Article 1 Annexes, Appendices and Footnotes

The Annexes, Appendices and footnotes to this Agreement shall constitute an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 2 Relation to Other Agreements

1. Each Party reaffirms its rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement and other agreements to which the Parties are party.

2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to derogate from any right or obligation of a Party under the WTO Agreement and other agreements to which the Parties are party.

3. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any other agreement to which two or more Parties are party, such Parties shall immediately consult with a view to finding a mutually satisfactory solution.

4. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent any individual ASEAN Member State from entering into any agreement with any one or more ASEAN Member State and/or Australia and/or New Zealand relating to trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and/or other areas of economic co-operation.

5. The provisions of this Agreement shall not apply to any agreement among ASEAN Member States. The provisions of this Agreement shall also not apply to any agreement involving any ASEAN Member State and/or Australia and/or New Zealand unless otherwise agreed by the parties to that agreement¹.

Article 3 Amended or Successor International Agreements

If any international agreement, or a provision therein, referred to in this Agreement (or incorporated into this Agreement) is amended, the Parties shall consult on whether it is necessary to amend this Agreement, unless this Agreement provides otherwise.

Article 4 Disclosure of Information

Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, nothing in this Agreement shall require any Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement, or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.

Article 5 Confidentiality

Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, where a Party provides information to another Party in accordance with this Agreement and designates the information as confidential, the other Party shall maintain the confidentiality of the information. Such information shall be used only for the purposes specified, and shall not be otherwise disclosed without the specific permission of the Party providing the information, except to the extent that the Party receiving the information is required under its domestic law to provide the information to judicial proceedings.

Article 6 Amendments

This Agreement may be amended by agreement in writing by the Parties and such amendments shall come into force on such date or dates as may be agreed among them.

Article 7 Entry into Force

1. Each Party shall notify each other Party in writing upon completion of its internal requirements² necessary for entry into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on 1 July 2009 for any Party that has made such notifications provided that Australia, New Zealand and at least four ASEAN Member States have made such notifications by that date.

2. If this Agreement does not enter into force on 1 July 2009 it shall enter into force, for any Party that has made the notification referred to in Paragraph 1, 60 days after the date by which Australia, New Zealand and at least four ASEAN Member States have made the notifications referred to in Paragraph 1.

3. After the entry into force of this Agreement pursuant to Paragraph 1 or 2, this Agreement shall enter into force for any Party 60 days after the date of its notification referred to in Paragraph 1.

Article 8 Withdrawal and Termination

1. Any Party may withdraw from this Agreement by giving six months advance notice in writing to the other Parties.

2. This Agreement shall terminate if, pursuant to Paragraph 1:

1. Australia withdraws;
2. New Zealand withdraws; or
3. this Agreement is in force for less than four ASEAN Member States.

Article 9 Review

The Parties shall undertake a general review of this Agreement with a view to furthering its objectives in 2016, and every five years thereafter, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties.

SIGNED at __________________, this ________ day of ___________, two thousand and eight, in three copies in the English language.

For the Government of Brunei Darussalam:

For the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia:

For the Government of the Republic of Indonesia:

For the Government of the Lao People's Democratic Republic:

For the Government of Malaysia:

For the Government of the Union of Myanmar:

For the Government of the Republic of the Philippines:

For the Government of the Republic of Singapore:

For the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand:

For the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:

For the Government of Australia:

For the Government of New Zealand:

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More information

Australian Guide to Chapter 18