WT/REG354/2  
15 June 2015  
(15-3082)  Page: 1/6  
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English/Spanish  
 
  DEEP AND COMPREHENSIVE FREE TRADE AREA CONCLUDED AS A PART OF THE 
ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND GEORGIA 
(GOODS AND SERVICES) 
QUESTIONS AND REPLIES 
 The following communication, dated 9 June 2015,  is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of the European Union and Georgia. 
 
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 This document reproduces the questions addressed to the Parties and the responses 
submitted.  
Questions from the delegation of Colombia 
 
1.1.  It would be useful to know what the me ntioned "other limited exceptions that 
take account of the legitimate interests of  the owner of the trademark and of third 
parties" are. 
 Other limited exceptions: e.g. the use of a tr ademark in a dictionary, the use of the trade 
mark by a producer of spare parts or other exceptions that may be introduced by national laws 
while taking into account the legitimate interests of the owner of the trademark and third parties. 
 1.2.  "The Agreement contains supplementary specific rules on medicinal and plant 
protection products protected by a patent (A rticle 186)". Can this be understood to be 
an adjustment of the term of a patent to compensate for unjustifiable delays in the 
administrative procedure for marketing author ization for these two specific cases only? 
 This Article deals with Supplementary Protection  Certificates (SPCs). The purpose of SPCs is 
to provide protection for specific defined medicinal (and plant protection) products beyond the term of the original 'basic patent' as a way of recompensing the patentee for the time taken to obtain regulatory approval, during which commercialising of the medicinal product was not 
possible. In Europe SPCs for medicines are governed by Regulation 469/2009 ( http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:152:0001:0010:en:PDF ). A separate, 
very similar, Regulation ( http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:31996R1610 ) 
governs SPCs for plant protection products. 
 1.3.  Regarding the statement "It also encourages the development, by trade or 
professional associations or organizations, of codes of conduct aimed at contributing 
towards the enforcement of IPRs (Article 201) ", we would like to hear in greater detail 
how these codes of conduct would be develo ped and what kind of information they 
would contain. How would these codes of conduct facilitate enforcement? 
 One example of a code of conduct is the Model Code of Conduct Provisions on IP for Online 
Service Providers, published by the Business Soft ware Alliance (BSA). This document provides 
model code of conduct provisions regarding prevention of IP infringement for internet service 
providers, including those providing network tr ansmission and access services, those allowing 
users to make the content publicly available on their host servers, and those providing search engine and similar information location services. The goal of this code of conduct is to support an WT/REG354/2 
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  internet culture which demonstrates respect for the rights, creativity, and investment of IP owners, 
and to comply with applicable laws relevant to the activity of users that may infringe IPRs. The model provisions particularly concern IP compliance policy, compliance training and contact, removal of infringing content, review of server postings for infringing content, removal of links to 
infringing sites, termination of repeat offender s, anti-piracy notices, response to notice of 
infringing activity, verifiable user in formation, enforcement efforts, etc. 
 
 For further information on this, we would refer you to the following website, in particular see 
the example of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Sale of Counterfeit Goods via the Internet:  
 http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/ip renforcement/memoranda/index_en.htm 
 
Questions from the delegation of Mexico 
 Rules of origin 
 
1.4.  Article 3 of Protocol I allows for cumula tion of origin with Turkey. One of the 
conditions for this cumulation is that the ma terials used have acquired originating status 
by the application of rules of origin id entical to those given in Protocol I. 
What, therefore, is the process for verifying the origin of inputs produced in Turkey? 
 Cumulation of origin with materials originating in Turkey does not yet apply as there has to 
be made the relevant amendment to the FTA betw een Georgia and Turkey. When this is the case, 
a producer in Georgia or the EU using Turkish materials in the manufacture of a product which 
obtains Georgian or EU origin, respectively, thanks to cumulation with Turkish materials, will have 
to possess a proof of origin certifying Turkish origin of the materials (see obligations that rest upon the exporter or approved exporter laid down in, re spectively, Article 16(3) and 21(3) of Protocol I). 
1.5.  Under Article 11, the conditions for acquir ing originating status must be fulfilled 
without interruption in a Party (even though  the provision on bilateral cumulation 
allows for production processes to be carr ied out in the territory of both Parties). 
However, Article 12 provides for transport through Turkey without surveillance by the 
customs authorities. How will products be cont rolled to ensure that they do not undergo 
further manufacturing operations when transported through Turkey? 
Products exported from the EU to Georgia vi a Turkey must be placed under the export 
procedure in the EU at the place of dispatch. Prod ucts exported from Georgia to the EU via Turkey 
should be placed under a customs transit procedur e so as to avoid payment of customs duty upon 
entry into the Turkish territory. As a consequence, products will be under custom supervision in 
both situations. Evidence that the products have not undergone any further manufacturing in 
Turkey shall be provided by then means set out in Article 12(2) of Protocol I. 
 
1.6.  How is the temporary withdrawal of preferences established in Article 34 
consistent with the implementation of the proc edure to verify proof of origin laid down 
in Protocol I? 
 Both provisions are compatible with each other. Article 34 provides for the possibility for a 
Party to temporarily suspend the application of preference if the other Party fails to apply 
administrative cooperation. This concerns, in particular, the respect of the commitments of the Parties on administrative cooperation of Tittle VI of Protocol I. 
 
Technical barriers to trade (TBT) 
 1.7.  Why are the rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers 
to Trade affirmed but not incorporated in to the Agreement? What does technical 
cooperation on TBT matters involve? 
 In addition to its rights and obligations being affirmed, the WTO TBT Agreement is also 
incorporated into and made part of the DCFTA between EU and Georgia. This is provided for in 
Article 45 of the DCFTA.  WT/REG354/2 
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   Technical cooperation is meant to cover the areas of standards, technical regulations, 
metrology, market surveillance, accreditation and conformity assessment system, and involves, inter alia, reinforcing regulatory cooperation through the exchange of data and experience, and through scientific and technical cooperation; promoting and encouraging cooperation between 
respective organizations, public or private, responsible for metrology, standardization, market 
surveillance, conformity assessment and accreditat ion; fostering the development of the quality 
infrastructure system in Georgia, etc. The details of such technical cooperation are laid down in 
Article 46 of the DCFTA. 
 EU, Sector specific commitments 
 
1.8.  What approach has been adopted regardin g environmental services in the context 
of trade in services? 
In respect of environmental services, the EU has improved its commitments on both 
establishment and cross-border supply of services , however with more liberalization being offered 
for establishment. The EU has also maintained an EU-wide reservation on water services reflecting 
the sensitive nature of this sector in the EU. 
 
EU, Environmental services 
 1.9.  Is this approach to the liberalization of environmental services considered to be 
consistent with the new WTO initiative in this area?  
The Environmental Goods Agreement currently focuses on negotiations of tariff lines. 
To reflect the business reality of today, where wh ole systems comprising both goods and services 
are exported, the EU proposed to take up services  as part of the agreement in order to include 
services that are indispensable for the export of  goods. These would for example be engineering 
services that are needed to install or maintain and repair an environmental good such as a 
windmill or a complex solar system, but not the services that are classified as the traditional 
environmental services such as waste management or landscape protection.  Sustainable development 
 1.10.  How will trade and investment in environm ental goods and services be facilitated 
and promoted?  
 Under Article 231 on trade and investment promoting sustainable development, the Parties 
reconfirm their commitment to enhance the contribution of trade to the goal of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions. Accordingly, the Parties shall 
strive to facilitate and promote trade and investment in environmental goods and services, 
including through addressing related non-tariff barriers and other obstacles to trade or investment. To this end, for instance, the EU is actively participating in the ongoing plurilateral negotiations on an Environmental Goods Agreement. 
 
1.11.  What approach has been adopted to addres s the issues of biodiversity and trade 
and conservation?  
Under Article 232 on biological diversity the Part ies recognize the importance of ensuring the 
conservation and the sustainable use of biological  diversity as a key element for the achievement 
of sustainable development, and reaffirm their commitment to conserve and sustainably use 
biological diversity, in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant 
international instruments to which they are party. To that end, the Parties commit to: (a) promoting trade in natural resource-based products obtained through a sustainable use of biological resources and contributing to the conservation of biodiversity; (b) exchanging 
information on actions on trade in natural resource-based products aimed at halting the loss of 
biological diversity and reducing pressures on biodiversity and, where relevant, cooperating to maximise the impact and to ensure the mutual supportiveness of their respective policies; 
(c) promoting the listing of species under the Co nvention on International Trade in Endangered 
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) where the conservation status of those species is considered at risk; and (d) cooperating at the regi onal and global levels with the aim of promoting 
the conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity in natural or agricultural WT/REG354/2 
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  ecosystems, including endangered species, their habitat, specially protected natural areas and 
genetic diversity, the restoration of ecosystems, and the elimination or the reduction of negative environmental impacts resulting from the use of living and non-living natural resources or of ecosystems. 
 
1.12.  How is the management of fish stocks addressed? 
 Both parties commit to promoting best practices in fisheries management with a view to 
ensuring the conservation and the management of fish stocks in a sustainable manner, and based 
on the ecosystem approach. Management of fish stocks are addressed by adopting effective monitoring and control measures to ensure full compliance with applicable conservation measures.  
1.13.  Has consideration been given to the development of new principles and 
obligations under the United Nations Framework  Convention on Climate Change, such as 
those established for the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United 
Nations Framework Convention on  Climate Change in Paris? 
If an agreement on climate change is reached in  Paris, it will be covered by the EU-Georgia 
DCFTA. Indeed, under Article 230(4) on multilat eral environmental governance and agreements, 
the Parties reaffirm their commitment to reaching the ultimate objective of the United Nations 
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNF CCC) and its Kyoto Protocol. They commit to 
cooperating on the development of the future in ternational climate change framework under the 
UNFCCC and its related agreements and decisions. 
 
1.14.  What are the role and functions of civil society? 
 Civil society plays a supervisory and an advisory role and participates actively in the 
implementation of the chapter. 
  Under Article 240, each party shall convene new, or consult existing, domestic advisory 
group(s) on sustainable development with the task of advising on issues relating to the Trade and 
Sustainable Development (TSD) Chapter. Such grou p(s) may submit views or recommendations on 
the implementation of this Chapter, including on its (their) own initiative. The domestic advisory group(s) shall comprise independent representative organizations of civil society in a balanced 
representation of economic, social, and enviro nmental stakeholders, including, among others, 
employers' and workers' organizations, non-gove rnmental organizations, business groups, as well 
as other relevant stakeholders. Moreover, pursuant to Article 241 the Parties shall facilitate a joint 
forum with civil society organizations established in their territories, including members of their 
domestic advisory group(s) and the public at large, to conduct a dialogue on sustainable development aspects of this Agreement. The Part ies shall promote a balanced representation of 
relevant interests, including independent representative organizations of employers, workers, 
environmental interests and business groups, as well as other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate. The joint civil society dialogue forum shall be convened once a year unless otherwise agreed by the Parties. The Parties shall present an update on the implementation of the 
TSD Chapter to the joint civil society dialogue foru m. The views and the opinions of the joint civil 
society dialogue forum shall be submitted to the Parties and shall be made publicly available. 
 
1.15.  What is the purpose of the Panel of Experts? 
 The Panel of Experts is part of the dedica ted dispute settlement mechanism set up for the 
Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) Chapter. It s purpose is to allow the Parties to draw on 
external independent expertise should a disagreement arise under the Chapter, and thereby 
facilitate its solution. A Panel of Experts shall issue a report to the Parties, which sets out the findings of facts, the applicability of the releva nt provisions and the basic rationale behind any 
findings and recommendations that it makes. The Parties shall make the report publicly available. 
The Parties shall discuss appropriate measures to be implemented, taking into account the Panel of 
Experts' report and recommendations. The follow-  up to the report and the recommendations of 
the Panel of Experts shall be monitored by the Trade and Sustainable Development 
Sub-Committee. Civil society (the advisory bodies and the Joint Civil Society Dialogue Forum) may 
submit observations to the Trade and Sustainable Development Sub-Committee in that regard.  
 WT/REG354/2 
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  Questions from the delegation of Thailand 
Dispute Settlement 
 
1.16.  Please advise whether a non-violatio n complaint can be brought under the 
Agreement's dispute settlement mechanism. 
 According to Article 245, the dispute settlement mechanism applies to disputes concerning 
the interpretation and application of the trade and trade-related provisions of the Agreement. In a 
request for consultations, it is necessary to identify the applicable provisions of the Agreement 
(Article 246). In a request for the establishment of an arbitration panel, it is necessary to explain 
how the challenged measures are inconsistent with the provisions of the Agreement (Article 248). There can be no arbitration based on allegations other than a breach of obligations. 
 
1.17.  Paragraph 5.12 states that "[w]hen a Part y has requested the establishment of a 
panel under Article 6 of the WTO Dispute Se ttlement Understanding or an arbitration 
panel pursuant to Article 248 of the Agreem ent, that Party may not initiate another 
proceeding for the breach of a substantially equivalent obligation  in the other forum, 
except when the forum selected first fails for procedural or jurisdictional reasons  to 
make findings on the claim" (emphasis added). 
 Please clarify under which criteria the alleged breaches of obligations under the 
first and subsequent proceedings would be co nsidered as being substantially equivalent. 
 
 The focus is on the content of the obligations: an obligation under WTO rules is, 
in substance, equivalent to an obligation under the trade provisions of the Association Agreement, 
if both obligations essentially require the same outcome or conduct. This is something to be 
assessed on a case-by-case basis. 
 1.18.  Please advise which authority would deci de that the first forum has failed for 
procedural or jurisdictional reasons. If th e failure of the first forum as a result of 
procedural reasons is attributable, in whole or in part, to the complaining party, would 
the complaining party be entitled to initia te a new proceeding under another forum? 
 It would be up to be second panel to determine whether it can examine the matter, taking 
into account the provisions in Article 269 of the Ag reement. It is not clear what scenario Thailand 
has in mind when referring to a failure of a pane l to make findings because of procedural reasons 
attributable to the complaining party. 
 
1.19.  Please advise whether the remedy in the form of monetary compensation is 
allowed in case of non-compliance. 
 Under Article 257 of the Agreement, compensation is regarded as a temporary measure, not 
as a substitute for compliance. The Agreement is silent as regards the type of compensation that may be offered.  
Government Procurement 
 
1.20.  It states in this paragraph that … "A s the gradual approximation progresses, 
each phase shall be evaluated by the Assoc iation Committee in Trade Configuration. 
Following a positive assessment by the Commi ttee, reciprocal market  access, as set out 
in Annex XVI-B to the Agreem ent, is to be granted." 
 Please explicate in greater detail the criter ia to be considered by the Association 
Committee in Trade Configuratio n for its evaluation of the approximation of Georgia's 
public procurement legislation with the EU's acquis . 
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  The Committee will have to assess the legislative texts adopted by Georgia in order to verify 
its conformity with the EU acquis to be approx imated. This assessment will have to take into 
account not only the text of the new legislation, but also its practical implementation on the ground, i.e. the ability of procuring entities to organize their tendering procedures according to 
those rules, and the ability of review bodies and the court system to deal with complaints 
expeditiously and fairly.  
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