspend, the reasons for such suspension, and the commencement of the suspension no later than 30 days prior to the effective date of such suspension. Within 15 days from the date of receipt of such notification, the other Party to the dispute may request the original composition of the Arbitration Panel to decide whether the benefits that the Party to the dispute intends to suspend are equivalent to those provided by the measure found to be inconsistent with this Agreement, and whether the proposed suspension is consistent with paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article. The decision of the Arbitration Panel is made within 45 days from the date of receipt of such a request, and it is final and binding on the Parties to the dispute. Benefits cannot be suspended until the Arbitration Panel sends its decision.

4. Compensation and/or suspension of benefits are temporary and are not applied as a primary measure until the discrepancy is completely eliminated, as defined in the final report of the Arbitration Panel. Compensation and/or suspension of benefits shall be applied by the Party to the dispute only until the measure found to be inconsistent with this Agreement is canceled or modified in such a way as to comply with this Agreement, or until the Parties to the dispute resolve their dispute in another way.

5. Based on the request of the Party to the dispute, the initial composition of the Arbitration Panel decides on the compliance with its final report of any imposed measure taken after the suspension of benefits and, in the light of such a decision, on the cancellation or modification of the suspension of benefits. The Arbitration Panel shall make a decision within 30 days from the date of receipt of such request.

Article 14.16 Expenses

1. Unless the Parties to the dispute agree otherwise:

a) each Party to the dispute shall bear the costs of the arbitrator appointed by it, its own costs and court costs;

b) the Parties to the dispute shall pay for the services of the Chairman of the Arbitration Panel and other expenses related to the conduct of the proceedings in equal parts.

2. At the request of one of the Parties to the dispute, the Arbitration Panel may decide on the costs specified in subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this article, taking into account the circumstances of the case under consideration.

Article 14.17 Language

1. All hearings and documents related to this chapter must be in English.

2. Any document submitted for use during the hearings in accordance with this chapter shall be submitted in English. If the original documents do not have an English translation, the Party to the dispute representing them shall ensure that these documents are translated into English.

CHAPTER 15THE FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 15.1 of the Annex

The annexes to this Agreement form an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 15.2 Accession

1. A new member State of the Eurasian Economic Union shall accede to this Agreement by mutual agreement of the Parties with respect to such accession. Such accession is carried out through an additional protocol to this Agreement.

2. The Eurasian Economic Commission shall immediately notify Vietnam of the receipt by any third State of the status of a candidate state for membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and of any accession to the Eurasian Economic Union.

3. Without prejudice to the accession of a candidate State to the Eurasian Economic Union, negotiations may be held between the candidate State for membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, on the one hand, and Vietnam, on the other, with respect to the provisions included in Chapter 8 ("Trade in services, investments and movement of individuals") of this Agreement..

4. The candidate State for joining the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam will make efforts to complete the negotiations provided for in paragraph 3 of this Article before the candidate State for joining the Eurasian Economic Union becomes a member State of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Article 15.3 Withdrawal and termination

1. Each Party may withdraw from this Agreement by notifying the other Party in writing six months in advance.

2. This Agreement shall terminate for any member State of the Eurasian Economic Union that withdraws from the Treaty on the Union from the date of entry into force of the decision to withdraw from the Treaty on the Union. Vietnam is notified in writing by the Eurasian Economic Union six months before such withdrawal.

Article 15.4 Periodic review of the Agreement

1. The Parties undertake to review this Agreement taking into account future developments in international economic relations, inter alia, within the WTO, and in this context and in the light of any significant factors, to explore the possibility of further developing and deepening cooperation under this Agreement and expanding it to areas not yet covered. The Joint Committee may, if it deems appropriate, make recommendations to the Parties, in particular on the initiation of negotiations.

2. The Parties undertake to conduct a general review of this Agreement to facilitate the implementation of the objectives set out in the Agreement three years after the entry into force of this Agreement, and thereafter every five years, unless the Parties agree otherwise.

Article 15.5 Introduction of amendments

1. This Agreement may be amended by mutual written agreement between the Parties.

2. The amendments shall enter into force in accordance with the provisions of Article 15.6 of this Agreement. All changes become an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 15.6 Entry into force

1. This Agreement shall enter into force 60 days after receipt of the last written notification that the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam have completed their respective domestic legal procedures in accordance with paragraph 2 of this article. These notifications are exchanged between the Eurasian Economic Commission and Vietnam.

2. The absence of a written notification certifying that the Kyrgyz Republic has completed its relevant domestic legal procedures referred to in paragraph 1 of this article does not prevent the entry into force of this Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, on the one hand, and Vietnam, on the other hand. This Agreement shall enter into force for the Kyrgyz Republic 60 days after the date of receipt by Vietnam of a written notification that the Kyrgyz Republic has completed the domestic legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement, and not earlier than the entry into force of the Agreement on the Accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Treaty on the Union of December 23, 2014.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, having all the necessary powers, have signed this Agreement.

Done at Burabay on May 29, 2015, in two original copies in English, both texts being equally authentic.

For the Republic of Armenia

For the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

For the Republic of Belarus

For the Republic of Kazakhstan

For the Kyrgyz Republic

For the Russian Federation

For the Eurasian Economic Union

APPENDIX 1 LISTS OF TARIFF OBLIGATIONSGENERAL notes

For the purposes of this Application:

1. "HS Code" and "Description" means the relevant tariff line of the Party and its corresponding description; and "Base Rate" means the most-favored-nation (MFN) customs duty rate applicable as of August 11, 2013.

2. The entry into force of the Agreement means the effective date of this Agreement in accordance with Article 15.6 of this Agreement.

3. “,” is used as the decimal point in the respective lists of tariff obligations of the Parties.

4. In order to reduce and/or eliminate customs duties, the first reduction will be carried out from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, all subsequent reductions will be carried out on January 1 of each subsequent year.

5. In the year of entry into force of this Agreement, the initial reduction or cancellation of tariff duties will be carried out in accordance with the level of reduction or cancellation established for that year in the lists of tariff obligations contained in this Annex.

6. Tariff obligations do not apply to originating goods classified in accordance with the tariff lines in the "U" category. Customs duties on such originating goods shall be applied in accordance with the most favored nation (MFN) regime in accordance with Article 2.1 of this Agreement from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

7. Originating goods classified in accordance with the tariff lines in the "T" category are exempt from customs duties if customs duties on such goods are not applied in accordance with Article 2.10 of this Agreement.

8. Customs duties on goods classified in accordance with the tariff lines in the "Q" category shall be applied in accordance with the relevant notes of each Party on tariff quotas in this Annex.

..................

President

Republic of Kazakhstan

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On the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member States on the one hand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the other hand

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