WT/REG335/2  
25 March 2014  
(14-1085)  Page: 1/4  
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English/Spanish  
 
  FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CANADA AND JORDAN 
(GOODS) 
QUESTIONS AND REPLIES 
The following communication, dated 18 March 2014, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegations of Canada and Jordan.  
This document reproduces the questi ons addressed to the Parties and the 
responses submitted.  
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 Question from the delegation of Chile 
Energy, trade and sustainable development 
1.1.  Please specify what mechanisms have been  adopted, by both countries, to promote 
corporate social responsibility. 
Canada promotes Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at multilateral and bilateral levels. 
Multilaterally, Canada promotes international CSR standards in a number of fora including the OECD, the Asia Pacific Economic Co-opera tion, the Organization of American States, 
la Francophonie, and the Commonwealth. Participation in multilateral fora provides Canada not 
only an opportunity to share knowledge, but also to work together to promote and strengthen 
international CSR guidelines to the benefit of all stakeholders. Canada's efforts to promote CSR are 
further advanced at the bilateral level. For example, the inclusion of voluntary provisions for CSR 
in its most recent Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (FIPAs) 
and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).  
The Government also provides CSR-related gu idance to the Canadian business community 
through Canadian missions abroad. Canada's network of diplomatic missions abroad actively promotes awareness and understanding of the importance of responsible business practice with Canadian companies when receiving advice and guidance through the Trade Commissioner 
Service. As well, Canadian missions create opportunities for relationship building through 
conferences, workshops and other activities involving companies, representatives of host governments, and civil society. 
 
For more information, visit: http://www.international.gc.c a/trade-agreements-accords-
commerciaux/topics-domaines/other-autre/csr-rse.aspx?lang=eng  
 
Questions from the delegation of Mexico 
EXCEPTIONS 
1.2.  Paragraph 4.7. What is the scope of the understanding on environmental measures 
under Article XX(b) of the GATT referred to in Chapter 15 of the Agreement? WT/REG335/2 
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  Article 15.1 of the Exceptions Chapter serves to clarify that the Parties understand that 
the scope of GATT Article XX(b) includes environmental measures necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health. This understandi ng is consistent with past WTO jurisprudence. 
 
1.3.  Paragraph 4.41. It is understood that th e reference to multilateral environmental 
agreements concerns the ratification of such agreements. However, is there any connecting factor between compliance with  multilateral environmental agreements 
and compliance with this chapter? 
The reference to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in the Environment Chapter 
(Article 10-1) affirms the Parties' obligations under their multilateral environmental agreements. There is no implication that compliance with a Parties' MEAs is linked to compliance with 
this Chapter. 
 1.4.  Paragraph 4.41. What mechanisms are en visaged to implement the provisions 
relating to public participation? 
The reference to public participation in the Environment Chapter (Article 10-2) is further 
expanded in the Canada-Jordan Agreement on the Environment. In the Agreement on the 
Environment, Article 12: Public Information and Accountability outlines a process which commits 
Parties to respond to questions from the public in a timely manner. The Parties also commit to making publicly available all questions received and all responses given.  
Part Five–Implementation of the Agreement on the Environment includes Article 18: 
Public Engagement which commits Parties' to inform and engage, as appropriate, the public on activities undertaken to implement this Agreement. 
 
Finally, Article 7: Public Information also includ es commitments by the Parties to ensure that 
their laws, regulations and administrative rulings are made available to the public and to allow 
interested persons to provide comments on them. 
 1.5.  Paragraph 4.43. Concerning cooperative ac tivities between the parties, is there 
a list of such activities in the Agreement? Ar e they activities with earmarked resources? 
There is no specific list of activities or specific resource allocation. However, Article 14 
of the Environment Agreement (Cooperative Ac tivities) provides a list of topics for the 
Environment Committee to consider for cooperativ e activities. This list includes enforcement 
and compliance; corporate social responsibility; trade and environment; and environmental 
technologies to address, inter alia , water management and renewable energy. 
 
1.6.  Paragraph 4.44. Concerning the declaration to be provided by Canada in respect 
of the provinces to which the Agreement on the Environment will be applicable, how will 
the equivalence of commitments between the parties be determined? In other words, 
does this not have implications in terms of differences in the coverage of the Agreement 
for each party? 
Canada has a very robust federal environmental management framework which includes 
a broad range of legislation for the protection of the environment and human health. 
 
As with its other trade related environment agreements, Canada commits to fulfilling 
its obligations under the Canada-Jordan Agreement on the Environment at the federal level 
of government while making best efforts to make this Agreement applicable to as many provinces 
as possible.  1.7.  Paragraph 4.45. Will the obligations contra cted under the Agreement on Labour 
Cooperation be subject to the dispute settl ement mechanism? What level of binding 
effect will they have? 
We confirm that the Dispute Settlement Chapter of the Canada-Jordan FTA does not apply 
to the Agreement on Labour Agreement. However,  the Agreement on Labour Cooperation between 
Canada and Jordan itself provides for an open  and transparent dispute resolution process. 
The Agreement on Labour Cooperation enables the public to submit complaints concerning WT/REG335/2 
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  the compliance of labour laws with the prin ciples found in the ILO's 1998 Declaration, 
or a perceived failure by a Party to enforce domest ic labour legislation. Ultimately, an independent 
review panel may require the offending country to pay an annual assessment into a cooperation fund that will strengthen labour rights and addre ss the matter that is the subject of the complaint. 
The details of the dispute resolution mechanis m can be found in the Agreement on Labour 
Cooperation under Part three (Procedures for Review of Obligations) and Annexes 3 (Procedures related to review panels) and 4 (Monetary Assessments). 
 
INVESTMENT 
 1.8.  Paragraph 4.40 states that in Article 1-4 of the Free Trade Agreement between 
Canada and Jordan the Parties note the ex istence of the Agreement between Canada 
and Jordan for the Promotion and Protec tion of Investments done at Amman 
on 28 June 2009. However, this Article merely mentions that the Parties note 
the existence of the Agreement for the Pr omotion and Protection of Investments. 
Mexico would like to know how the provisions of the Agreement for the Promotion and Protection of Investments between  Jordan and Canada apply to this 
Free Trade Agreement. 
The Agreement between Canada and the Hashem ite Kingdom of Jordan for the Promotion 
and Protection of Investments (FIPA) and this FTA are separate stand-alone agreements. In the 
absence of an investment chapter, the Canada-Jordan FIPA is noted here for information 
purposes only. 
 Questions from the delegation of Thailand 
1.9.  Paragraph 3.6: The base rate of custom s duty shall be the MFN rate applied 
on 1 January 2008. Annex 2-3 provides the ta riff elimination schedule for the Parties. 
For Canada, customs duties shall be eliminat ed as of the date of entry into force 
of the Agreement, except as otherwise listed in Canada's Schedule to Annex 2-3. 
The products listed in the Schedule to Annex 2-32 are almost all (except one line) subject to tariff rate quotas under Canada's WTO commitments. 
The Report indicated that for Canada, custom s duties shall be eliminated as of the 
date of entry into force of the Agreement,  except as otherwise listed in Canada's 
Schedule to Annex 2-3. The products listed in  the Schedule to Annex 2-3 are almost all 
(except one line) subject to tariff rate quotas under Canada's WTO commitments. 
It would be appreciated if Canada could in form us what such exceptional product is? 
(HS code and Description). 
The product in question in Canada's Schedule  to Annex 2-3 is tariff item number 35040000 
(Peptones and their derivatives; other protein substances and their derivatives, not elsewhere 
specified or included; hide powder, whether or not chromed). Under Canada's 2014 Customs Tariff, tariff heading 3504 is divided into three tariff lines: 3504.00.11 (Milk protein substances: Within access commitment), 3504.00.12 (Milk protein substances: Over access commitment) 
and 3504.00.90 (Other). While tariff lines 3504.00 .11 and 3504.00.12 are subject to tariff rate 
quota under Canada's WTO commitments, tariff line 3504.00.90 is not.  
For ease of reference, please find below a link to Canada's Customs Tariff for these 
tariff lines.  
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/t ariff-tarif/2014/01-99/ch35-2014-eng.pdf 
 
1.10.  Paragraph 3.15: Accumulation between the Parties is permitted where the 
production of a good in the territory of on e or both Parties by one or more producers 
shall, at the choice of the exporter or produc er of the good for which preferential tariff 
treatment is claimed, be considered to have  been performed in the territory of either 
of the Parties by that export er or producer, provided that  all non-originating materials 
used in the production of the good sa tisfy the requirements set out in Annex 4-1 
entirely in the territory of one or both of the Parties; and the good satisfies all other 
applicable requirements of Chapter 4 (Article  4-3). Paragraph 2 of the same Article also 
permits cumulation with third Parties, provided that both Parties have free trade WT/REG335/2 
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  agreements, with a provision of effect equiva lent to Paragraph 2, with the same third 
party; where the provisions in force between one of the Parties and the third party apply 
only to certain goods or under certain conditions, the other Party may limit the 
application of paragraph 2 to those goods an d under those conditions and as otherwise 
set out in the Agreement (Article 4-3 paragraph 3). 
What third parties will Canada and Jordan intend to offer diagonal 
cumulation with? 
 
The type of cumulation provision referred to in the Canada-Jordan FTA is more accurately 
described as a "cross-cumulation". While the intent is similar to "diagonal cumulation" (a mechanism that allows goods originating in all participating Parties to be considered 
as originating materials), it differs from diagonal cumulation in that it does not require that 
the Parties share identical rules of origin. This difference would allow Canada and Jordan to facilitate trade with third parties that have an FTA with both Canada and Jordan, and whose 
trade agreement with Canada and/or Jordan have rules of origin that differ from those of the 
CJFTA (conditional on that third Party having a provision similar to paragraph 2 in that country's FTA with both Canada and Jordan). However, there is no associated pre-designated list 
of countries. 
 
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