611.2131/111a
American Redraft of the Reciprocal Trade Agreement Handed to the Colombian Minister (Lozano) by the Assistant Secretary of State (Caffery), October 26, 1933
The President of the United States of America and the President of the Republic of Colombia, desiring to promote trade between the two countries, have arrived at the following agreement:
Article I
Articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the United States of America, enumerated or described in Schedule 1 annexed hereto15 and made a part of this agreement, shall, when imported into the Republic of Colombia, be exempt from customs duties and import charges of any kind in excess of those set forth in the said schedule.
Articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the United States of America, enumerated or described in Schedule 2 annexed hereto15 and made a part of this agreement, shall, when imported into the Republic of Colombia, be subject to treatment no less favorable in respect to duties, rebates, surtaxes and other charges on imports than those enjoyed on August 15, 1933.
Article II
Articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the Republic of Colombia, enumerated or described in Schedule 3 annexed hereto15 and made a part of this agreement, shall, when imported into the United States of America, be exempt from all customs duties and import charges. The provisions of this article shall not apply to coffee imported into Puerto Rico.
Article III
The provisions of this agreement shall not apply to such special duties as are required by laws of either Contracting Party to be assessed on importations which are not properly marked to indicate their origin, or to such special duties as may be required by such laws to be assessed on importations which have been sold at less than the foreign market value (or, in the absence of such value, than the cost of production in the country of origin).
Article IV
All articles, the growth, produce or manufacture of either Contracting Party, after importation into the territory of the other Party, [Page 236] shall be exempt from any internal taxes or charges other or higher than those payable on like articles of national origin.
Those articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the United States of America, enumerated or described in Schedules 1 and 2 annexed hereto which are not produced in substantial quantities within the Republic of Colombia, shall, after importation into the territory of the Republic of Colombia, be exempt from any internal taxes or charges other or higher than those in force on the date of signature of this agreement. Likewise, those articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the Republic of Colombia, enumerated or described in Schedule 3 annexed hereto, which are not produced in substantial quantities in the United States of America, shall, after importation into the United States of America, be exempt from any internal taxes or charges other or higher than those in force on the date of signature of this agreement.
Article V
No prohibition or restriction on importations shall be imposed by either Contracting Party on articles the growth, produce or manufacture of the other Party with respect to which obligations have been assumed under Articles I and II, respectively, of this agreement: Provided, That the foregoing provision shall not apply to prohibitions or restrictions relating to public security; imposed on moral or humanitarian grounds; designed to protect human, animal, or plant life; or applying to prison-made goods and goods the product of forced or slave labor however employed.
Article VI
No administrative ruling by either Contracting Party effecting advances in duties or charges applicable to imports, or imposing any new requirement with respect to imports, from the territory of the other Party, shall become operative until at least thirty days after public notice thereof in the usual official manner. The provisions of this article do not apply to administrative orders imposing antidumping duties, relating to sanitation or public safety, or giving effect to judicial decisions.
Article VII
It is agreed that the United States of America and the Republic of Colombia will grant each other unconditional and unrestricted most-favored-nation treatment in all matters concerning customs duties and subsidiary charges of every kind and in the method of levying duties, and, further, in all matters concerning the rules, formalities and charges imposed in connection with the clearing of goods through the customs.
[Page 237]Accordingly, natural or manufactured products having their origin in either of the countries shall in no case be subject, in regard to the matters referred to above, to any duties, taxes or charges other or higher, or to any rules and formalities other or more burdensome, than those to which the like products having their origin in any third country are or may hereafter be subject.
Similarly, natural or manufactured products exported from the territory of either Party and consigned to the territory of the other shall in no case be subject, in regard to the above-mentioned matters, to any duties, taxes or charges other or higher, or to any rules and formalities other or more burdensome, than those to which the like products when consigned to the territory of any other country are or may hereafter be subject.
Any advantage, favor, privilege or immunity which has been or may hereafter be granted by either country in regard to the abovementioned matters, to a natural or manufactured product originating in any other country or consigned to the territory of any other country shall be accorded immediately and without compensation to the like product originating in or consigned to the territory of the other Party.
Neither Party shall establish any prohibition or maintain any restriction on imports from the territory of the other which is not applied to the importation of any like article originating in any other country. Any abolition of an import prohibition or restriction which may be granted even temporarily by either of the Parties in favor of an article of a third country shall be applied immediately and unconditionally to the like article originating in the territory of the other Party.
In the event of rations or quotas being established by either Party for the importation of any article otherwise restricted or prohibited, it is agreed that in the allocation of the quantity of restricted goods which may be authorized for importation, the other Party will be granted an equitable share, corresponding to the proportion of the trade which it would normally enjoy.
Foreign exchange transactions shall not be regulated or controlled in either country in such manner as to discriminate against the nationals or commerce of the other as compared with the nationals or commerce of any third country.
Nevertheless, the advantages now accorded or which may hereafter be accorded to other adjacent countries in order to facilitate frontier traffic, and advantages resulting from a customs union already concluded or hereafter to be concluded by either country shall be excepted from the operation of this article; and this article shall not apply to police or sanitary regulations or to the commerce of the United States [Page 238] of America with the Republic of Cuba, or to commerce between the United States of America and the Panama Canal Zone, the Philippine Islands, or any territory or possession of the United States, or to the commerce of the territories and possessions of the United States of America with one another.
Subject to the reservations set forth in the preceding paragraph the provisions of this article shall apply to articles the growth, produce or manufacture of any area under the sovereignty or authority of either Party imported from or exported to any area under the sovereignty or authority of the other Party. It is understood, however, that the provisions of this paragraph do not apply to the Panama Canal Zone.
Article VIII
Except as otherwise provided in this agreement the provisions thereof shall apply to the customs territories of the two countries.
Article IX
The provisions of this agreement shall supersede any subsisting treaty provisions inconsistent therewith.
Article X
(Proposal by Colombia for one year’s notice of termination is being studied.)