Andean Community / Decision 641: Approval of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Member Countries of the Andean Community and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Decision 641
Approval of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Member Countries of the Andean Community and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

THE ANDEAN COMMUNITY COMMISSION,

HAVING SEEN: Article 135 of the Cartagena Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding signed on August 9 by the Member Countries of the Andean Community and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; and

WHEREAS: The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela communicated in writing to the Chair and to the Representatives of the Member Countries on the Andean Community Commission its decision to denounce the Cartagena Agreement;

As stipulated in Article 135 of the Cartagena Agreement, all rights and obligations stemming from a denouncer’s Membership cease to exist with the communication of its denouncement, except for the advantages received and granted under the Subregion’s Liberalization Program, which shall remain effective for a period of five years after the denouncement;

In order to reiterate the application of the rights and obligations contained in the Liberalization Program, the Member Countries of the Andean Community and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela signed an Understanding regarding the application of Article 135 of the Cartagena Agreement; and

It is necessary to issue this Decision in order to apply the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Member Countries and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela;

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To approve the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Member Countries of the Andean Community, on the one hand, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the other, regarding the application of Article 135 of the Cartagena Agreement that is set out in the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2.- To instruct the General Secretariat to advance the necessary technical work and coordination for the fulfillment of the tasks assigned to the Working Group created by the Member Countries and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

Signed in the city of Lima, Peru, on the ninth of August of two thousand and six.

ANNEX

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC
OF VENEZUELA AND THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE ANDEAN COMMUNITY
–BOLIVIA, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR AND PERU–

The Plenipotentiary Representatives of the Member Countries on the Andean Community Commission –Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru– and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, meeting in the city of Lima on August 8 and 9, 2006, have agreed upon the lines of action to implement the denouncement of the Cartagena Agreement, pursuant to its Article 135, as communicated in writing by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the Titular Representatives on the Commission on April 22, 2006.

Recognizing the historical and cultural ties that exist between their nations and reiterating their support for Latin American integration and the treatment of the structural differences between their economies, the Member Countries of the Andean Community and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have decided to form a Working Group.

Bearing in mind the will of the parties that the said Working Group, within a single period of thirty (30) continuous and extendable days, establish mechanisms to guarantee the effective application of the rights and obligations established in Article 135 of the Cartagena Agreement, with regard to the safeguards, rules of origin and dispute settlement, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical obstacles to trade that protect the rights and obligations between the Parties, in the framework of the liberalization program for trade in goods.

SIGN THE FOLLOWING UNDERSTANDING

FIRST.- To fully apply the benefits received and granted pursuant to the Subregion’s Liberalization Program as of April 22, 2006, as stipulated in Article 135 of the Cartagena Agreement, which reads as follows:

Any Member Country wishing to denounce this Agreement shall so inform the Commission. From that moment on it shall cease to enjoy the rights and have the obligations deriving from its status as a Member, with the exception of the benefits received and granted in accordance with the Subregional Liberalization Program, which shall remain effective for a period of five years after the date of the denouncement.

The time period stipulated in the paragraph above may be shortened in duly substantiated cases by decision of the Commission and at the request of the interested Member Country

Likewise, the Governments of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the one hand, and of Colombia and Ecuador, on the other, agree to continue applying the provisions stipulated in the Industrial Complementarity Agreement in the Automotive Sector and its derivative instruments, whose period of validity shall be subject to the provisions of the Agreement itself.

SECOND.- A Working Group is formed between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the one hand, and the Members of the Andean Community, on the other, in order to, within a period of 30 days as of its installation, extendable for an additional 30 days once only, establish the temporary provisions applicable to the safeguards, dispute settlement, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical obstacles to trade that are applicable to the liberalization program for trade in goods, in keeping with Article 135 of the Cartagena Agreement. That Group shall also define the adjustments deemed necessary to the rules of origin that are in effect for trade between the Parties.

The Working Group shall enjoy the technical support of the General Secretariat of the Andean Community and shall start working no later than fifteen (15) working days after the signing of this Memorandum and shall submit its recommendations to the Parties.

THIRD.- The Member Countries of the Andean Community, on the one hand, and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the other, shall, based on the results obtained by the Working Group, sign an agreement no later than October 30, 2006, incorporating the agreed temporary provisions on safeguards, dispute settlement, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical obstacles to trade that are applicable to the liberalization program on trade in goods. In addition, that Agreement shall incorporate any adjustments that are defined in the rules of origin applicable to trade between the Parties.

FOURTH.- As established in Article 154 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, because this Memorandum concerns the execution of preexisting obligations, it shall become effective for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as of the date of its signing.

FIFTH.- The Member Countries of the Andean Community shall put this Memorandum of Understanding into effect through the approval of a Decision of the Andean Community Commission.

By virtue of which, the Plenipotentiary Representatives of the Member Countries on the Andean Community Commission and the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela sign this Memorandum of Understanding in city of Lima on the 9th of August of two thousand and six.