Key Benefits:
LEY 12.741
ADOPTION OF A COMMERCIAL COOPERATION CONVENTION WITH THE UNITED STATES.
BUENOS AIRES, July 3, 1942
Article 1.- Approve the trade agreement signed in this Capital on October 14, 1941, between the government of the Argentine Republic and the government of the United States of America.
Art. 2.- Contact the Executive.
PATRON COSTAS - Figueroa - Cantilo - Zavalla Carbó. Figueroa. CANTILO. Zavalla Carbó.
A-Convenio comercial subscribed in Buenos Aires on 14 October 1941 between the Argentine Republic and the United States of America-
ARTICLE I 1. The Argentine Republic and the United States of America will grant each other the unconditional and unlimited treatment of the most-favoured-nation nation in all matters relating to customs duties and subsidiary charges of any kind, in the manner of seizing rights, and in all matters concerning the rules, formalities and charges to which customs clearance operations may be subject, and with respect to all laws or regulations affecting the sale or use of goods within the country. 2.- Consequently, the articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in either of the two countries, which are imported in the other, shall in no case be subject, with respect to the precited issues, to different or higher duties, taxes or charges, or to rules or formalities other than those to which they are or in the future may be subject to similar articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in any third country. 3.- Likewise, the items exported from the territory of the Argentine Republic or the United States of America to the territory of the other country shall not be subject in any case, with respect to their export and the above-mentioned issues, to different or higher duties, taxes or charges, or to different or more taxable rules or formalities than those to which they are or in the future may be subject to similar articles intended for the territory of any third country. 4.- Any advantage, favour, privilege or immunity that has been granted or that in the future is granted by the Argentine Republic or by the United States of America, in respect of precited matters, to any article originating from any third country or destined for the territory of any third country, shall be immediately and without compensation to the similar article originating in the territory of the United States of America or the Argentine Republic, respectively, or intended for any of the same.
ARTICLE II 1. Articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in the Argentine Republic or in the United States of America shall be exempt, after importation into the other country, from any tax, rate, burden or internal tax different or higher than those encumbering similar articles of national origin or of any other foreign origin. 2.- The provisions of this article on national treatment shall not apply to the taxes with which the Argentine Republic severes alcohols, alcoholic beverages, beers, natural mineral waters, and tissues containing forty percent or more of artificial silk or silk.
ARTICLE III 1. The government of either country shall impose prohibitions or restrictions of any kind on the import of any cultivated, produced or manufactured in the other country, or on the export of any item intended to the other country, unless the importation of the similar article cultivated, produced or manufactured in all third countries, or the export of the article similar to all third countries, respectively, is prohibited or restricted in a similar manner. 2.- The government of either country shall impose any restrictions of any kind on the importation from the other country of any item in which that country has an interest, either by means of import licences or permits, or otherwise, unless the total amount or value of such an item which is permitted for an import period, or any change in that amount or value, has been established and given to advertising. If the government of either country assigns a portion of that amount or total value to any third country, it shall assign to the other country a share equivalent to the proportion of the total imports of that article made by that country during a previous representative period, making that part available in a manner that facilitates its full use, unless it is mutually agreed to set aside that allocation. No restrictions or restrictions of any kind on the part of such amount or total value that may be imported from the other country shall be imposed through import licences or permits, or otherwise. 3.- The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply with respect to the quantity or value of any item which is permitted by a particular tariff.
ARTICLE IV 1. If the government of either country establishes or maintains any form of control of the international means of payment, it will grant the unconditional treatment of the most-favoured nation to the trade of the other country in respect of all aspects of such control. 2.- The government that establishes or maintains such control shall not impose any prohibition, restriction or delay on the transfer of payment for any item cultivated, produced or manufactured in the other country that is not imposed on the transfer of payment for a similar article cultivated, produced or manufactured in any third country. With regard to exchange rates and with respect to exchange rates or charges, the articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in the other country shall be granted unconditional treatment no less favourable than that accorded to similar articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in any third country. The above provisions shall also extend to the application of the control of the payments necessary for the importation of the items cultivated, produced or manufactured in the other country. In general, control shall be applied in such a way as not to the detriment of the other country with respect to competition between the articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in the territories of that country and similar articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in third countries. 3.- Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article, the Government of each country may take such measures as it deems necessary for the protection of its essential interests in time of war or other national emergency.
ARTICLE V 1. In the event that the Government of the Argentine Republic or the Government of the United States of America establishes or maintains a monopoly on the import, production or sale of a particular article, or grants exclusive privileges, officially or in fact, to one or more agencies, to import, produce or sell a particular article, the trade of the other country will receive a fair and equitable treatment with respect to the purchases abroad of such a monopoly or agency. To that end, such a monopoly or agency, when making purchases of any item abroad, will be guided only by considerations such as price, quality, sales possibilities and sales conditions that would normally take into account a private business company interested only in buying under the most favourable conditions. 2.- The government of each country, in awarding contracts for public works and generally in the acquisition of materials, will grant fair and equitable treatment to the trade of the other country compared to the treatment granted to the trade of other foreign countries.
ARTICLE VI 1. The laws, regulations of administrative authorities and decisions of administrative or judicial authorities of the Argentine Republic or of the United States of America, respectively, concerning the classification of goods for customs purposes or tariffs, shall be published without delay, in the form of allowing traders to know them.
2.- No administrative order of the Argentine Republic or of the United States of America providing increases in tariffs or applicable charges, in accordance with an established and uniform practice, to imports originating from the territory of the other country, or imposing any new requirement with respect to such imports shall be applied retroactively or with respect to items imported for consumption prior to the date of publication of the notice of such provision in the official form of practice. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to administrative provisions imposing anti-dumping duties, or regulations for the protection of life or human, animal or plant health, or for public security, or for the enforcement of court decisions.
ARTICLE VII 1. The articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in the United States of America, listed and described in table I annexed to this convention, of which it is an integral part, when imported into the Argentine Republic, if they are currently free from ordinary customs duties, shall continue to be free from ordinary customs duties, or if they are currently subject to rights, they shall not be subject to payment of ordinary customs duties in excess of the specified conditions. 2.- These articles shall also be exempt from all other customs, taxes, fees, charges or charges imposed on or in connection with the import, which exceeds those imposed on the date of signature of this agreement or those whose subsequent imposition is stipulated by the laws of the Argentine Republic in force at that date.
ARTICLE VIII 1. The articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in the Argentine Republic, listed and described in schedules II and III annexed to this convention, of which they are an integral part, when imported into the United States of America, if they are currently free from ordinary customs duties, shall continue to be free from ordinary customs duties, or, if they are currently subject to rights, shall not be subject to the payment of ordinary customs duties, subject to the same conditions set out above. 2.- These articles shall also be free from all other customs, taxes, fees, charges or charges imposed on or in connection with the import, which exceeds those already imposed on the date of signature of this agreement, or those whose subsequent imposition is stipulated by the laws of the United States of America in force at that date. 3.- The Government of the United States of America reserves the right to withdraw or modify the concession granted to any article listed and described in Table III, at any time after the end of hostilities between the Governments of the United Kingdom and Germany, notifying it in writing six months in advance to the Government of the Argentine Republic.
ARTICLE IX The provisions of articles VII and VIII of this convention shall not prevent the government of either country from imposing at any time, on the importation of any article a tax equivalent to an internal tax that applies to a similar national article, or to a product with which the imported article has been manufactured or produced in whole or in part.
ARTICLE X With respect to the articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in the United States of America or in the Argentine Republic, listed and described in table I or in tables II or III, respectively, imported in the other country, on which the rights ad valórem, or rights based or regulated in any form for its value, it is understood and agreed that the bases and methods for the determination of the less favourable currency for the conversion shall be
ARTICLE XI 1. No prohibition, restriction or any form of quantitative regulation, is verified or not by a centralized control agency, may be imposed by the Argentine Republic on the import or sale of any cultivated, produced or manufactured article in the United States of America, listed and described in template I, or by the United States of America to the import or sale of any cultivated, produced or manufactured article in the Argentine Republic listed and listed in table II. 2.- The above provision shall not apply to the quantitative regulations imposed in any way by the Argentine Republic or by the United States of America on the importation or sale of any cultivated, produced or manufactured article in the other country, in conjunction with government measures or measures issued with governmental authorization to regulate and control the production, supply of the market or prices of similar national goods, or to increase the cost of the production of the labour,
ARTICLE XII 1. If the government of either of the two countries considers that any circumstance, or any measure taken by the other government, even if it is not in contradiction with the terms of this convention, has the effect of annuling or harming any purpose of the convention or of harming an industry or trade in that country, the other government will deferred deferentially the representations or propositions made to it in order to reach a mutually satisfactory settlement of the matter. If an agreement on such representations or propositions is not reached, the government may suspend or terminate this agreement in its entirety or in part by a thirty-day notice in writing. 2.- The Governments of the two countries agree to consult as broadly as possible on all matters affecting the implementation of this convention. In order to facilitate such a consultation, a commission composed of representatives of each government will be set up to study the implementation of the convention, make recommendations concerning the implementation of the provisions of the convention and consider the other issues to be submitted to it by the two Governments.
ARTICLE XIII The provisions of this convention relating to the treatment to be accorded by the United States of America or the Argentine Republic, respectively, to the trade of the other country, shall apply, by the United States of America, to the continental territory of the United States of America and to its territories and possessions that fall within its customs territory. The provisions of this convention relating to the treatment of the most-favoured-nation nation shall also apply to all articles cultivated, produced or manufactured in any territory under the sovereignty or authority of the United States of America or the Argentine Republic that are imported from or exported to any territory under the sovereignty or authority of the other country. The provisions of this article shall not apply to the Panama Canal Zone.
ARTICLE XIV 1. The benefits currently granted or subsequently granted by the Argentine Republic or the United States of America to neighbouring countries in order to facilitate border traffic and the benefits granted under a customs union in which either country becomes a party shall be exempt from the effects of this agreement. 2.- The benefits currently granted or subsequently granted by the United States of America, its territories or possessions, or the Panama Canal Zone, among themselves, or the Republic of Cuba, shall be exempt from the effects of this convention. The provisions of this paragraph shall continue to apply, with respect to any benefits currently granted or that the United States of America, its territories or possessions, or the Panama Canal Zone, are henceforth granted to each other, irrespective of any change in the political state of any of the territories or possessions of the United States of America.
ARTICLE XV 1. Subject to the requirement that, under similar circumstances and conditions, neither country shall make arbitrary discrimination against the other country in favour of any third country, and without prejudice to the provisions of article XVI, paragraphs 1 and 2, the provisions of this convention shall not be extended to prohibitions or restrictions: (a) Concerning public security (b) Impositions for the protection of public health or for moral or humanitarian reasons (c) Impositions for the protection of plants or animals, including measures for the protection of diseases, degeneration or extinction, and measures taken against seeds, plants or harmful animals (d) relating to articles manufactured in prisons (e) relating to compliance with police or public income laws and regulations and (f) Imposed for the protection of the national artistic, historical or archaeological heritage. 2.- No provision of this agreement shall be construed as precluding the adoption or enforcement of measures that the Government of either of the two countries deem appropriate (a) relating to the import or export of gold or silver (b) relating to the control of export or sale for the export of weapons, ammunition or war material, and, in exceptional circumstances, of all other military supplies (c) relating to neutrality. 3.- It is understood that the provisions of this convention relating to laws and regulations on the sale, application of taxes or use of imported goods within the Argentine Republic and the United States of America are subject to constitutional limitations that have the authority of the respective Governments.
ARTICLE XVI 1. The government of each country will give beneficial consideration, and when asked to provide appropriate opportunities for consultation, to the representations that the other government makes regarding the application of customs regulations, quantitative regulations or the application of them, to the observance of customs formalities and to the application of health laws and regulations for the protection of life or of human, animal or plant health. 2.- In the event that the government of either of the two countries makes representations to the other government with respect to the application of any health law or regulation for the protection of life or of human, animal or plant health, and there is disagreement with it, a commission of technical experts will be constituted, at the request of either of the two Governments, in which each government will be represented, in order to consider the matter and submit its recommendations to the two Governments.
ARTICLE XVII This agreement will be ratified by the Government of the Argentine Republic and will be proclaimed by the President of the United States of America. It will definitely enter into force thirty days after the exchange of the instrument of ratification and proclamation, to be made in Washington as soon as possible.
ARTICLE XVIII While this agreement does not definitively enter into force as provided for in article XVII, the provisions of the agreement shall be provisionally applied as from 15 November 1941, subject to the right to terminate the provisional application of the agreement in accordance with the provisions of article XII, paragraph 1, or by a prior notice of six months in writing.
ARTICLE XIX Subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article XII and of Article XVIII, this agreement shall continue in force until 15 November 1944 and, unless at least six months before 15 November 1944, the Government of either country has notified in writing to the other its intention to terminate this agreement at that date, shall continue in force until six months have elapsed from that date. In faith of which the respective plenipotentiaries have signed this agreement and placed its stamps on it. Made in two copies, in the Spanish and English languages, both authentic, in the city of Buenos Aires, on the fourteenth day of the month of October, a thousand nine hundred and forty-one.
By the vice president of the Argentine Nation in exercise of the executive branch: (Fdo.): E. RUIZ GUIÑAZU. By the President of the United States of America: (Fdo.): NORMAN ARMOUR.