(a) Product Coverage

(i) All products in the_ following chapters at the 8/9 digit level (HS Code) shall be covered by the Early Harvest Programme, unfess otherwise excluded by a Party in its Exclusion List as set out in Annex 1 of this Agreement, in which case these products shall be exempted for that Party:

(ii) A Party which has placed products in the Exclusion List'may, at any time, amend the Exclusion List to
place one or more of these products under the Early Harvest Programme.

(iii) The specific products set out in Annex 2 of this Agreement shall be covered by the Early Harvest Programme and the tariff concessions shall apply only to the parties indicated in Annex 2. These I parties must have extended the tariff concessions on these products to each other.

(iv) For those parties which are unable to complete the appropriate product lists in Annex 1 or Annex 2, the lists may still be drawn up no later than 1 March 2003 by mutual agreement.

(b) Tariff Reduction and Elimination

(i) All products covered under the Early Harvest Programme shall be divided into 3 product categories for tariff reduction and elimination.as defined and to be implemented in accordance with the timeframes set out in Annex 3 _to this Agreement. This paragraph shall not prevent any Party from accelerating its tariff reduction or elimination if it so wishes.

(ii) All products where the applied MFN tariff rates are at 0%i shall remain at 0%.

(iii) Where, the implemented tariff rates _are reduced to 0%, they shall remain at 0%.

(iv) A Party shall enjoy the tariff concessions of all the other parties for a product covered under paragraph 3(a)(i) above so long as the same product of that Party remains in the Early Harvest Programme under paragraph 3(a)(i) above.

(c) Interim Rules of Origin

The Interim Rules of Origin applicable to the products covered under the Early Harvest Programme shall be negotiated and completed by July 2003. The Interim -Rules of Origin shall be superseded and replaced by the
Rules of Origin to be negotiated and implemented by the Parties under Article 3(8)(b) of this Agreement.

(d) Application of WTO provisions

The WTO provisions governing modification of commitments, safeguard actions, emergency measures and other . trade remedies, including anti-dumping and subsidies and countervailing measures, shall, in the interim, be applicable to the products covered under the Early Harvest Programme and shall be superseded and replaced by the relevant disciplines negotiated and agreed to by the Parties under Article 3(8) of this Agreement once these-disciplines are .implemented.

4.In addition to the Early Harvest Programme for trade in goods as provided for in the preceding paragraphs of this Article, the Parties will, explore the feasibility of an early harvest programme for trade in services in early 2003.

5.With a view to promoting economic co-operation between the Parties, the activities set out in Annex 4 of this Agreement shall be undertaken or implemented on an accelerated basis, as the case may be.

PART 2
ARTICLE 7
Other Areas Of Economic Co-operation

1. The Parties agree to strengthen their co-operation in 5 priority sectors as follows:

(a) agriculture;

(b) information and communications technology;

(c) human resources development;

(d) investment; and

(e)Mekong River basin development.

2.Co-operation shall be extended to other areas, including, but not limited to, banking, finance, tourism, industrial co-operation, transport, telecommunications, intellectual property rights, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), environment, bio-technology, fishery, forestry and forestry products, mining, energy and subregional development.

3.Measures to strengthen co-operation shall include, but shall not be limited to:

(a) promotion and facilitation-of trade in goods and services, and investment, such as:

(i) standards and conformity assessment;

(ii) technical barriers to trade/non-tariff measures; and

(iii) customs co-operation;

(b) increasing the competitiveness of SMEs;

(c) promotion of electronic commerce;

(d) capacity building; and

(e) technology transfer.

4. The Parties agree to implement capacity building programmes and-technical assistance, particularly for the newer ASEAN Member States, in order to adjust their economic structure and expand their trade and investment with China.

PAJRT3
ARTICLE 8
Timeframes

1.For trade in goods, the negotiations on the agreement for tariff reduction or elimination and other matters as set out in Article 3 of this Agreement shall commence in early 2003' and be concluded by 30 June 2004 in order to establish the ASEANChina FTA covering trade in goods by 2010 for Brunei:, China, Indonesia, Malaysia; the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, and by 2015 for the newer ASEAN Member States.

2.The negotiations on the Rules of Origin for trade in goods under Article 3 of this Agreement shall be completed no later than December 2003.

3.For trade in services and investments, the negotiations on the respective agreements shall commence in 2003 and be concluded as expeditiously as possible for implementation in accordance with "the timeframes to.be mutually agreed: (a) taking into account the sensitive sectors of the Parties; and (b) with special" and differential treatment and flexibility for the newer ASEAN Member States.

4.For other areas-of economic co-operation under Part 2 of this Agreement, the Parties shall continue to build upon existing or agreed programmes set out in Article 7 of this Agreement, develop new economic co-operation programmes and conclude agreements on the various areas of economic co-operation. The Parties shall do so expeditiously for early implementation irt a mann&f; and at a pace acceptable to all the parties concerned.

Tlfe agreements shall include timeframes for the implementation of the commitments therein.

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