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Complementary Adjustment to the Trade Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of The Federative Republic of Brazil on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of theFederative Republic of Brazil

(hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties" ),

Taking into Consideration

That it is of mutual interest to increase trade exchanges on goods of the agricultural and cattle breeding domains, as well as technical cooperation on phyto-sanitary and zoo-sanitary aspects between the two countries;

That scientific, technological and normative aspects in the areas of sanitary and phytosanitary measures are of special interest in order to facilitate international trade in animals, vegetables and their products, besides the preservation of the territories of both Constructing Parties from plagues and diseases;

That the recognition, harmonization and speeding up of technical and administrative requirements and procedures prescribed for imports of agricultural and animal products, will foster the trade of these goods and their products'

That their official sanitary organisations will strictly follow their respective phytozoosanitary legislations and requirements'

That both countries are parties to the International Plant Protection Convention, 1951, members of the International Office of Epizootics, and parties to the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organisation.

That the dynamics of trade in agricultural and animal products renders necessary the updating of existing agreements;

That both States have signed the Trade Agreement, in New Delhi, on 3rd February, 1968.

Have agreed as follows:

CHAPTER I
Objectives

ARTICLE 1

The Ministry of Agriculture of India and the Ministry of Agriculture and Supply of Brazil, through their specific technical organizations, pledge to:

a) detect and give priority to technical cooperation in matters of common interst, aiming at a better control of existing phytozoosanitary plagues or diseases and to foster trade in agricultural and animal products between the two countries;

b) elaborate plans to prevent the introduction and the spreading, in the territories of the Contracting Parties, of phytozoosanitary plagues or diseases subject to quarantine regulations, as well as harmonizing, according to cases, their limits of tolerance;

c) adopt technical and administrative measures to ensure the fulfillment of phytozoosanitary conditions and requirements provided for in the respective national legislations, aiming at facilitating exports and imports of animal and vegetable products between the two countries;

d) establish mutual rules pertaining to hygiene and technology aspects related to official controls of products of animal and vegetable origin.

CHAPTER II
Actions

ARTICLE 2

Cooperation, for the purposes of this Complementary Adjustment, shall be carried out through the following actions:

a) exchanges of technical and legal information on the phytozoosanitary situation of each of the Contracting Parties, including methods of control of plagues and diseases, diagnosis techniques, handling and preparation of products and by-products of animal and vegetable origin;

b) exchange of specialized personnel, aiming at supervising at the point of origin the procedures of vegetable and animal production, in order to check the phytozoosanitary conditions;

c) define programmes and specific phytozoosanitary treatments that speed up the procedures of trade of vegetable and animal goods and products.

ARTICLE 3

Aiming at the fulfillment of technical cooperation referred to in Article 1, Contracting Parties pledge:
a) to mutually collaborate on measures of technical nature concerning recognition, diagnosis and prophylactic measures regarding sanitary risks occurring on the territories of both countries;

b) without prejudice to the level of protection of animal health and vegetable sanitary, to bring as close as possible the equivalence of their phytozoosanitary measures.

CHAPTER III
Rights and Obligations of the Contracting Parties

ARTICLE 4

The Contracting Parties will have the following rights and obligations:

a) The Contracting Parties agree to fulfill the procedures of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures concerning animal health and vegetable sanitary;

b) each of the Contracting Parties may, according to this Chapter, adopt, maintain or apply any phytozoosanitary measure or any measure directed to the checking of waste for the protection of public health, animal and vegetable health. Notwithstanding this, each Contracting Party is entitled to set its levels of protection, provided it is based upon scientific principles and analysis of risk;

c) to check if the vegetables, animals and their products for export are subject to rigorous follow-up in phytozoosanitary terms, in accordance with the import requirements of the other Contracting Party, which should be in accordance with recognized international standards.

d) On mutually agreed basis, the Contracting Parties would indicate the regions where the cooperative activities and the technical projects provided for in this Complementary Adjustment will take place;

e) To fulfill the present Complementary Adjustment and its changes;

f) To promote, in each country, the participation of institutions and associations, in the fulfillment of the objectives and activities provided for in this Complementary Adjustment;

g) To grant the technical and administrative facilities necessary for the fulfillment of the technical and scientific exchanges provided for in this Complementary Adjustment;

h) To cooperate, in an immediate manner, for the settling of possible divergences in the implementation of the present Complementary Adjustment;

i) To demand, whenever necessary, the phytozoosanitary certificates agreed between the Contracting Parties for trade exchanges of animal and vegetable products;

j) To grant the necessary facilities for the holding of inspections, controls and approvals of phytozoosanitary nature by the other Contracting Party, subject to availability of funds and local laws and regulations;

k) To set harmonization systems in the sanitary sphere, for methods of sampling, diagnosis and inspection of animals, vegetables and their products, at the levels of field, industrial processing and entry point;

l) To set a chronogram on laboratory analysis that may become necessary to proceed on animals, vegetables, their products and by-products, on the occasion of their entry into the territory of the other Contracting Party;

m) To provide the necessary facilities for the training of technical personnel in teaching and research institutions, as well as in other bodies linked to sanitary and phytosanitary measures, subject to availability of funds and local laws and regulations;

n) To refrain from adopting phytozoosanitary measures aiming solely at restricting trade between the Contracting Parties;

o) To immediately put into practice urgent measures implemented for the control of focuses or surges of plagues of quarantine relevance and of diseases of mandatory notification, bilaterally defined.

ARTICLE 5

In the elaboration of the phytozoosanitary requirements for the exchange of products, national norms, as well as the acceptable import exigencies of the other Contracting Party, should be taken into account. The norms of the International Zoosanitary Code of the International Office of Epizootics, of the International Plant Protection Convention, 1951 of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and of "Codex Alimentarius" should also be observed. Furthermore, norms and directives stemming out of other international organizations of which both countries are members should also be considered.

ARTICLE 6

The Contracting Parties pledge to notify:

(a) significant changes in the zoosanitary situation, such as the surge or suspicion of exotic diseases according to lists A and B of OIE, within 24 (twenty-four) hours;

(b) significant changes in the phytosanitary situation, such as the surge or suspicion of quarantine plagues or the spreading of plagues under official control, within 30 (thirty) days from the detection;

(c) discoveries of epidemiological importance related to diseases not included in the two preceding items;

(d) changes in the phytozoosanitary norms in force which might affect the bilateral commercial exchange of agricultural and animal products, at lest 60 (sixty) days before the date of entry into force of the new regulation, allowing comments by the other Contracting Party. Emergency situations are exempted from the term herein defined.

ARTICLE 7

Technical cooperation projects concerning products and by-products of animal and vegetable origin should be prepared, as well as projects concerning the basic agricultural and cattle breeding inputs.

ARTICLE 8

The regulations of this Complementary Adjustment should apply to any remittance bound for Consulates or Diplomatic Missions, containing agricultural and animal products and by-products, according to the provisions of the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations, 1961 and 1963 respectively.

ARTICLE 9

The Contracting Party that, on its own initiative, sends representatives and specialists to the other Contracting Party will meet the relevant expenses. The visited country will provide easy access and the necessary assistance to the visiting representatives and specialists in order to enable them to fulfill their missions.

CHAPTER IV
Executive Bodies

ARTICLE 10

The coordination and supervision of the implementation of the present Complementary Adjustment will belong to a Joint Commission of Work Plans, made up of the heads of the organizations in charge of policies, supervision and execution of the activities related to sanitary and phytosanitary measures, or their representatives, as well as the respective technical teams deemed appropriate.

ARTICLE 11

Both sides pledge to prepare, in a coordinated manner, a yearly information on the development and the results of this Complementary Adjustment.

ARTICLE 12

In order to discuss matters related to the technical, scientific and phytozoosanitary certification, as well as other mattes arising during the implementation of the present Complementary Adjustment, the executive bodies will meet at least once a year, on mutually agreed dates and venues, the venue having an alternate character.

ARTICLE 13

The Contracting Parties will raise the financial resources to enable them to fulfill the programmed activities, being permitted to request the cooperation of producers, importers and exporters of agricultural and animal products, as well as the collaboration of international organizations for the carrying on of activities linked to the implementation of the present Complementary Adjustment.

ARTICLE 14

The executive bodies may, according to this Complementary Adjustment, establish specific programmes in matters of interest which involve more technical and operational detailing, in order to implement this Complementary Adjustment.

ARTICLE 15

If any emergency situation occur, any of the Contracting Parties may take the adequate measures which shall be communicated to the other Contracting Party as soon as possible.

CHAPTER V
Validity and Amendments

ARTICLE 16

1. The present Complementary Adjustment will enter into force 30 (thirty) days after the date of its signature. It will be valid for a year and will be renewed automatically for equal successive periods, unless 90 (ninety) days before expiry of one period, one of the Contracting Parties notifies the other, in written, of its decision to denounce it.

2. The termination of the present Complementary Adjustment will be of no consequence for ongoing cooperative activities or for those carried on during its validity.

ARTICLE 17

1. The present Complementary Adjustment may be altered or complemented by the Contracting Parties, alterations entering into force on the date of receipt of the answering Note.

2. Any divergences on the interpretation or application of the present Complementary Adjustment will be settled through diplomatic channels.

Signed at Brasilia, on this 2nd day of July, 1997, in duplicate, in the Portuguese, Hindi, and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail.

(Chaturanan Mishra) Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Agriculture, Animal
Husbandary & Dairying Minister of Foreign Affairs
For the Government of the For the Government of the
Republic of India Federative Republic of Brazil