Andean Community (founded 1969)

The objectives of this Agreement are to promote the balanced and harmonious development of the Member Countries under equitable conditions, through economic and social integration and cooperation; to accelerate their growth and the rate of creation of employment; to facilitate their participation in the process of regional integration, looking ahead toward the gradual formation of a Latin American Common Market.

Likewise, this Agreement seeks to reduce external vulnerability and to improve the position of the Member Countries within the international economic context; to strengthen subregional solidarity, and to reduce existing differences in the levels of development among the Member Countries.

The fulfillment of these objectives shall lead to an enduring improvement in the standard of living of the Subregion ́s population.

Balanced and harmonious development shall lead to a fair distribution, among the Member Countries, of the benefits derived from integration so as to reduce existing differences among them. The results of such process shall be evaluated periodically, bearing in mind, among other things, their effects on the growth of each country’s total exports, the behavior of its trade balance with the Subregion, the evolution of its gross national product, the creation of new jobs, and the formation of capital.

To fulfill the objectives of this Agreement, the following mechanisms and measures, among others, shall be employed:

In addition to the mechanisms set out above, the following economic and social cooperation policies shall be carried out jointly:

To carry out this Agreement in the best way possible, Member Countries shall make the necessary efforts to seek adequate solutions to the problems derived from Bolivia’s landlocked condition.

The "Andean Community" is hereby created, composed by the sovereign States of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, and by the bodies and institutions of the Andean Integration System, which is established by this Agreement.

The Andean Integration System is made up of the following bodies and institutions:

The purpose of the System is to allow an effective coordination between the bodies and institutions that compose it, in order to deepen Andean subregional integration, to promote its external presence and to consolidate and strengthen actions related to the integration process.

The bodies and institutions of the Andean Integration System are governed by this Agreement, by their respective charters, and their modifying protocols.

With the purpose of achieving the best coordination within the Andean Integration System, the Chairman of the Andean Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs will call and chair the Meeting of Representatives of the institutions that make up the System.

The main purposes of the Meeting shall be:

The Meetings of Representatives of the institutions which make up the Andean Integration System shall be held in regular sessions at least once a year and, in special sessions, every time that any of the institutions that comprise it requests so, and it shall be held at the place agreed upon before the meeting is called.

The General Secretariat of the Andean Community shall act as the Secretariat of the Meeting.

Member Countries shall progressively adopt a strategy for the achievement of the subregional development objectives foreseen in this Agreement.

Member Countries shall coordinate their development plans in specific sectors and will gradually harmonize their economic and social policies, with the objective of achieving an integrated development of the area, through planned actions.

This process shall be carried out in parallel to and in coordination with the creation of the subregional market, by means of the following mechanisms, among others:

Before December 31, 1970, the Commission, shall at the General Secretariat’s proposal, approve and submit to the Member Countries for their consideration a common regime on the treatment of foreign capital and, among others, about trademarks, patents, licenses, and royalties.

The Member Countries shall take the necessary measures to put this regime into effect within six months following its approval by the Commission.

Before December 31, 1971, the Commission shall, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, approve and propose to the Member Countries a uniform regime that Andean multinational corporations must abide by.

The Commission shall, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, establish permanent procedures and mechanisms deemed necessary to achieve the coordination and harmonization referred to in Article 51.

The Commission shall, at the General Secretariat’s proposal and taking into account the progress and needs of the subregional integration process, as well as the balanced compliance with the mechanisms of the Agreement, approve rules, and determine dates for the gradual harmonization of the economic legislations and the instruments and mechanisms for the regulation and promotion of Member Countries ́ foreign trade that affect the mechanisms foreseen in this Agreement for the creation of the subregional market.

The Member Countries shall include in their national development plans and in the formulation of their economic policies, the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the preceding Articles.

The Member Countries pledge themselves to promote a common process of industrial development to attain, among others, the following objectives:

With respect to the previous Article, the following shall constitute modes of industrial integration:

The objective of the Tariff Reduction Program is to eliminate the levies and restrictions of all kinds that affect the importation of products originating in the territory of any Member Country.

"Levies" are understood to mean the customs duties and any other charge with equivalent effect, whether fiscal or monetary in nature or related to foreign exchange, that may affect imports. Not included in this concept are analogous assessments and surcharges that correspond to the approximate cost of the services rendered.

"Restrictions of all kinds" are understood to mean any administrative, financial, or foreign exchange measure, whereby a Member Country through an unilateral decision, obstructs or hinders imports. Not included in this concept are the adoption and enforcement of measures for:

For the purpose of the previous articles, the General Secretariat, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, shall determine, when necessary, if a measure adopted unilaterally by a Member Country constitutes a "levy" or "restriction."

As regards taxes, assessments, and other internal charges, products originating in a Member Country shall enjoy in the territory of the other Member Country treatment that is no less favorable than that accorded to similar domestic products.

The Tariff Reduction Program shall be automatic and irrevocable and it shall cover the entire product universe, except for the provisions regarding exceptions that are established in this Agreement, so that a total reduction is achieved by the dates and in the modes referred to in this Agreement.

This Program shall apply, in its various forms to:

Every kind of restriction shall be eliminated by December 31, 1970, at the latest.

Excepted from the previous rule are restrictions applied to products reserved for Sectorial Programs and modes of industrial integration, which shall be eliminated when the reduction in their tariffs is initiated according to their respective program or mode or as provided in Article 83.

Bolivia and Ecuador shall eliminate every kind of restriction at the moment in which they initiate the Tariff Reduction Program for each product, according to the procedures provided in Articles 130 and 138, but may replace them with levies that do not exceed the lowest level indicated in subsection a) of Article 82, in which case this shall apply to imports from the Subregion as well as from outside of it.\

The Commission shall, within the time period provided in the preceding Article and at the General Secretariat’s proposal, determine which products are to be reserved for Sectorial Programs of Industrial Development.

Before October 31, 1978, the Commission, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, shall approve a list of products to be excluded from the list of those reserved for programming and shall reserve from among those not produced two lists of goods to be produced in Bolivia and Ecuador, indicating the conditions and time periods.

On December 31, 1978, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, shall adopt for the products on this list the starting point provided in subsection a) of Article 82, and shall eliminate all of their restrictions applicable to the importation of said goods.

The remaining levies shall be removed in five annual and successive reductions of ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five, and thirty percent, the first of which shall take place on December 31, 1979.

On December 31, 1978, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela shall eliminate the levies applicable to imports originating in Bolivia and Ecuador.

Bolivia and Ecuador shall eliminate duties on the importation of these products as foreseen in section b) of Article 130 of this Agreement.

Before December 31, 1995, the Commission shall approve Industrial Integration Programs and Projects with respect to products that had been reserved for that purpose.

The Commission and the Member Countries shall, whenever appropriate and at any time, adopt the modes of industrial integration referred to in Article 58 and shall determine the pertinent rules, taking into account that which is provided in Chapter IV and considering the importance of industrial programming as a fundamental mechanism of the Agreement.

The products included in the first section of the Common List referred to in Article 4 of the Treaty of Montevideo of 1960, shall be totally freed from all restrictions and levies on April 14, 1970.

Before December 31, 1970 the Commission, at the proposal of the General Secretariat, shall draw up a list of the goods not produced in any of the countries of the Subregion and which have not been reserved for Sectorial Programs of Industrial Development. It shall select those that should be reserved for production in Bolivia and Ecuador, establishing, for the latter , the terms and reserve periods.

Products appearing on that list shall be totally freed of levies on February 28, 1971. The elimination of duties on the goods reserved for production in Bolivia and Ecuador, shall benefit those countries exclusively.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and within the period stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article, the General Secretariat may propose to the Commission that some of the products on that list be allocated to Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. The country benefiting from the allocation shall remove the duties on the respective goods as provided for in Article 82.

If the General Secretariat is able to confirm that, four years after the date of the allocation, the favored country has not initiated the corresponding production or that the project is not underway, then as of that moment the effects of that allocation shall cease and the country benefited shall immediately proceed to eliminate the tariff on the product in question.

At any time after the expiration of the period indicated in the second paragraph of the foregoing Article the Commission, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, may add new products to the list referred to in the first paragraph of that same Article. Those goods shall be free from all levies sixty days after the date of approval of their inclusion on the list in question.

Whenever the General Secretariat considers it to be technically and economically feasible, it shall propose to the Commission that some of the new products be reserved for production in Bolivia and Ecuador; in that case it shall stipulate the period and term of the reservation.

Products not covered by Articles 77, 79, and 80 shall be freed of levies in the following manner:

With respect to the products which, having been selected for Sectorial Programs and modes of Industrial Integration and which are maintained in reserve until the expiration of the period specified in the final subsection of Article 77, the Member Countries shall carry out the Tariff Reduction Program in the following way:

The Member Countries shall refrain from changing the levels of the levies and from introducing any new restrictions on the importation of products which originate in the Subregion, in any way that would create a less favorable situation than that in existence at the time the Agreement comes into effect.

Excluded from the above are the changes which Bolivia and Ecuador must make in their schedules of customs duties to obtain optimum use from their trade policy instruments in order to ensure that certain production activities are initiated or expanded within their territories. These exceptions are to be reviewed by the General Secretariat and authorized by the Commission.

Also excepted from this rule are changes in levies resulting from the replacement of restrictions by levies referred to in Article 46.

Up until December 31, 1970, each of the Member Countries may submit to the General Secretariat a list of products currently being produced in the Subregion, in order to exempt them from the Tariff Reduction Program and from the establishment of the External Tariff. Colombia and Peru’s lists of exceptions cannot contain products that are included in more than two hundred and fifty items of the NABALALC.

Within one hundred and twenty days after its Instrument of Accession to the Agreement, Venezuela will present to the General Secretariat a list of exceptions which may not cover products that are already included in more than two hundred and fifty items of the NABALALC.

The products included in the lists of exceptions shall be completely free of levies and other restrictions and covered under the Minimum Common External Tariff or the Common External Tariff, whichever is appropriate, through a process that shall include three stages of 44, 44 and 87 items, the first of which shall be liberalized on December 31, 1993; the second on December 31, 1994, and the final one on December 31, 1995.

Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela may maintain, after December 31, 1995, a set of residual exceptions that shall contain products that are included in no more than 75 items of the NABALALC.

A Member Country’s incorporation of a product in its list of exceptions shall prevent it from enjoying the benefits deriving from the Agreement for that product.

A Member Country may withdraw products from its list of exceptions at any time. In that case, the products shall comply with the Tariff Reduction Program and the External Tariff in effect for such products, in the ways and levels that are appropriate, and they shall simultaneously begin to enjoy the respective benefits.

In duly qualified cases, the General Secretariat may authorize a Member Country to incorporate in its list of exceptions products that, having been reserved for Industrial Integration Programs and Projects, were not programmed.

In no case shall the incorporation involve an increase in the number of corresponding items.

The General Secretariat shall consider the possibility of incorporating the products Member Countries included in their lists of exceptions and in their lists of administered trade, to the Industrial Integration modes.

For purposes of the previous section, interested countries shall inform the General Secretariat of their intention to participate and once the respective mode of industrial integration is agreed upon, shall withdraw the product from its list of exceptions or from its list of administered trade.

Member Countries shall enter into negotiations in order to seek formulas that may allow for the liberalization of the products included in the lists of exceptions or the elimination of quotas on the products incorporated in the lists of administered trade, prior to the expiration of the corresponding deadlines.

The inclusion of products in the lists of exceptions shall not affect the exportation of goods originating in Bolivia or Ecuador which have been the subject of significant trade between the respective country and Bolivia or Ecuador over the last three years or which show a strong likelihood of significant trade in the immediate future.

The same shall be the case in the future for those products from Bolivia or Ecuador which appear in the lists of exceptions of any of the Member Countries and which show clear and immediate prospects of being exported from Bolivia or Ecuador to the country which has exempted them from the reduction of trade restrictions.

It shall be the responsibility of the General Secretariat to determine when significant trade exists or when there is a clear likelihood that it will exist.

The Member Countries shall seek to jointly reach partial-scope trade agreements, agreements of economic complementation, agricultural agreements, and trade promotion agreements, with the other Latin American countries in those sectors where it is feasible, according to the provisions of Article 98 of this Agreement and of the Montevideo Treaty of 1980.

Member Countries commit themselves to implementing a Common External Tariff within the time limits and in the manner established by the Commission.

The Commission, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, shall approve a Common External Tariff that must provide adequate levels of protection in favor of subregional production, taking into account the Agreement’s objective of gradually harmonizing the different economic policies of the Member Countries.

On the date indicated by the Commission, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela will begin the process of approximating their levies, that apply under their national tariff schedules to the importation of products not originating within the Subregion, to the Common External Tariff, in an annual, automatic, and linear manner.

Before December 31, 1970, the Commission, at the proposal of the General Secretariat, shall approve a Minimum Common External Tariff, whose objectives shall be primarily the following:

On December 31, 1971, the Member Countries shall begin approximating their levies, that apply to imports from outside the Subregion, to the Minimum Common External Tariff, in those cases in which the former are lower than the latter, and they shall carry out this process in an annual, linear, and automatic manner, so that it is fully implemented by December 31, 1975.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 91 and 93 the following rules shall be applied:

For goods not produced in the Subregion, each country may defer the application of the common levies until the General Secretariat verifies that its production has begun in the Subregion. Nevertheless, if in the General Secretariat’s judgment the new production is insufficient to normally meet the needs of the Subregion, it shall propose to the Commission the necessary measures to reconcile the need to protect subregional production with that of ensuring a normal supply.

The Commission, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, shall be able to approve subregional margins of preference with respect to the products that are still not required to comply with the Tariff Reduction Program and the Minimum Common External Tariff, providing in the corresponding Decision the conditions and terms for its application, until they are surpassed by the rules of the Tariff Reduction Program and the Minimum Common External Tariff or the Common External Tariff.

The Commission, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, may modify the common tariff levels to the extent and at the time it deems advisable in order to:

The General Secretariat may propose to the Commission the measures which it considers essential to ensure normal conditions of supply in the Subregion.

Any Member Country undergoing temporary supply shortages may present the problem to the General Secretariat, which shall verify the situation within a period commensurate with the urgency of the case. Once the General Secretariat verifies the existence of the problem in question and so informs the country adversely affected, the latter may take steps, such as to reduce or temporarily suspend the External Tariff duties, within the necessary limits for correcting the disturbance.

In the cases referred to in the previous section, the General Secretariat shall call a special meeting of the Commission, if such is in order, or shall inform it of the action taken at its following regular meeting.

The Member Countries commit themselves not to alter unilaterally the levies set in the various stages of the External Tariff. They also commit to hold the necessary consultations in the Commission before taking on obligations of a tariff nature with countries outside the Subregion. The Commission, at the General Secretariat’s proposal and through a Decision, shall state its opinion regarding said consultations, and shall set the terms with which commitments of a tariff nature must comply.

With the purpose of promoting common agricultural and agroindustrial development and attaining greater subregional food security, the Member Countries shall carry out an Agricultural and Agroindustrial Development Program, harmonize their policies, and coordinate their national plans in the sector, bearing in mind, among others, the following objectives:

To fulfill the objectives stated in the previous article, the Commission, at the proposal of the General Secretariat, shall take the following steps, among others:

The Commission and the General Secretariat shall adopt the necessary steps to hasten the agricultural and agroindustrial development of Bolivia and Ecuador as well as their participation in the enlarged market.

Any Member Country may apply, in a non-discriminatory, manner, to the trade of products incorporated in the list referred to Article 104, the following measures destined to:

For the application of such measures, when appropriate, the Member Countries shall carry out actions through the existing national agencies, destined to the supply of agricultural and agroindustrial food products.

The country imposing the measures referred to in the previous article shall immediately notify the General Secretariat, enclosing a report on the underlying reasons for its action.

These measures shall be applied to Bolivia and Ecuador only in duly qualified cases and after the General Secretariat has confirmed that the damage arises essentially from their imports. The General Secretariat is required to express its views within fifteen days after receiving the report, and it may authorize application of the measures.

Any Member Country that considers itself affected by said measures may present its comments to the General Secretariat.

The General Secretariat shall study the case and propose to the Commission the positive measures that it deems advisable in the light of the objectives provided in Article 99.

The Commission shall decide with respect to the restrictions that were applied and the measures proposed by the General Secretariat.

Be list of agricultural products for purposes of applying Articles 102 and 103. Such list may be modified by thefore December 31, 1970, the Commission, at the proposal of the General Secretariat, shall determine the Commission, at the proposal of the General Secretariat.

Before December 31, 1971, the Commission, shall adopt, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, the rules which are needed to guard against or correct practices which may distort competition within the Subregion, such as dumping, improper price manipulations, maneuvers made to upset the normal supply of raw materials and others with a like effect. In this respect, the Commission shall consider the problems that could derive from the imposition of levies and other restrictions on exports.

It shall be the General Secretariat’s responsibility to ensure the application of those rules in the particular cases that are reported.

The Member Countries may not adopt corrective measures without the General Secretariat’s prior authorization. The Commission shall regulate the procedures for implementing the rules of this Chapter.

A Member Country, that has adopted measures to correct a disequilibrium in its overall balance of payments, may extend such measures, when previously authorized by the General Secretariat in a transitory and nondiscriminatory manner, to intrasubregional trade of products incorporated to the Tariff Reduction Program.

The Member Countries shall seek to ensure that the application of restrictions due to a balance of payments situation does not affect, within the Subregion, trade in products incorporated to the Tariff Reduction Program.

When the situation provided for in this Article requires an immediate response, the interested Member Country may apply, on an emergency basis, the foreseen measures, having in that regard to immediately notify them to the General Secretariat, which shall express its views within the following thirty days, either authorizing, modifying, or suspending them.

If the application of the measures provided for in this Article lasts more than one year, the General Secretariat, on its own initiative or upon the request of any of the Member Countries, shall propose to the Commission that negotiations be immediately initiated in order to seek the elimination of the adopted restrictions.

If the execution of the Tariff Reduction Program of the Agreement causes or threatens to cause serious damage to the economy of a Member Country or to one of its significant economic sectors, that country may, with the prior permission of the General Secretariat, apply temporary corrective steps in a nondiscriminatory manner. When necessary, the General Secretariat may propose to the Commission collective cooperation measures for the purpose of surmounting the problems that arise.

The General Secretariat shall periodically study the evolution of the situation to keep the restrictive measures from lasting any longer than is strictly necessary or to consider new formulas for cooperation, if appropriate.

When the injuries dealt with in this Article are so serious that they require immediate steps, the Member Country adversely affected may apply corrective measures temporarily, on an emergency basis, subject to the subsequent pronouncement of the General Secretariat.

Those measures shall do the least damage possible to the Tariff Reduction Program, and so long as they are implemented unilaterally, they may not involve a decrease in the importation of the product or products in question in terms of the average for the twelve preceding months.

The Member Country which adopts those measures shall immediately inform the General Secretariat thereof and the latter shall issue its views on them within the thirty following days, either to authorize, modify, or suspend them.

When a product originating in the Subregion is being imported in such quantities or conditions as to cause a disturbance in the domestic production of specific products of a Member Country, it may apply corrective measures, that are nondiscriminatory and of a temporary nature, subject to the subsequent pronouncement of the General Secretariat.

The Member Country that applies the corrective measures, within no more than sixty days, must notify the General Secretariat and present a report regarding the underlying grounds for their application. The General Secretariat, within sixty days after receiving the aforementioned report, shall verify the disturbance and the origin of the imports causing it, and shall issue its pronouncement, either to suspend, modify, or authorize said measures, which may only be applied to the products of the Member Country where the disturbance originated. The corrective measures that are applied shall guarantee access for a volume of trade not inferior to the average for the last three years.

If a currency devaluation made by one of the Member Countries alters the normal conditions of competition, the country which considers itself to be adversely affected may bring the case before the General Secretariat, which should hand down its opinion briefly and summarily. Once the General Secretariat has verified, the existence of the disturbance, the adversely affected country may take temporary corrective measures so long as the condition exists, while abiding by the General Secretariat’s recommendations. In any case, those measures may not involve a reduction in the levels of imports existing prior to the devaluation.

Without prejudice for the application of the temporary measures referred to, any of the Member Countries may request that the Commission give a final decision on the matter.

The Member Country which devalued its currency may request at any time that the General Secretariat review the situation, in order to ease or eliminate the cited corrective measures. The General Secretariat’s opinion may be amended by the Commission.

In the situation referred to in this Article, the country which considers itself to be adversely affected may, in presenting the case to the General Secretariat, propose protective measures that are commensurate with the magnitude of the alleged disturbance, accompanied by the technical grounds for its proposal. The General Secretariat may request any supplementary information it considers advisable.

The brief and summary pronouncement of the General Secretariat shall be given within a period of one month after the request is received. If the General Secretariat does not hand down its opinion within that period and the requesting country feels that said delay may be harmful to its interests, it may adopt the initial measures which it proposed; it shall immediately inform the General Secretariat thereof and the latter, in its subsequent opinion, shall decide whether the measures taken should be maintained, modified, or eliminated.

In its pronouncement, the General Secretariat shall bear in mind, among other criteria, the economic indicators on the conditions of competition in the Subregion which the Commission may have adopted generally, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, the individual characteristics of the foreign exchange systems of the Member Countries and any studies which the Monetary and Foreign Exchange Council carries out on the matter.

Until the system of economic indicators has been adopted by the Commission, the General Secretariat shall proceed according to its own criteria.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if, during the period between the presentation in question and the General Secretariat’s pronouncement, in the opinion of the applicant Member Country, there are background factors which give reasonable grounds to fear that, as a result of the devaluation, there shall be immediate harmful effects which may have serious implications for its economy and thus call for the adoption of protective measures on an emergency basis, it may bring the situation before the General Secretariat; the latter, if it finds the request to be well grounded may authorize the implementation of suitable measures, for which purpose it shall be given a period of seven continuous days. The General Secretariat’s final pronouncement on the alteration of the normal conditions of competition shall, in any case, determine whether the authorized emergency measures shall be maintained, modified, or suspended.

The measures that are adopted in keeping with this Article may not involve a decrease in the levels of trade which existed prior to the devaluation.

The second and third subsections of this Article shall be fully applicable to these measures.

No safeguard clauses of any kind shall be applied to the importation of products originating in the Subregion and included in the Programs and Projects of Industrial Integration.

The Commission shall, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, adopt any special rules necessary for determining the origin of goods. Such rules shall constitute a dynamic instrument for the development of the Subregion and shall appropriately contribute to the attainment the Agreement’s objectives.

It shall be the General Secretariat’s responsibility to establish the specific requirements of origin for the products requiring so. When an Industrial Integration Program calls for setting specific requirements, the General Secretariat shall decide on them as the corresponding program is being approved.

Within the year following the establishment of a specific requirement, the Member Countries may request its review by the General Secretariat, which must give its opinion summarily

If a Member Country so requests it, the Commission shall examine those requirements and make a final decision within six to twelve months after having been set by the General Secretariat.

The General Secretariat may, at any time, either on its own initiative or at the request of a party, set or modify said requirements in order to adjust them to the economic and technological progress of the Subregion.

In adopting and deciding on the special rules or specific requirements of origin, as the case may be, the Commission and the General Secretariat shall seek to ensure that they do not hinder Bolivia and Ecuador from taking advantage of the benefits of implementing the Agreement.

The General Secretariat shall ensure compliance with the rules and requirements of origin in subregional trade. It shall, moreover, propose any measures necessary for resolving problems of origin that hinder the attainment of the Agreement’s objectives.

The Member Countries shall develop joint actions in order to improve the use of physical spaces, to strengthen the infrastructure and services that are necessary to promote the process of economic integration of the Subregion. This action shall be taken primarily in the fields of energy, transportation, and communications and shall cover the necessary measures for facilitating border traffic among the Member Countries.

To this end, the Member Countries shall seek to establish multinational entities or businesses when possible and desirable for assisting in the execution and administration of those projects.

The Commission shall, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, adopt programs in the fields referred to in the preceding Article in order to promote a continuous process aimed at expanding and modernizing the physical infrastructure and the transportation and communications services of the Subregion. These programs shall include insofar as possible, the following:

The Programs referred to in the foregoing Article, as well as the Programs and Projects of Industrial Integration, shall include measures of collective cooperation to adequately cover the essential infrastructure required for their execution and shall give special consideration to the situation of Ecuador and the landlocked situation of Bolivia.

The Member Countries shall carry out actions and coordinate their policies regarding financial and payments matters, to the extent necessary to facilitate the attainment of the Agreement’s objectives.

For that purpose, the Commission, at the General Secretariat’s proposal, shall adopt the following actions:

If, as a result of the fulfillment of the Tariff Reduction Program of the Agreement, a Member Country experiences problems with its fiscal revenues, the General Secretariat may propose to the Commission, at the request of the country affected, measures for resolving those difficulties. In its proposals, the General Secretariat shall take into account the degrees of relative economic development of Member Countries.

In order to gradually lessen the differences in development currently existing in the Subregion, Bolivia and Ecuador shall enjoy a special regime; this shall enable them to attain more rapid economic growth through effective and immediate participation in the benefits of the industrialization of the area and of the liberalization of trade.

To fulfill the aim of this Article, the bodies of the Agreement shall propose and take necessary measures, in accordance with its rules.

Member Countries may begin programs and policies in the area of economic and social cooperation, which must be agreed upon within the Commission and shall be limited to the responsibilities established by this Agreement.

Member Countries shall begin policies with an external scope, in matters of common interest, with the purpose of improving their participation in the international economy.

With respect to the provisions of the previous Article, the Commission shall adopt programs to direct the joint external actions of the Member Countries, particularly as regards to the negotiations with third countries and group of countries, as well as for the participation in fora and organizations specialized in matters related to the international economy.

Member Countries shall promote a joint scientific and technological development process to attain the following objectives:

With respect to the previous Article, the Member Countries shall adopt in the fields where there is a common interest:

Member Countries shall undertake policies that promote the integral development of border regions and their effective incorporation to the domestic and Andean subregional economies.

In the area of tourism, the Member Countries shall develop joint programs seeking a better understanding of the Subregion and to stimulate economic activities related to this sector.

Member Countries shall undertake joint policies that enable a better use of their renewable and nonrenewable natural resources and the preservation and improvement of the environment.

Member countries shall undertake cooperation actions in the services sector. For that purpose the Commission shall adopt programs and projects in selected areas of the services sector, defining for each case the mechanisms and instruments to be applied.

Member Countries shall undertake joint cooperation actions destined to contribute to the attainment of the following objectives of social development of the Andean population:

For the attainment of such objectives, programs and projects shall be developed in the areas of health, social security, social interest housing, education, and culture.

The fulfillment of the actions to be developed within the framework of this Article shall be coordinated with the different organizations of the Andean system.

Member Countries shall undertake policies in the area of social communication and policies oriented to promote a better understanding of the cultural, historical, and geographic heritage of the Subregion, its economic and social reality, and that of the Andean integration process.

The projects, policies, and programs to which this Chapter refers to shall be developed, in parallel and in coordination, with the improvement of the other mechanisms of the subregional integration process.

This Agreement may not be signed with reservations and shall remain open to the accession of the rest of the Latin American countries. Least developed countries which accede to the Agreement shall be entitled to a treatment similar to that agreed upon in Chapter XIII for Bolivia and Ecuador.

The terms of the accession shall be defined by the Commission, which shall bear in mind that the incorporation of new members shall comply with the objectives of the Agreement.

This Agreement shall be submitted to the Permanent Executive Committee of the LAFTA for its considerations and once the Committee has declared its compatibility with the principals and objectives of the Treaty of Montevideo and with Resolution 203 (CM-II/VI-E), each of the Member Countries shall approve it in keeping with its respective national legal procedures and shall inform the Executive Secretariat of LAFTA of the corresponding act of approval. The Agreement shall become effective when three countries have communicated their approval to the Executive Secretariat of LAFTA.

For the rest of the countries the date of the Agreement’s entry into force shall be that in which they communicate the respective instrument of approval in accordance with the procedure set forth in the first subsection of this Article.

This Agreement shall remain in effect indefinitely.

Any Member Country wishing to denounce this Treaty 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 Member, with the exception of the benefits received and granted in accordance with the Subregional Tariff Reduction Program, which will 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 grounded cases by decision of the Commission and at the request of the interested Member Country.

As regards the Programs of Industrial Integration, the stipulation of paragraph i) of Article 59 shall be applied.

The Commission, at the proposal of the General Secretariat, and based upon the latter ́s periodic reports and evaluations, shall adopt the necessary mechanisms to ensure the attainment of the objectives of the Agreement once the process of liberalization of trade and the establishment of the Common External Tariff have concluded. Such mechanisms must include special treatment in favor of Bolivia and Ecuador so long as existing differences in the degree of development continue to exist.

Any advantage, favor, exemption, immunity, or privilege applied by a Member Country regarding a product originating in or destined for any other country, shall be immediately and unconditionally extended to the similar product originating in or destined for the territory of the other Member Countries.

Advantages, favors, exemptions, immunities, and privileges already granted or to be granted by virtue of agreements among Member Countries or between Member Countries and third countries, with the purpose of facilitating border traffic shall be excepted from the treatment referred to in the previous subsection.

Likewise, the advantages, favors, exemptions, immunities, and privileges granted by Bolivia or Ecuador to third countries are excepted from the referred treatment until the Commission adopts the corresponding Decision based on the evaluation of the Tariff Reduction Program foreseen in paragraph d) of Article 130.