RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/REG24/1
8March 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0835)
Original: English
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SWISS GOVERNMENT, OFTHE ONE PART,
AND THE GOVERNMENT OFDENMARK AND THE HOME GOVERNMENT
OFTHE FAROE ISLANDS, OFTHE OTHER PART, ONFREE TRADE
BETWEEN THE FAROE ISLANDS AND SWITZERLAND
ThefollowingtextreproducestheAgreementbetweentheSwissGovernmentandtheGovernment
ofDenmark andtheHome Government oftheFaroe Islands.1
____________________
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SWISS GOVERNMENT, OFTHE ONE PART,
AND THE GOVERNMENT OFDENMARK AND THE HOME GOVERNMENT
OFTHE FAROE ISLANDS, OFTHE OTHER PART, ONFREE TRADE
BETWEEN THE FAROE ISLANDS AND SWITZERLAND
THE SWISS GOVERNMENT
oftheonepart,and
THEGOVERNMENTOFDENMARKANDTHEHOMEGOVERNMENTOFTHEFAROE
ISLANDS,
oftheother part,
HEREINAFTER referred toastheContracting Parties,
RECALLING thestatus oftheFaroe Islands asaself-governing partofDenmark;
CONSIDERING thefactthattheFaroe Islands earlier werepartoftheEuropean FreeTrade
Association (EFTA) through Denmark 'smembership ofthatOrganization, butarenotincluded in
Denmark 'smembership oftheEuropean Communities;
CONSIDERING thatthetrade between Denmark andSwitzerland isregulated inagreements
between Switzerland andtheEuropean Economic Community,
1TheAnnexes andProtocols thereto havebeensubmitted totheSecretariat forconsultations by
interested Members (Office 3006).WT/REG24/1
Page2
CONSIDERINGthatthetradebetweentheFaroeIslandsandtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity
isregulated byanagreement between theGovernment ofDenmark andtheHome Government ofthe
Faroe Islands oftheonepartandtheEuropean Economic Community oftheother part,
CONSIDERING thevitalimportance fortheFaroe Islands offisheries, which constitute their
essential economic activity, fishandfishery products being theirmain export articles,
DESIRINGtoconsolidateandtoextendtheeconomicrelationsexistingbetweentheFaroeIslands
andSwitzerland andtoensure theharmonious development oftheirmutual trade inthecontext of
European co-operation,
RESOLVED tothisendtoeliminate progressively theobstacles tosubstantially alltheirtrade,
inaccordance withtheprovisions oftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade concerning the
establishment offree-trade areas,
DECLARING theirreadiness toexamine, inthelightofanyrelevant factor, andinparticular
ofdevelopments inEuropean co-operation, thepossibility ofdeveloping anddeepening theirrelations
inorder toextend them tofields notcovered bythisAgreement,
HAVE DECIDED, inpursuit ofthese objectives andconsidering thatnoprovisions ofthis
Agreement maybeinterpreted asexempting theContracting Parties fromtheirobligations under other
international agreements,
TOCONCLUDE THIS AGREEMENT:
Article 1
From thedateofentry intoforce ofthisAgreement theContracting Parties establish freetrade
between theFaroe Islands andSwitzerland inaccordance withtherulessetforthinthefollowing articles.
Article 2
ThisAgreement shallapply:
- toproducts falling within Chapters 25to97oftheHarmonized Commodity Description and
Coding System excluding theproducts listed inProtocol 1,
- toproducts listed inProtocol 2withdueregard tospecific provisions,
originating intheFaroe Islands orSwitzerland. Protocol 3laysdown therules oforigin.
Article 3
Customs duties onimports andexports, andanycharges having equivalent effect, shallbe
prohibited between theContracting Parties. Asfarascustoms duties ofafiscal nature continue to
beapplied, theyshallbesubmitted tothesame provisions asmentioned inArticle 4.WT/REG24/1
Page3
Article 4
TheContracting Parties shallrefrain fromanymeasure orpractice ofaninternal fiscal nature
establishing, whether directly orindirectly, discrimination between theproducts ofoneContracting
Party andlikeproducts originating intheterritory oftheother Contracting Party.
Products exported totheterritory ofoneoftheContracting Parties maynotbenefit from
repayment ofinternal taxation inexcess oftheamount ofdirect orindirect taxation imposed onthem.
Article 5
Quantitative restrictions onimports andallmeasures having equivalent effect shallbeprohibited
between theContracting Parties.
Article 6
ThisAgreement shallnotpreclude prohibitions orrestrictions onimports, exports orgoods
intransit justified ongrounds ofpublic morality, public policy, public security; theprotection ofhealth
andlifeofhumans,animalsorplantsandtheenvironment;theprotectionofnationaltreasurespossessing
artistic, historic orarchaeological value; theprotection ofintellectual property; orrules relating to
goldorsilver; orconservation ofexhaustive natural resources, ifsuchmeasures aremade effective
inconjunctionwithrestrictionsondomesticproductionorconsumption.Suchprohibitionsorrestrictions
shallnot,however, constitute ameans ofdiscrimination oradisguised restriction ontrade between
theContracting Parties.
Article 7
Safeguard measures taken bySwitzerland orbytheFaroe Islands might beextended totheir
mutual trade onlyiftheyareinconformity withtheprovisions oftheGeneral Agreement ofTariffs
andTrade.
Article 8
Forthepurpose oftheproper implementation ofthisAgreement, theContracting Parties shall,
whenevernecessary,exchangeinformationand,atrequestofeitherContractingParty,holdconsultations.
Where aContracting Party considers thatitwould beuseful intheinterest oftheContracting
Parties toamend thisAgreement ortoextend therelations established tofields notcovered thereby,
itshallsubmit areasoned requested totheother Contracting Party.
Agreements resulting fromtheprocedure referred tointhepreceding paragraph willbesubject
toratification orapproval bytheContracting Parties inaccordance withtheirownprocedures.
Article 9
The4Protocols tothisAgreement, including their Annexes, areanintegral partofit.
Protocol No.3maybeamended through executive agreements between theContracting Parties.WT/REG24/1
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Article 10
TheAgreement shallapply, ontheonehand, totheFaroe Islands, andontheother hand, to
theterritory ofSwitzerland.
ThisAgreementshallalsoapplytothePrincipalityofLiechtensteinforaslongasthatPrincipality
remains bound totheSwiss Confederation byacustoms union treaty.
Article 11
ThisAgreement isdrawn upintheDanish, English, Faroese, French andGerman languages,
eachofthese textsbeing equally authentic.
ThisAgreement willbeapproved bytheContracting Parties inaccordance withtheirown
procedures. Itshallenter intoforce onthefirstdayofthesecond month following thedayonwhich
theContracting Parties have notified eachother through diplomatic channels thattheirrespective
requirements fortheentry intoforce ofthisAgreement havebeenfulfilled. TheContracting Parties
mayalready atthetimeofsignature declare that,during aninitial phase, theyshallapply theAgreement
provisionally by1July1993.
Article 12
Either Contracting Party may denounce thisAgreement bynotification totheother
Contracting Party. TheAgreement shallcease tobeinforce twelve months afterthedateofwhich
suchnotification wasreceived bytheother Contracting Party.