Decision

30 April 2024: Decision No. 1/2024 of the UK-Singapore Trade Committee on streamlining the institutional structure of the free trade agreement

Updated 24 October 2024

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This page relates to a decision that was made on 30 April 2024, during the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government, and was published later.

DECISION No. 1/2024 OF THE TRADE COMMITTEE

of  30 April 2024 UNDER THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE

on streamlining the institutional structure of the UK-Singapore Free Trade Agreement

THE TRADE COMMITTEE,

Having regard to the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (“the United Kingdom” and the Republic of Singapore (“Singapore”), done at Singapore on 10 December 2020 (the “Agreement”), and in particular Article 7(4) thereof,

Whereas:

1) Article 1 of the Agreement incorporated the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore, done at Brussels on 19 October 2018 (the “Incorporated Agreement”) in effect immediately before the Incorporated Agreement ceased to apply to the United Kingdom, subject to the provisions of the Agreement;

2) Article 7(4) of the Agreement provides that the Trade Committee shall, amongst other things, review the institutional provisions of this Agreement so as to streamline its institutional structure.

3) Pursuant to Article 7(4), following discussions the Trade Committee has decided to streamline the institutional structure of the Agreement by dissolving three specialised committees (namely, the Committee on Trade in Goods, the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Committee on Customs) and establishing one specialised committee in its place which will retain the remit, tasks and functioning of the three dissolved specialised committees. Accordingly, the responsibilities of Committee on Trade in Services, Investment and Government Procurement shall remain unchanged, including the effective implementation of Chapter 8 of the Agreement (Services, Establishment and Digital Trade and the Digital Economy), [ as amended by the Digital Economy Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Singapore, done 25 February 2022], pursuant to Article 8.64 of the Incorporated Agreement.

4) Article 16.1(4)(a) of the Incorporated Agreement provides for the Trade Committee to decide to establish or dissolve specialised committees, or to allocate responsibilities to such committees.

5) Article 16.2(4) of the Incorporated Agreement provides for the Trade Committee to define the composition, remit, tasks and functioning of a specialised committee.

6) Rule 8(3) of the Trade Committee’s Rules of Procedure provides for the Trade Committee to adopt decisions by written procedure, consisting of an exchange of notes between the Parties.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

1. Article 1

  1. The following specialised committees are hereby dissolved (“the Dissolved Specialised Committees”):

    a. The Committee on Trade in Goods

    b. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; and

    c. The Committee on Customs.

2. Article 2

1. The Committee on Trade in Goods, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Customs (“the GSPMC Committee”) is hereby established as a specialised committee. The GSPMC Committee shall work under the authority of the Trade Committee.

2. Any reference to a Dissolved Specialised Committee in the provisions of the Agreement, including all Annexes, Appendices, Joint Declarations, Protocols, and Undertakings thereto, shall be read as a reference to the GSPMC Committee, subject to the provisions of the Annex to this Decision.

3. The GSPMC Committee shall establish its own Rules of Procedure and ways of working.

3. Article 3

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

Done in duplicate by written procedure at Old Admiralty Building, London on 30 April 2024.

For the Trade Committee

The Co-Chairs

The Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP

Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Co-Chair for the United Kingdom

Minister Grace Fu

Minister in-charge of Trade Relations

Co-Chair for Singapore

4. Annex

List of references to the Dissolved Specialised Committees that shall not be read as a reference to the GSPMC Committee

  1. The following provisions of the Agreement shall not be read as a reference to the GSPMC Committee:

a. Article 5.15(1) of the Incorporated Agreement; and

b. The following sentence in Article 6.17(1) of the Incorporated Agreement:

“The Committee on Customs established by Article 16.2 (Specialised Committees) shall consist of representatives of the customs and other competent authorities of the Parties.”

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