WT/REG299/2  
 
1 April 2016  
(16-1857)  Page: 1/8  
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English/Spanish  
 
 FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EFTA STATES AND COLOMBIA 
(GOODS AND SERVICES) 
QUESTIONS AND REPLIES 
 The following communication, dated 24 March 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of the EFTA States and Colombia.  
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   This document reproduces the questions addressed to the Parties and the responses 
submitted. 
 Questions from the delegation of Argentina 
 1.1.  What positive impact does Colombia consider that the Free Trade Agreement signed 
with EFTA will have on trad e in its goods and services? 
Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
Goods 
 
Regarding market access for industrial goods, total access was achieved for Colombia's 
supply by eliminating duties for the entire tariff universe. Under this commitment, unimpeded access to the markets of EFTA countries was obtain ed for Colombia's actual and potential supply, 
as from the entry into force of the Agreement. Si milarly, unjustified non-tariff barriers affecting 
bilateral trade in industrial goods with EFTA countries will be eliminated, as the Agreement provides, as from its entry into force, for the removal of restrictions on imports and exports, such 
as licences and administrative charges as well as SPS and TBT regulations which may affect trade.  
  With the aim of supporting the production sector in Colombia, authorization was given for a limited range of remanufactured goods to be imported from EFTA countries, and for capital goods 
and products from the metal-mechanical industry to  be imported duty-free. Colombia retained the 
use of special import and export procedures and free zones in order to secure the benefits provided under the Agreement, and also maintained  its national policy on the entry of used goods 
and unsold older model-year vehicles. 
 Services 
  One of the key pillars of the strategy to internationalize Colombia is the signing and implementation of international trade agreements. This is particularly beneficial for the services sector, as Colombian enterprises have great export potential under mode 1. WT/REG299/2 
 
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  1.2.  Which sectors does Colombia envisage  will benefit most from the implementation 
of this Agreement? 
Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
Goods 
 
 With the entry into force of the Agreement between Colombia and the EFTA countries, the 
simulations carried out by the National Planning Department (DNP) indicate that the following 
export sectors will benefit most: other transport equipment; motor vehicles and parts; other foodstuffs; petroleum products; coal; beverages and tobacco products; vegetable oils and fats; textiles; and clothing and made-up articles. 
 
 The largest increases in imports will be recorded in sectors such as: metal products; plastic, chemical and rubber products; machinery and equipment; wood and wood products; paper and 
paper products; and other minerals. 
  In production, the following sectors will benefit: other transport equipment (parts); 
foodstuffs; coal; petroleum products; ferrous metal; and clothing and made-up articles. The lowest 
growth will be recorded in sectors such as: pl astic, chemical and rubber products; machinery and 
equipment; metal products; and other meat products.  
 Colombia therefore established tariff reduction time-frames of no more than ten years for 
imports from EFTA countries, which enable the production sector to adapt to new conditions of competition. Immediate access was granted for the following sectors: metal-mechanical industry; 
certain automotive parts; chemicals; some medicines; certain fungicides, insecticides and 
herbicides; rubber; wood; and machinery and appliances.  
 Within five years, access to the Colombian market will be granted for imports of products 
from the following sectors, among others: chemic als; pharmaceuticals; dyes and paints; rubber 
products; leather and leather products; wood; fini shed paper products; some textiles and made-up 
articles with plastic components; hats and helmets; cement; ceramic products; glass and 
glassware; iron, steel and articles thereof; tools; miscellaneous articles of base material; 
machinery and appliances; vehicles; measuring apparatus; some furniture and miscellaneous articles; vessels; medical and surgical instruments; and oils and fuels. 
 
 Within ten years, imports of products from the following light industry sectors will be duty-free: plastic; paper products; made-up textiles and footwear with plastic components; leather 
products; metal-mechanical parts; and vehicles. 
  Lastly, the results of the model developed by the National Planning Department demonstrated that when lower tariffs are applied to Colombia by EFTA countries, the likelihood of 
diversifying exports to EFTA countries is increased. 
 Services 
  The main sectors concerned are those supplied through mode 1, such as software (including video games), all sectors related to informatio n technology, and the outsourcing of business 
services (BPO, KPO, and ITO). 
 1.3.  What is the scope of the Agreement in relation to the treatment of agricultural products? 
Response from the EFTA States 
 
 The Agreement covers the main trade interests of the Parties in the area of agricultural 
products. 
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  Questions from the delegation of Chile 
 
Provisions on Trade in Services and Investment 
 
Denial of benefits 
 
1.4.  Paragraph 4.21 states that Icelan d's sector-specific commitments under the 
Agreement mirror to a large extent its GATS  commitments with improved commitments 
in tourism and travel-related se rvices and transport services. 
Chile would like to know how these commitments were improved. 
 
Response from the delegation of Iceland 
 
 In addition to comprehensive commitments for maritime transport services, Iceland has also 
included commitments for cargo-handling services under services auxiliary to all modes of 
transport.  
 
1.5.  Paragraph 4.22 states  that Iceland has made no commitments under other 
transport services, a sector for which it has GATS commitments. 
Chile would like to know why Iceland has not made commitments under the 
Agreement in areas in which it does  have commitments under the GATS. 
 
Response from the delegation of Iceland 
 
This is in line with Iceland's mandate in FTA negotiations. 
General provisions on trade in services 
 
1.6.  Paragraph 4.34 states, with regard to Switzerland's horizontal limitations under the 
GATS, that "[i]n addition, some conditions on the acquisition of real estate have been 
relaxed". 
Would Switzerland please explain what this  relaxation of the conditions on the 
acquisition of real estate entails. 
 Response from the delegation of Switzerland 
  According to the GATS Schedule redaction, the text says that for the purpose of (a) personal 
housing needs (main residences) or (b) professional use and business activities (premises), the 
authorization is granted once the claim by the acquirer is verified, i.e. the purpose has been 
verified. In the Schedule of the present FTA, the text says that once the purpose has been verified, there is no need to receive an authorization to acquire (a) main residences or (b) premises for professional use and business activities. 
 
Regulatory provisions 
 
1.7.  Paragraph 4.55 refers to prov isions related to "key personnel". 
Would Colombia please explain wh at is meant by key personnel. 
 
Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
 The term "key personnel", which is contained in Article 5.5, refers to natural persons who have an important role in the establishment, management and development of an investment, 
such as investors, administrators and specialists. "Key personnel" include nationals of the Parties 
to the Agreement, as well as non-nationals, provid ed that they are employed by a natural or legal 
person from one of the Parties.   
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  Questions from the delegation of the European Union1 
 
Provisions on trade in services and investment 
 
Commercial presence 
 
1.8.  How do the non-discrimination provis ions of the FTA applicable to commercial 
presence (which spans both the pre and po st-establishment phases of an investment) 
interact with the protections afforded under  the bilateral investment treaties in the 
post-establishment phase? 
No response provided by the Parties. 
Article 7.19 "Small and medium si zed enterprises participation" 
 
1.9.  Could the Parties explain in detail ab out the provisions and foreseen actions how 
SMEs benefit from the provision of Article 7.19 "…  facilitating SMEs access to 
government procurement procedures, method s and contracting requirements, focused 
on SMEs special needs "? Could the Parties give some concrete examples of actions 
carried out focused on SMEs special needs? 
No response provided by the Parties. 
 
Questions from the delegation of Mexico 
 Technical Barriers to Trade 
 
1.10.  Paragraph 3.2: Concerni ng the reference to consultations being held to consider 
accelerating the elimination of customs duties , pursuant to Article 2.6 of the Agreement, 
should not further details be given regardin g the type of consultations, the actors 
involved or the response times provided for by  the Parties, in order to avoid ambiguities 
between the text of the Agreement and implementation of the commitments undertaken? 
Response from the EFTA States 
 
 Consultations would be held under the Joint Co mmittee. No specific procedural requirements 
are foreseen for such consultations. 
 
1.11.  Paragraph 3.40: To what extent are the Parties involved in the international 
bodies mentioned in this paragraph, namely ISO and IEC? In other words, in how many 
technical committees (TCs) do they participate as P- or O-members, or to what degree 
are their technical regulations harmonized with the international standards of these 
bodies? 
Response from the EFTA States 
 
 In accordance with Article 2.4 of the WTO TBT Agreement, EFTA-members use relevant international standards issued by ISO and IEC as a basis for its technical regulations. Switzerland's 
participation is as follows: 
 
Switzerland ISO: n° of Technical 
Committees (TC) ISO: n° of 
Subcommittees (SC) ISO: Total 
(TC plus SC) 
P-member 129 257 386 
O-member 63 123 186 
 
                                               
1 Questions were submitted to the Parties on 25 February 2016 (five weeks, five days before the 
meeting). WT/REG299/2 
 
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  Switzerland IEC: n° of Technical 
Committees (TC) IEC: n° of 
Subcommittees (SC) IEC: Total 
(TC plus SC) 
P-member 71 57 128 
O-member 11 12 23 
 
Norway ISO: n° of Technical 
Committees (TC) ISO: n° of 
Subcommittees (SC) ISO: Total 
(TC plus SC) 
P-member 86 155 241 
O-member 40 55 95 
 
Norway IEC: n° of Technical 
Committees (TC) IEC: n° of 
Subcommittees (SC) IEC: Total   
(TC plus SC) 
P-member 51 36 87 
O-member 44 34 78 
 
Liechtenstein is not a Member of the ISO and the IEC. 
 Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
Colombia ISO IEC 
O-member 93 committees 7 committees 
P-member 67 committees 2 committees 
 
 Colombia does not have any technical regulations that are harmonized with ISO and IEC 
standards. Twenty per cent of all technical regu lations notified to the WTO refer to technical 
requirements established in ISO and IEC standards.  
 
1.12.  Paragraph 5.1: Where are the Parties'  regulations published, or where are they 
made publicly available so as to comply  with the principle of transparency? 
Response from the EFTA States 
 
 The Parties publish their laws, regulations, administrative rulings of general application and their respective international agreements in the relevant official gazettes/journals. Relevant 
information is published on official websites. For instance, in Norway, Laws and Regulations are 
published on https://lovdata.no while International agreements are published on http://emeritus.lovdata.no/traktater. In Iceland, all laws and regulations are published in the 
official journal on the websit e https://www.stjornartidindi.is. 
 Response from the delegation of Colombia 
  The technical regulations that have been notified to the WTO are published on the website of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism at: http://www.mincit.gov.co/publicaciones.php?id=33051 . 
 
Safeguard mechanisms 
 
Global safeguards 
 1.13.  Paragraph 3.41: The Parties' rights and obligations in respect of global safeguards 
are governed by Article XIX of the GATT 1994 and the WTO Agreement on Safeguards 
(Article 2.17). In taking a global safeguard measure, a Party shall exclude imports of an 
originating product from one or several Pa rties if such imports do not in and of 
themselves cause or threaten to cause seri ous injury. The Party making such exclusion 
shall do so in accordance with WTO jurisprude nce. No Party may apply, with respect to WT/REG299/2 
 
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  the same product and at the same time, a bilateral safeguard me asure and a global 
safeguard measure under the relevant WTO provisions. 
 Regarding paragraph 3.41, could the Partie s clarify whether the exclusion to which 
they refer applies when imports are not ONE cause of injury (or threat thereof), or does 
it apply when imports are not THE ca use of injury (or threat thereof)? 
 Response from the EFTA States 
  According to Article 2.17 of the Agreement, im ports of a Party to the Agreement must be 
excluded from the application of a global safeguard measure when such imports do not contribute to the injury (or threat thereof). 
 
Services 
 
Provisions on trade in services 
 
Denial of benefits 
 1.14.  Mexico would like to know why there ar e no specific provisions in the Agreement 
on the denial of benefits, subsidies and safe guards and whether this is common practice 
in the agreements negotiated by one or more of the Parties. Please provide the rationale 
for this approach. 
Response from the EFTA States 
 
Clear and precise rules of origin for trade in services are included in the Agreement through 
the definitions of "Natural Person of another Party" and "Juridical Person of another Party". As a consequence, it is clear who is entitled to benefit from the Agreement. We do not see the need for 
an article on Denial of Benefits.  
 
 Concerning subsidies, the Parties to the Agreement have formulated reservations in their schedules of specific commitments. This is the usual EFTA approach in its FTAs.  
 
 EFTA rejects the inclusion of provisions regarding emergency safeguard measures in its free trade agreements.  
 
Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
Colombia does not include any provisions on this matter in its trade agreements, and would 
prefer to continue any discussions in this regard at the WTO.   1.15.  With regard to Iceland's sector-spe cific commitments (Table 4.3, Iceland: 
comparison between the GATS and Agreem ent specific commitments in trade in 
services), would Iceland plea se explain how its GATS sche dule of commitments applies 
i n  c o m p a r i s o n  w i t h  i t s  s c h e d u l e  o f  c o m m i t m e n t s  u n d e r  t h e  F T A ,  i n  p a r t i c u l a r  i n  t h e  
sectors in which it did not undertake an y commitments, e.g. Education services, 
E: Other, and 11: Transport services. 
Response from the EFTA States 
 
 Iceland's GATS schedule of commitments continues to apply to any sector which might not be included in Iceland's sector-specific commitments under the Agreement. However, it should be stressed that commitments for educational services are included in neither. 
 
Questions from the delegation of Thailand 
 
Denial of benefits 
 
1.16.  Since there is no specific provision on  the denial of benefits, would a Party deny 
the benefits to a service supplier of the other Party if the service supplier is an 
enterprise owned or controlled by persons of a non-Party? WT/REG299/2 
 
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  Response from the EFTA States 
 
 Clear and precise rules of origin for trade in services are included in the Agreement through 
the definitions of "Natural Person of another Party" and "Juridical Person of another Party". A Party 
could deny the benefits of the Agreement to a se rvice supplier who is not a juridical person of 
another Party in accordance with Article 4.2 of the Agreement.  
Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
 The Agreement contains clear rules on the application of benefits for services and service suppliers from another Party. In order for service suppliers to be covered by the Agreement, they 
must, firstly, be established or controlled by a natural or legal person from one of the Parties, and 
secondly, have substantive business operations (Article 4.2.). Enterprises that are owned or 
controlled by persons of a non-Party may still bene fit from the Agreement, provided that they are 
established in a country that is party to the Agreement and have substantive business operations. 
If this is not the case, the enterprise may be subject to denial of any benefit deriving from the Agreement. 
 
Other 
 Competition  
 1.17.  Under the Agreement, it states that "t he parties shall cooperate in their dealings 
on anticompetitive practice with the aim of  ending such practices; 1) all agreement 
between undertaking and 2) abuse by one or more undertaking of a dominant position." 
Hence, could you please clarify the reason why this agreement does not cover other 
anticompetitive practices such as mergers & acquisition and unfair trade practices? 
 Could you please elaborate on the pr ocedure for consultations which may be 
requested by a Party within the Joint committee?  Response from the EFTA States 
  The aim of the competition chapter is to pr event that the benefits of the Agreement are 
undermined by anti-competitive practices. Howeve r, the Parties to the Agreement maintain their 
own specific competition rules in their separate jurisdictions. The competition chapter focuses on 
the common denominators of the Parties' competition legislations. Anti-competitive behaviours, which are deemed incompatible with the proper f unctioning of the Agreement insofar as they may 
affect trade, are outlined in Article 8.2 of the Agreement. Mergers and acquisitions are not 
considered per se as anti-competitive practices by the Parties.   The procedure for consultations under the Joint Committee is outlined in Article 8.4 of the 
Agreement, which reads as follows: 
  "[…] a Party may request consultations within the Joint Committee. This request shall 
indicate the reasons for the consultations. Consultations shall be held promptly with a view 
to reaching a conclusion consistent with the objectives set forth in this Chapter. The Parties concerned shall give to the Joint Committee all the support and information needed, subject 
to the criteria and standards set out in paragraph 5 of Article 8.3." 
  Because of the plurilateral nature of the EFTA-Colombia FTA, a Joint Committee is established as the main forum for the Parties to discuss any issue arising under the Agreement, 
including competition matters. It consists of representatives of the Parties. The rules of procedure 
of the Joint Committee are established pursuant to Article 11.1 of the Agreement. These rules are also applicable to consultations regarding competition matters. Consultations in the Joint 
Committee are not open to the public. 
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  Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
 The commitments regarding competition contained in the Agreement are in line with the existing Colombian legislation on the protection of competition. Significant progress has been 
made in Colombia with regard to anti-competitive practices and the competition protection regime 
in general, since the agreement with the EFTA countries was signed.  
 The Agreement was signed (25 November 2008)  prior to the adoption of Law 1340 of 2009, 
under which both scope and coverage were extended  by providing the following definition of what 
should be understood in Colombia as "competition protection provisions" and "trade-restrictive practices": "Competition protection provisions co ver trade-restrictive practices, that is to say 
agreements, instances of abuse of a dominant position, and the business integration regime. 
 Investment 
 1.18.  In case an investor of a Party suffer s from losses in the territory of another party 
owning to armed conflict or ci vil strife, including nationalization, what treatment would 
the latter Party provide with respect to the compensation resulting from those losses to 
the affected investors of the Party? 
Response from the EFTA States 
 
 The Agreement's investment chapter covers commercial presence in all sectors with the 
exception of the services sectors (Article 5.1). Investment protection matters are not covered under the Agreement. 
 
Response from the delegation of Colombia 
 
 The Agreement contains no provisions on investment protection relating to issues such as 
compensation for losses due to armed conflict or civil strife, expropriation, nationalization or similar measures. The compensation that an invest or from a Party would receive in one of these 
situations would be granted in accordance with the rules agreed in any bilateral investment treaty 
(BIT) in force or, in the absence of such a treaty , with the rules on compensation established by 
each country in its domestic legislation.  
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