Decision

9 November 2022: Decision No1/2022 of the UK-Israel Joint Committee

Updated 9 November 2022

(Adopted on 9 November 2022 )

Modification of Protocol 4 to the Trade And Partnership Agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the government of the State of Israel.

THE JOINT COMMITTEE,

HAVING REGARD to discussions held throughout 2021 and 2022, including at the first UK-Israel Joint Committee meeting hosted by Israel in a hybrid format on 3 and 9 February 2022, regarding cumulation of content from the European Union under the Trade and Partnership Agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and government of the State of Israel, signed on 18 February 2019 (hereinafter: “the Agreement”);

RECALLING that the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the State of Israel, of the other part, done at Brussels on 20 November 1995 (hereinafter: “the Association Agreement”) is incorporated into and made part of the Agreement;

CONSIDERING the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, signed on 30 December 2020 (hereinafter: “the TCA”);

REAFFIRMING the overriding objective of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the State of Israel (hereinafter: “the Parties”), as set out in Article 1 of the Agreement, “to preserve the preferential conditions relating to trade between the Parties and the other links between the Parties, both of which result from the EU-Israel Trade Agreements”, and recalling that ability to cumulate content of European Union origin is a significant element to achieving this objective;

RECALLING the Joint Declaration between the Parties concerning a Trilateral Approach to Rules of Origin, signed on 18 February 2019, which stipulates that “in the event of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union, the Parties approve taking the necessary steps, as a matter of urgency, to update Protocol 4 of [the Agreement] to reflect a trilateral approach to rules of origin, involving the European Union”;

NOTING the different circumstances deriving from the TCA, and that the United Kingdom is not a contracting party to the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) preferential rules of origin (“the PEM convention”) but that Protocol 4 to the Agreement reflects the provisions of the PEM Convention in a bilateral context;

CONSIDERING that the Parties have initiated negotiations on an enhanced comprehensive agreement;

RECONFIRMING the desire of the Parties to facilitate efficient regional value chains by allowing for the recognition of originating content from the European Union in trade between the Parties;

HAVING REGARD to Article 8(2) of the Agreement authorising the Joint Committee to modify the Annexes and Protocols to the Agreement;

HAVING REGARD to the mutual understanding of the Parties that the presiding Chair of the Joint Committee for the purpose of adopting this Decision, is Israel;

Has decided as follows:

Article 1

1. Protocol 4 of the Agreement shall be amended as follows.
   
   
2. In Article 3(7), after sub-paragraph (b) the following sub-paragraph shall be inserted:

“(c) Notwithstanding subparagraphs 3(7)(a)(ii) and 3(7)(b)(ii), the cumulation provided for in this Article may be applied for materials that have acquired originating status by the application of:

i. rules of origin contained in a preferential trade agreement applicable between the countries involved in the acquisition of the originating status which have been updated to reflect revisions to the Regional Convention on pan-Euro Mediterranean preferential rules of origin, provided that notices indicating the fulfilment of the necessary requirements to apply cumulation using the updated rules of origin have been published by the Parties; or

ii. other rules of origin as may subsequently be agreed by the Parties*.

*The Parties agree that this sub-paragraph applies to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part, of 30 December 2020 and to the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Turkey, of 29 December 2020.”

3. In Article 4(5), after sub-paragraph (b) the following sub-paragraph shall be inserted:

“(c) Notwithstanding subparagraphs 4(5)(a)(ii) and 4(5)(b)(ii), the cumulation provided for in this Article may be applied for materials that have acquired originating status by the application of:

i. rules of origin contained in a preferential trade agreement applicable between the countries involved in the acquisition of the originating status which have been updated to reflect revisions to the Regional Convention on pan-Euro Mediterranean preferential rules of origin, provided that notices indicating the fulfilment of the necessary requirements to apply cumulation using the updated rules of origin have been published by the Parties; or

ii. other rules of origin as may subsequently be agreed by the Parties.”

Article 2

1. This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Jerusalem, 9 November, 2022.

For the Joint Committee

Chair