Observação
Observação
À luz do crescente interesse do público nas negociações recentemente concluídas entre o MERCOSUL e a União Europeia, os governos dos países do MERCOSUL decidiram publicar os textos do pilar comercial, a fim de garantir tanto o efetivo exercício do direito de acesso à informação pública quanto a transparência da gestão pública.
Esses textos são publicados, no entanto, apenas para fins informativos e podem sofrer modificações adicionais em decorrência do processo de revisão legal a que estarão sujeitos, sem prejuízo dos compromissos assumidos.
Os textos só serão definitivos quando o Acordo for assinado. O Acordo será vinculante para as Partes, conforme o direito internacional, somente após a conclusão dos procedimentos legais internos necessários para a entrada em vigor.
CHAPTER
DIALOGUES
Article 1
Objectives
The Parties aim to strengthen their mutual confidence and agree to establish dialogues and exchange information to improve their common understanding on the following subjects:
1. Animal welfare matters.
2. Issues related to the application of agricultural biotechnology.
3. Combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
4. Scientific matters related to food safety, animal and plant health.
Article 2
The subcommittee
1. The Parties hereby establish a Subcommittee on Dialogues in animal welfare, in agricultural biotechnology, in combating antimicrobial resistance and in food safety, plant and animal health, hereinafter referred as the Subcommittee.
2. The Subcommittee shall be comprised of representatives of the Parties with responsibility on matters covered by this Chapter.
3. The Subcommittee will appoint ad-hoc working groups to conduct the Dialogues. It will also establish the scope, mandate and agendas of these working groups.
4. The working groups will be composed of representatives of the Parties with technical expertise on the matters subjected to dialogue. They will be co-chaired by the representatives of the Parties.
5. The Subcommittee and the working groups may meet by video or audio-conference and may also address issues electronically.
6. The co-chairs of the working groups shall report to the Subcommittee on the work of the group.
7. The Subcommittee may review the task assigned to a working group.
Article 3
Animal welfare
Recognizing that animals are sentient beings, the Parties will conduct a dialogue that will cover, inter alia:
1. Specific topics on animal welfare that may affect mutual trade;
2. Exchange of information, expertise and experiences in the field of animal welfare to improve their respective approaches on regulatory standards related to breeding, holding, handling, transportation and slaughter of animals to their mutual benefits.
3. Strengthen the research collaboration.
4. Collaboration in international fora with the aim to promote the further development of international standards on animal welfare by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and best animal welfare practices and their implementation.
Article 4
Agricultural biotechnology 1
This dialogue will cover, inter alia:
1. To exchange information on policies, legislation, guidelines, good practices, and projects of agricultural biotechnology products.
2. To discuss specific topics on biotechnology that may affect mutual trade, including cooperation on GMO testing.
3. To exchange information on topics related to asynchronous authorisations of genetically modified organisms in order to minimize possible impact on trade.
4. To exchange information on the economic and trade outlook of authorisations of genetically modified products;
5. To exchange information on cases of low level presence of GMOs non-authorised by the importing Party, but authorised by the exporting Party.
Article 5
Combating antimicrobial resistance
This dialogue will cover, inter alia:
1. The collaboration to follow up existing and future guidelines, standards, recommendations and actions developed in relevant international organisations, initiatives and national plans aiming to promote the prudent and responsible use of antibiotics and relating to animal production and veterinary practices.
2. The collaboration in the implementation of the recommendations of OIE, WHO and Codex, in particular CAC-RCP61/2005.
3. The exchange of information on good farming practices.
4. The promotion of research, innovation and development.
5. The promotion of multidisciplinary approaches to combat antimicrobial resistance, including the One Health approach of WHO, OIE and Codex Alimentarius.
1 EU negotiator note - The EU-Argentina dialogue of the Mutually Agreed Solution of 15 July 2009 following the WTO dispute WT/DS293, will be hereinafter included in this dialogue EU-MCS and replace by it.
Article 6
Scientific matters related to food safety, animal and plant health
1. The Parties should foster the cooperation between their respective official scientific bodies responsible for food safety, animal and plant health science. This cooperation will aim to deepen the scientific information available to the Parties in order to support their respective approaches on regulatory standards that may affect mutual trade.
2. This dialogue will cover, inter alia:
a) Exchange of scientific and technical information on food and feed safety, animal and plant health areas, including risk assessment and the scientific information supporting the establishment of Maximum Residue Levels (MRL).
b) The collection of data.
c) Collaboration in the building of a common understanding regarding OIE, IPPC and Codex Alimentarius standards.
Article 7
Additional provisions
1. The Parties shall ensure that the work carried out by the working groups referred in article 2 will not endanger the independency of their respective national or regional agencies. The Subcommittee shall establish the rules of conflict of interest for the participants of the working groups.
2. Nothing in this Chapter shall affect the rights and obligations of each Party to protect confidential information, according to each Party’s relevant legislation. Each Party shall ensure that procedures are in place to prevent the disclosure of confidential information that is acquired during the process established in this Chapter.
3. Fully respecting the Parties’ right to regulate, nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as to oblige a party to:
a) Deviate from domestic procedures for preparing and adopting regulatory measures, or
b) Take actions that would undermine or impede the timely adoption of regulatory measures to achieve its public policy objectives, or
c) Adopt any particular regulatory outcome.