The following text is intended for general reference only. It is currently under review for accuracy and completeness, as well as formatting.

Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area between the Government of Israel
and the Government of the United States of America

[PREAMBLE]

The Government the United States of America and the Government of Israel,

Desiring to promote mutual relations and further the historic friendship

between them;

Determined to strengthen and develop the economic relations between them

for their mutual benefit;

Recognizing that Israel's economy is still in a process of development,

wishing to contribute to the harmonious development and expansion of world

trade;

Wishing to establish bilateral free trade between the two nations through

the removal of trade barriers;

Wishing to promote cooperation in areas which are of mutual interest;

Have decided to conclude this Agreement:

ARTICLE 1

[ESTABLISHMENT OF A FREE TRADE AREA]
The Governments of the United States of America and Israel (the Parties),

consistent with Article XXIV (8) (b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs

and Trade (GATT), establish hereby between them a Free Trade Area and will

in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement eliminate the duties

and other restrictive regulations of commerce on trade between the two

nations in products originating therein.

ARTICLE 2
1. Products of Israel shall, when imported into the customs territory of

the United States, be governed by the provisions of Annex 1.

2. Products of the United States shall, when imported into Israel, be

governed by the provisions of Annex 2.

3. The rules of origin applicable to this Agreement are set forth in

Annex 3.

4. The commitment with respect to export subsidies is contained in Annex 4.

5. The Annexes to this Agreement constitute an integral part thereof.

ARTICLE 3
[RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER AGREEMENTS]

The Parties affirm their respective rights and obligations with respect to

each other under existing bilateral and multilateral agreements, including

the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the United

States and Israel and the GATT. In the event of an inconsistency between

provisions of this Agreement and such existing agreements, the provisions

of this Agreement shall prevail.

ARTICLE 4
[NEW RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE]

New customs duties on imports or exports or any charge having equivalent

effect and new quantitative restrictions on imports or exports or any

measure having equivalent effect may be introduced in the trade between

the Parties only if permitted by this Agreement or by the GATT as in

effect on the date of entry into force of this Agreement and as

interpreted by the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the GATT and insofar as not

inconsistent with this Agreement.

ARTICLE 5
[RELIEF FROM INJURY CAUSED BY IMPORT COMPETITION]

1. When a product is being imported in such increased quantities

as to be a substantial cause of serious injury or the threat thereof to domestic

producers of like or directly competitive products, the importing Party

shall consult with the other Party in accordance with Article 18 before

taking any action affecting the trade of the other Party.

2. Neither Party shall take an action which provides solely for a

suspension of the reduction or elimination of any duty provided for by

this Agreement unless the serious injury or threat thereof which is

substantially caused by imports to the domestic producers of like or

directly competitive products results from the reduction or elimination of

a duty provided for by this Agreement.

3. When, in the view of the importing Party, the importation of a product

from the other Party is not a substantial cause of the serious injury or

threat thereof referred to in paragraph 1, the importing Party may except

the product of the other Party from any import relief that may be imposed

with respect to imports of that product from third countries, taking into

account the objective of achieving bilateral free trade as embodied in

this Agreement, the domestic laws and international obligations of the

Parties.

ARTICLE 6
[IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON AGRICULTURE]

Import restrictions, other than customs duties, including, but not

limited to, quantitative restrictions and fees, based on agricultural

policy considerations may be maintained by the Parties.

ARTICLE 7
[GENERAL AND SECURITY EXCEPTIONS]

Article XX and XXI of the GATT are hereby incorporated into and made a

part of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 8
[SPECIAL EXCEPTION FOR KASHRUTH]

This Agreement shall not preclude the adoption or enforcement by either

Party of measures relating to prohibitions on religious or ritual grounds

provided that they are applied in accordance with the principle of

national treatment.

ARTICLE 9

[HEALTH]
1. The Parties shall review their current and future rules on veterinary

and plant health matters to ensure that these rules are applied in a

non-discriminatory manner, and that these rules do not have the effect of

unduly obstructing trade.

2. With reference to the matters in paragraph 1, the Parties shall consult

on any difficulties that may arise in their trade in agricultural

products and shall seek to provide solutions which will allow trade in

agricultural products insofar as they do not endanger animal and plant

health.

3. To insure harmonious development of trade in agricultural products, the

Joint Committee shall establish a working group, in accordance with

subparagraph 3 (b) of Article 17, which shall convene at the request of

either Party to consider matters relating to paragraphs 1 and 2 of this

Article.

ARTICLE 10
[INFANT INDUSTRY]

1. Insofar as its industrialization and development make protective

measures necessary Israel may through December 31, 1990, after

consultation within the Joint Committee, and after that date, upon

agreement within the Joint Committee, introduce, increase or re-introduce

ad valorem customs duties not exceeding 20 percentage points above the

level that would otherwise be in effect. The total value of the products

for which these measures can be applied may not exceed 10% of the total

value of Israel's imports from the United States in 1984.

2. These measures may be taken only if they are necessary to protect and

favor the development of a new processing industry not already existing in

Israel on the date of the entry into force of the Agreement; they may be

applied only with respect to the production of specific goods.

3. Twenty-four months after introducing, increasing or re-introducing

customs duties, Israel shall reduce the tariffs by at least 5% per year in

respect of imports of the products in question originating in the United

States. The abolition of such duties must be completed by not later than

January 1, 1995.

ARTICLE 11
[BALANCE OF PAYMENTS]

1. (a) A Party may apply temporary trade measures when it is threatened

by, or suffers from, a serious balance of payments situation. A Party may

impose temporary trade measures only to provide time for macroeconomic

adjustment measures to correct its balance of payments problems to take

effect. Temporary trade measures permitted by this paragraph may not be

used to protect individual industries or sectors.

(b) A serious balance of payments situation would be indicated by one

or more of the following: a substantial deterioration in the trade and

current account positions, significant pressure on the exchange rate, or a

substantial fall in net reserves, as projected either in a decrease of

reserves or in an increase of short term debt.

2. Temporary trade measures which may be applied under paragraph

1 are: (a) an import surcharge in the form of import duties; (b) an import

deposit; or (c) quantitative restrictions.

3. (a) Whenever practicable the Parties will prefer the use of the

temporary measures specified in subparagraphs 2 (a) and 2 (b).

Quantitative restrictions will be imposed when measures 2(a) and 2(b)

would be inadequate in terms of their balance of payments effects.

(b) Whenever practicable, the Parties will avoid applying more than one

of the measures specified in paragraph 2 to any single product at the same

time.

4. A temporary trade measure applied under paragraph 1 may remain in force

for a period not exceeding 150 days unless extended by the appropriate

legislative body of the Party concerned for a subsequent period of 150

days. Quantitative restrictions may be extended only for one additional

period of 150 days.

5. Temporary trade measures applied under paragraph 1 will be consistent

in duration and effect with the severity of the balance of payments

problem experienced by the Party imposing the measures and will be

progressively relaxed consistent with improvements in that Party's balance

of payments situation.

6. In the event that temporary trade measures are applied under paragraph

1, consultations will be held between the Parties on the balance of

payments situation, to consider, inter alia, other economic measures which

might be taken to deal with the balance of payments problems to permit

early elimination of the temporary trade measures. Significant

intensification of trade measures may be a cause for consultations between

the Parties.

7. In applying temporary trade measures, the Parties will accord treatment

no less favorable to imports originating in the other Party than to

imports originating in third countries, and will not impair the relative

benefits accorded to the other Party under this Agreement.

8. Temporary trade measures specified under subparagraphs 2 (a) and 2 (b)

shall apply to all imports, except that certain imports may be excluded if

their exclusion improves the effectiveness of the measures consistent with

the purposes stated in paragraph 1.

Article shall be subject to the procedures of Articles 18 and 19. It is

understood that notification for balance of payments reasons will

generally be provided under paragraph 3 of Article 18.

ARTICLE 12

[LICENSING]

1. Neither Party shall impose import licensing requirements on items

exported by the other Party, unless licenses issued under such

requirements are:

(a) automatically approved;

(b) necessary to administer a quantitative ceiling on imports justified

under this Agreement or under the GATT insofar as it is not inconsistent

with this Agreement; or

(c) necessary to administer restrictions in conformity with this

Agreement or under the GATT insofar as it is not inconsistent with this

Agreement.

2. Each Party shall answer within thirty days all reasonable inquiries

from the other Party with regard to criteria employed by its respective

licensing authorities in granting or denying import licenses. In addition,

the Parties recognize the desirability of publication of such criteria.

3. The Parties shall provide each other with a list of items subject to

licensing requirements which shall specify whether each item is entitled

to automatic or non-automatic import licensing. Notification of changes in

this list shall be made on a timely basis and shall include a

justification for each addition.

4. If an import license is denied for an item specified in the list

prepared pursuant to paragraph 3 as being entitled to automatic licensing,

then such item shall be considered to be subject to non-automatic

licensing. Notification and justification for the action shall be provided

within sixty days by the Party which has made such denial.

5. In the administration of automatic and non-automatic licensing

requirements, the Parties shall adhere to the provisions of the Agreement

on Import Licensing Procedures. For the purposes of this Agreement the

reporting requirements provided in the Agreement on Import Licensing

Procedures between the Contracting Parties of said agreement shall only

apply to the United States and Israel.

ARTICLE 13
[TRADE-RELATED PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS]

Neither Party shall impose, as a condition of establishment, expansion or

maintenance of investments by nationals or companies of the other Party,

requirements to export any amount of production resulting from such

investments or to purchase locally-produced goods and services. Moreover,

neither Party shall impose requirements on investors to purchase

locally-produced goods and services as a condition for receiving any type

of governmental incentives.

ARTICLE 14
[INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY]

The Parties reaffirm their obligations under bilateral and multilateral

agreements relating to intellectual property rights, including industrial

property rights, in effect between the Parties. Accordingly, nationals and

companies of each Party shall continue to be accorded national and most

favored nation treatment with respect to obtaining, maintaining and

enforcing patents of invention, with respect to obtaining and enforcing

copyrights, and with respect to rights in trademarks, service marks,

trade names, trade labels, and industrial property of all kinds.

ARTICLE 15
[GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT]

1. The Parties agree to endeavor to eliminate all restrictions relating to

government procurement.

2. The United States shall waive all Buy National restrictions with

respect to government agency purchases of a contract value of $50,000 or

more which would be subject to the Agreement on Government Procurement at

the time of entry into force of this Agreement but for the threshold

provided for in Article I(l) (b) of the Agreement on Government

Procurement.

3. Israel shall waive all Buy National restrictions with respect to

government agency purchases of a contract value of $50,000 or more which

would be subject to the Agreement on Government Procurement at the time of

entry into force of this Agreement but for the threshold provided for in

Article I (1)(b) of the Agreement on Government Procurement and by the

Ministry of Defense subject to exceptions comparable in character and

extent to those included in the United States' entity list of the

Agreement on Government Procurement with regard to the Department of

Defense.

4. In implementing paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article the Parties

shall apply the provisions of the Agreement on Government Procurement.

5. Israel shall relax offset requirements on purchases by government

agencies other than the Ministry of Defense.

6. The provisions of this Article with respect to offset requirements and

to purchases by government agencies other than Israel's Ministry of

Defense and the United States Department of Defense shall be effective one

year from the date of entry into force of this Agreement. The provisions

of this Article with respect to purchases by Israel's Ministry of Defense

and the United States Department of Defense shall be effective one year

from the entry into force of this Agreement or one year from the

completion by Israel of a list of the exceptions referred to in paragraph

3, whichever is later.

7. The Parties agree to consider promptly further trade liberalizing

measures in regard to both government procurement and offset requirements

in the context of the Joint Committee established by this Agreement. In

particular it is agreed that should the entity coverage of the Agreement

on Government Procurement be expanded, priority consideration will be

given to expanding this Agreement to apply to those purchases.

ARTICLE 16
[TRADE IN SERVICES]

The Parties recognize the importance of trade in services and the need to

maintain an open system of services exports which would minimize

restrictions on the flow of services between the two nations. To this end,

the Parties agree to develop means for cooperation on trade in services

pursuant to the provisions of a Declaration to be made by the Parties.

ARTICLE 17
[JOINT COMMITTEE]

1. A Joint Committee is hereby established to supervise the proper

implementation of this Agreement and to review the trade relationship

between the Parties.

2. The functions of the Joint Committee shall include, inter alia:

(a) reviewing the general functioning of this Agreement;

(b) holding consultations with respect to any matter affecting the

operation and the interpretation of this Agreement, as provided in Article

18;

(c) reviewing the results of this Agreement, the experience gained

during its functioning, and the objectives defined therein, and

considering ways of improving trade relations between the Parties,

including possible improvements in this Agreement. The adoption of any

amendments shall be subject to the domestic legal requirements of both

Parties;

(d) reviewing the Declaration on Trade in Services.

3. (a) The Joint Committee shall be composed of representatives of the

Parties and shall be headed by the United States Trade Representative and

Israel's Minister of Industry and Trade or their designees.

(b) The Joint Committee may establish working groups and delegate its

powers to them.

4. Each party shall preside in turn over the Joint Committee, which shall

convene at least once a year in regular session in order to review the

general functioning of the Agreement. Special meetings of the Joint

Committee shall also be convened within 21 days at the request of either

Party. Regular sessions of the Joint Committee shall be held alternately

in the two countries. The Joint Committee shall establish its own rules of

procedure.

ARTICLE 18
[NOTICE AND CONSULTATION]

1. (a) Before either Party takes any trade measure with respect to

products traded between the Parties, it shall provide prior written notice

to the other Party as far in advance as may be practicable. The notice

shall include a description of the circumstances leading to the proposed

action.

(b) Before either Party commits itself to take any action, unilaterally

or by agreement, which would reduce the barriers to trade applicable to

third countries, including those with whom that Party intends to enter

into a customs union, free trade area, arrangement for frontier trade or

those to whom that Party int ends unilaterally to grant trade concessions,

it shall provide prior written notice to the other Party as far in advance

as may be practicable.

2. If the Party affected by the proposed measure referred to in paragraph

1 requests consultations with regard to such measures the Party proposing

the measure shall afford adequate opportunity for consultations regarding

the proposed measures.

3. In special circumstances, where delay or prior notice would cause

damage which would be difficult to remedy, action may be taken without

prior notice or consultation, provided that notice and an opportunity to

consult in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 are provided as soon

thereafter as practicable.

ARTICLE 19
[DISPUTE SETTLEMENTS]

1. (a) Whenever a dispute arises concerning the interpretation of this

Agreement, or whenever a Party considers that the other Party has filed to

carry out its obligations under this Agreement, the dispute settlement

mechanism described in this Article may be invoked. In addition, the

dispute settlement mechanism may also be invoked if one Party considers

that measures taken by the other Party, including a violation of the Annex

an subsidies, severely distort the balance of trade benefits accorded by

this Agreement or substantially undermine fundamental objectives of this

Agreement. This paragraph shall not apply to the imposition of antidumping

or countervailing duties.

(b) When a dispute arises, the Parties shall make every attempt to

arrive at a mutually agreeable resolution through consultations.

(c) If the Parties fail to resolve the dispute through consultations,

either Party may refer the matter to the Joint Committee, which shall be

convened and shall endeavor to resolve the dispute.

(d) If a dispute referred to the Joint Committee has not been resolved

within a period of sixty days after the dispute was referred to it, or

within such longer period as the Joint Committee has agreed upon, either

Party may refer the matter to a conciliation panel. The conciliation panel

shall be composed of three members: each Party shall appoint, within

fifteen days of the date of referral, one member, and the two appointees

shall choose, within forty-five days of the date of referral, a third who

will serve as the chairman. The panel shall establish its own rules of

procedure.

(e) The panel shall endeavor to resolve the dispute through agreement

of the Parties. If the panel fails to reach such a resolution, it shall,

within three months after the first member is appointed, present to the

Parties a report containing findings of fact, its determination as to

whether either Party has failed to carry out its obligations under the

Agreement or whether a measure taken by either Party severely distorts the

balance of trade benefits accorded by this Agreement or substantially

undermines the fundamental objectives of this Agreement, and a proposal on

the settlement of the dispute. The report of the panel shall be

non-binding.

(f) If the conciliation panel under this Agreement or any other

applicable international dispute settlement mechanism has been invoked by

either Party with respect to any matter, the mechanism invoked shall have

exclusive jurisdiction over that matter.

2. After a dispute has been referred to a panel and the panel has

presented its report the affected Party shall be entitled so to take any

appropriate measure.

ARTICLE 20
[SPECIFIC DUTIES]

1. In the event that the value of the currency of the United States of

America, measured in Special Drawing Rights of the International monetary

Fund, decreases by more than twenty percent#, specific duties and charges

imposed by the United States of America and expressed in the currency of

the United States of America may be increased by no more than the amount

needed to maintain the value of the specific duty in accordance with Annex

11 measured in Special Drawing Rights. The first such adjustment shall be

calculated from the last adjustment prior to January 1, 1985. Subsequent

adjustments shall be calculated from the date of the most recent increase

in specific duties.

2. In the event that the value of the currency of Israel, measured against

the currency of the United States of America, decreases by more than

twenty percent, specific duties and charges imposed by Israel and

expressed in the currency of Israel may be increased by no more than the

amount needed to maintain the value of the specific duty in accordance

with Annex 2, measured against the currency of the United States of

America. The first such adjustment shall be calculated from the last

adjustment prior to January 11, 1985. Subsequent adjustments shall be

calculated from the date of the most recent increase in specific duties.

ARTICLE 21
[NOMENCLATURE CHANGES]

In the event that either Party changes its tariff schedules, it shall so

notify the other Party. In the case of a change other than a major

revision that change shall not adversely affect the tariffs applicable to

any product as set forth in Annexes 1 and 2 of this Agreement. In the case

of a major revision the balance of tariff concessions set forth in Annexes

1 and 2 shall be preserved. The Joint Committee shall modify the tariff

nomenclature of the relevant annexes to conform to such change.

ARTICLE 22
[ENTRY INTO FORCE]

1. The entry into force of this Agreement will be subject to the

completion of necessary domestic legal procedures by each Party.

2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date on which both parties

have provided written notification to each other that such procedures have

been completed with paragraph 2.

2. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by written notification to

the other Party. This Agreement shall expire twelve months after the date

of such notification.

* * *

In Witness Whereof, the respective representatives, having been duly

authorized, have signed this Agreement.

Done in duplicate, in the Hebrew and English languages, both equally

authentic, at Washington, D.C., this twenty second day of April 1985,

which corresponds to this first day of Iyar, 5745.

Ariel Sharon William E. Brock

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

.

ANNEX I

Implementation of Duty-Free Treatment for United States Imports of Products of Israel

NOTE: Effective January 1, 1995 all duties on the vast majority of Israeli exports into the United States were eliminated. For certain agricultural products, Israel retains all of its special duty-free status for these products according to the pre-existing WTO commitments. In addition, Israel receives guaranteed duty-free quota allocations above the WTO commitments for some products specified in the U.S.-Israel Agricultural Trade Agreement, signed on November 4, 1996. SEE FULL TEXT OF U.S.-ISRAEL AGRICULTURAL AGREEMENT INCLUDED SEPARATELY.

ANNEX II

Implementation of Duty-Free Treatment for Israeli Imports of Products of the United States of America

NOTE: Effective January 1, 1995, duties on United States imports into Israel were eliminated.
However, Israel maintains a system of import levies and tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for certain agricultural products. Some of the levies are ad valorem while others are based on weight - and all are set at levels well below Israel's MFN commitments. Most of the TRQs allow a duty-free import into Israel of certain agricultural commodities above the WTO limit. SEE FULL TEXT OF U.S.-ISRAEL AGRICULTURAL AGREEMENT INCLUDED SEPARATELY.

ANNEX 3

(Rules of Origin)

1. This Agreement shall apply to any article if:
(a) that Article is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a party or is a new or different article of commerce that has been grown, produced, or manufactured in a Party:
(b) that article is imported directly from one Party into the other Party; and
(c) the sum of (i) the cost or value of the materials produced in the exporting Party, plus (ii) the direct costs of processing operations performed in the exporting Party is not less than 35 percent of the appraised valued of the article at the time it is entered into the other Party.

2. No article shall be considered a new or different article of commerce under this Agreement and no material shall be eligible for inclusion as domestic content under this Agreement by virtue of having merely undergone (1) simple combining or packaging operations or (2) mere dilution with water or with another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the article or material.

3. For other purposes of this Agreement, the expression "wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a Party" refers both to any article which has been entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in a Party and to all materials incorporated in an article which have been entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in a Party, as distinguished from articles or materials imported into a Party from a non-participating country, whether or not such articles of materials were substantially transformed into new or different articles or commerce after their importation into the Party.

4. For the purposes of this Agreement; "country of origin" requires that an article or material, not wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of a Party, be substantially transformed into a new and different article of commerce, having a new name, character, of use, distinct from the article or material from which it was so transformed.

5. For purposes of determining the 35 percent domestic content requirement under this Agreement, the cost or value of materials which are used in the production of an article in one Party, and which are products of the other Party, may be counted in an amount up to 15 percent of the appraised value of the article. Such materials must in fact be products of the importing Party under the country of origin criteria set forth in this Agreement.

6. (a) For the purposes of this Agreement, the cost or value of materials produced in a Party includes:
(i) The manufacturer's actual cost for the materials,
(ii) When not included in the manufacturer's actual cost for the materials, the freight, insurance, packing, and all other costs incurred in transporting the materials to the manufacturer's plant.
(iii) The actual cost of waste or spoilage (material list), less the value of recoverable scrap, and
(iv) Taxes and/or duties imposed on the materials by a Party, provided they are not remitted upon exportation.

(b) Where a material is provided to the manufacturer without charge, or at less than fair market value, its cost or value shall be determined by computing the sum of:
(i) All expenses incurred in the growth, production, or manufacture of the material, including general expenses;
(ii) An amount for profit, and
(iii) Freight, insurance, packing, and all other costs incurred in transporting the material to the manufacturer's plant. If the pertinent information needed to compute the cost or value of a material is not available, the appraising officer may ascertain or estimate the value thereof using all reasonable ways and means at his disposal.

7. For the purposes of this Agreement, direct costs of processing operations performed in a Party mean those costs either directly incurred in, or which can be reasonably allocated to, the growth, production, manufacture, or assembly, of the specific article under consideration. Such costs include, but are not limited to the following, to the extent that they are includible in the appraised value of articles imported into a Party:
(a) all actual labor costs involved in the growth, production, manufacture, or assembly, of the specific article, including fringe benefits, on-the-job training, and the cost of engineering, supervisory, quality control, and similar personnel;
(b) dies, molds, tooling and depreciation on machinery and equipment which are allocable to the specific article;
(c) research, development, design, engineering, and blueprint costs insofar as they are allocable to the specific article; and
(d) costs of inspecting and testing the specific article.

Those items that are not included as direct costs of processing operations are those which are not directly attributable to the articles under consideration or are not costs of manufacturing the product. These include, but are not limited to:
(i) The manufacturer's actual cost for the materials;
(ii) When not included in the manufacturer's actual cost for the materials, the freight, insurance, packing, and all other costs incurred in transporting the materials to the manufacturer's plant;
(iii) The actual cost of waste or spoilage (material list), less the value or recoverable scrap; and
(iv) Taxes and/or duties imposed on the materials by a Party, provided they are not remitted upon exportation.
(b) Where a material is provided to the manufacturer without charge, or at less than fair market value, its costs or value shall be determined by computing the sum of:
(i) All expenses incurred in the growth, production, or manufacture of the material, including general expenses;
(ii) An amount for profit; and
(iii) Freight, insurance, packing, and all other costs incurred in transporting the material to the manufacturer's plant. If the pertinent information needed to compute the cost or value of a material is not available, the appraising officer may ascertain or estimate the value thereof using all reasonable ways and means at his disposal.

7. For the Purposes of this Agreement, direct costs of processing operations performed in a Party mean those costs either directly incurred in, or which can be reasonably allocated to, the growth, production, manufacture, or assembly, of the specific article under consideration. Such costs include, but are not limited to the following, to the extent that they are includible in the appraised value of articles imported into a Party:
(a) All actual labor costs involved in the growth, production, manufacture, or assembly, of the specific article, including fringe benefits, on-the-job training, and the cost of engineering, supervisor, quality control, and similar personnel;
(b) dies, molds, tooling and depreciation on machinery and equipment which are allocable to the specific article;
(c) research, development, design, engineering, and blueprint costs insofar as they are allocable to the specific article; and
(d) costs of inspecting and testing the specific article.
Those items that are not included as direct costs of processing operations are those which are not directly attributable to the articles under consideration or are not costs of manufacturing the product. These include, but are not limited to:
(i) profit; and
(ii) general expenses of doing business which are neither not allocable to the specific article or are not related to the growth, production, manufacture, or assembly, of the article, such as administrative salaries, casualty and liability insurance, advertising, and salesmen's salaries, commissions, or expenses.

8. For the purposes of this Agreement, "imported directly" means:
(a) direct shipment from one Party into the other Party without passing through the territory of any intermediate country; or
(b) if shipment is through the territory of an intermediate country, the articles in the shipment do not enter into the commerce of any intermediate country and the invoices, bills of lading, and other shipping documents, show the other Party as the final destination, or
(c) if shipment is through an intermediate country and the invoices and other documents do not show the other Party as the final destination, then the articles in the shipment, upon arrival in that Party, are imported directly only if they
(i) remain under the control of the customs authority in an intermediate country;
(ii) do not enter into the commerce of an intermediate country except for the purpose of a sale other than at retail, provided that the articles are imported as a result of the original commercial transaction between the importer and the producer or the latter's sales agent;
(iii) have not been subjected to operations other than loading and unloading, and other activities necessary to preserve the article in good condition; and
(iv) comply with the origin requirements for articles exported to a Party form the other Party under this Agreement as stated in the documents required under the certification procedure.

9. All articles entered under this Agreement shall be documented by a certificate, specimens of which are given in the attachment to this Annex, signed by the exporter to be completed in accordance with the rules specified in the certificate. The certificate should contain sufficient information to identify the articles described on the certificate as the articles to be exported and a statement as to the percentage of value added in a Party and that the articles comply with the country of origin requirements set forth in this Agreement. The certificate will be presented to the Customs authorities of the importing Party in accordance with its internal regulations.
Notwithstanding the above, either Party may waive production of the certificate on a case by case basis for articles imported into such Party and for which the benefits of this Agreement are claimed, if the Party is otherwise satisfied that the imported articles comply with the country of origin requirements set forth in this Agreement.
The exporter or person signing the certificate of origin shall be prepared to submit a declaration setting forth all pertinent details, concerning the production or manufacture of the articles, which were used to prepare the certificate of origin. The information on the declaration should contain at least the following pertinent details:
A. a description of the article, quantity, numbers and marks of packages, invoice numbers, and bills of lading;
B. a description of the operations performed in the production of the article in a Party and identification of the direct costs of processing operations;
C. a description of any materials used in production of the article which are wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of either Party, and a statement as to the cost or value of such materials;
D. a description of the operations performed on and a statement as to the origin and cost or value of, any foreign materials used in the article which are claimed to have been sufficiently processed in a Party so as to be materials produced in that Party; and
E. a description of the origin and cost or value of any foreign materials used in the article which have not been substantially transformed in a Party.
This declaration shall be prepared and submitted upon request by a Party. A declaration should only be requested when a Party has reason to question the accuracy of the statements on a certificate of origin, or when a Party randomly verifies certificates of origin.

10. In order to further the administration of this Agreement, the Parties agree to assist each other in obtaining information for the purpose of reviewing transactions made under this Agreement in order to verify compliance with the conditions set forth in this Agreement.

11. The Parties will consult from time to time on the interpretation of these provisions and on a practical problems which may arise with a view to prevent unnecessary barriers to trade which are inconsistent with the objectives of this Agreement.
In this connection, amendments of the present rules could be proposed.

Attachment
Specimens of Certificates of Origin

An original of Attachment I shall be used for exports of the United States and an original of Attachment II shall be used for exports of Israel.NOTES

1. Conditions. The main conditions for admission under the Free Trade Area Agreement (FTAA) between the United States of America and Israel (the Agreement) are:

(a) The goods must be consigned direct from the United States of America to Israel but in most cases shipment through one or more intermediate countries is accepted provided that the goods did not enter into the commerce of that country and otherwise complied with the direct shipment requirements of the Agreement.

(b) The goods comply with the origin criteria specified in the Agreement. Indication of the origin requirements is given in paragraph 2.
(c) Each article in a consignment must qualify separately in its own right concerning the rules of origin and direct shipment.
2. Origin requirements for goods originating in the United States of America.
The Agreement shall apply to any article if:
(a) That article is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of the United States of America or is a new or different article of commerce that has been grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States of America.
(b) The sum of (a) the cost or value of the materials produced in the United States of America plus (b) the direct cost of processing operations performed in the United States of America is not less than 35 percent of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered into Israel.

No article shall be considered a new or different article of commerce under the Agreement and no material shall be eligible for inclusion as domestic content under the Agreement by virtue of having merely undergone (a) the simple combining or packaging operations or (b) mere dilution with water or with another substance that does not materially alter the characteristics of the article or material.
The expression "wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of the United States of America" refers both to any article which has been entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States of America and to all materials incorporated in an article which have been entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States, as distinguished from articles or materials imported into the United States of America from a third country, whether or not such articles or materials were substantially transformed into new or different articles of commerce after their importation into the United States of America.
"Country of Origin" requires that an article or material, not wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of the United States of America, be substantially transformed into a new and different article of commerce, having a new name, character , or use, distinct from the article or material from which it was so transformed.
For purpose of determining the 35 percent U.S.A. content requirement under the Agreement, the cost or value of materials which are used in the production of an article in the United States of America, and which are the products of Israel, may be counted in an amount up to 15 percent of the appraised value of the article. Such materials must in fact be the products of Israel under the country or origin criteria set forth in the Agreement.
3. Entries to be made in Box 8.

Products must be either wholly obtained in accordance with the rules of the Free Trade Agreement or sufficiently worked or processed to fulfill the requirement of the Free Trade Agreement.
(1) Products wholly grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States: enter the letter P in Box 8.
(2) Products sufficiently worked or processed in the United States of America: enter in Box 8 a Y value for the sum of the cost or value of the domestic materials and the direct cost of processing expressed as a percentage of the ex-factory price of the exported products. (Example: Y=35%.)
4. The declaration of the exporter on this certificate shall be notarized by a notary public and certified by an appropriately constituted local business organization, such as a chamber of commerce or board of trade.

NOTES

1. Conditions. The main conditions for admission under the Trade
Area (FTA) Agreement between Israel and the United States of America are:

(a) The goods must be consigned direct from Israel to the United States of America but in most cases shipment through one or more intermediate countries is accepted provided that the goods did not enter into the commerce of that country and otherwise compiled with the direct shipment requirements of the Agreement.
(b) The goods comply with the origin criteria specified in the Agreement. Indication of the origin requirements is given in paragraph 2.
(c) Each article in a consignment must qualify separately in its own right concerning the rules of origin and direct shipment.
2. Origin requirements for goods originating in Israel.
The Agreement shall apply to any article if:
________________________
The conditions specified on this Form are for reference purposes only and do not change in any way or manner the binding rules of origin as specified in Annex III of the FTA Agreement between Israel and the United States of America.

(a) That article is wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of Israel or is a new or different article of commerce that has been grown, produced or manufactured in Israel.
(b) The sum of (a) the cost or value of the materials produced in Israel plus (b) the direct cost of processing operations performed in Israel is not less than 35 percent of the appraised value of the article at the time it is entered into the United States of America.

"Country of Origin" requires that an article or material, not wholly the growth, product, or manufacture of Israel, be substantially transformed into a new and different article of commerce, having a new name, character or use, distinct from the article or material from which it was so transformed.

For purposes of determining the 35 percent Israeli content requirement under the Agreement, the cost or value of materials which are used in the production of an article in Israel, and which are the products of the United States of America, may be counted an amount up to 15 percent of the appraised value of the article. Such materials must in fact be products of the United States of America under the country of origin criteria set forth in the Agreement.
3. Entries to be made in Box 8. Products must be either wholly obtained in accordance with the rules of the Free Trade Agreement or sufficiently worked or processed to fulfill the requirements of the Free Trade Area Agreement.

(1) Products wholly grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States of America" enter the letter P in Box 8.
(2) Products sufficiently worked or processed in Israel; enter in Box 8 a Y value for the sum of the cost or value of the domestic materials and the direct cost of processing expressed as a percentage of the ex-factory price of the exported products. (Example: Y=35%.)
4. The declaration of the exporter on this certificate shall be required.
Generalized System of Preferences

The Notes included in Form A will apply to the use of this form for the purposes of the Generalized System of Preferences.

ANNEX IV

Commitment on Subsidies

Dear Ambassador Brock:
Our two governments have just concluded a historic agreement establishing a Free Trade Area between Israel and the United States.

One of the fundamental objectives of the agreement is to remove trade barriers and other non-tariff barriers to trade, including the elimination of export subsidies. In furtherance of these objectives, I am honoured to propose the following agreement by the Government of Israel with regard to major programs which contain or have contained export subsidy elements.

I am pleased to inform you that the Government of Israel will accede to the Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade no later than the effective date of this Agreement. In the meeting of July 11, 1984 between Minister Patt and yourself it was agreed that export subsidy elements exist in the following major programs for encouraging exports maintained by Israel:

Programs for financing exports or processing for exports

(a) Export Shipment Fund
(b) Export Production Fund
(c) Imports for Export Fund
(d) Medium Term Capital Goods Export Credits

I am honoured to inform you that the Government of Israel commits itself, pursuant to Article 14 of the Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI, and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (the Subsidies Code), and relating to exports of products other than certain primary products not to institute any new export subsidy programs, and not to increase the level of subsidization in these programs above their level as existed on July 11, 1984, and to eliminate the subsidy elements in these programs as follows:

With regard to the Export Shipment Fund and the foreign currency portion of the Export Promotion Fund, the Government of Israel will continue its current practice of providing no export subsidy elements.

1 Level of Subsidization shall be defined, for the purposes of this letter, as the percentage point spread between the lending rates for each program and the rates which the Government of Israel (or special institutions controlled by and/or acting under the authority of the Government of Israel) actually has to pay for the funds so employed (or, if applicable, would have to pay if it borrowed on international capital markets in order to obtain funds of same maturity and denominated in the same currency as the program funds.)

With regard to local currency financing under the Export Production Fund, Israel will freeze the export subsidy element for four years from the date of accession to the Subsidies Code, and will eliminate the export subsidy element by six years from the date of accession to the Subsidies Code.

With regard to the Imports for Export Fund, Israel will freeze the export subsidy element for one year from the date of accession to the Subsidies Code, and will eliminate the export subsidy element by two years from the date of accession to the Subsidies Code.

With regard to the Medium Term Capital Goods Export Credits or any other officially-sanctioned export financing with a maturity of two years or more, Israel will apply the interest rates provisions of the Arrangement on Guidelines for Officially Supported Export Credits of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for any loans granted on and after the effective date of this Agreement.

On and after April 1, 1985, neither Party shall impose requirements to export as a condition for receiving any type of investment incentive.
It is understood that the parties will consult upon request of either party, or whenever special circumstances so require including balance of payments circumstances concerning the functioning of this agreement.

Sincerely,

Ariel Sharon

Last modified: Friday, November 18, 2005