The Parties to this Agreement hereby establish a free trade area in accordance with the provisions of this ATLAS-USV Free Trade Agreement.

The objectives of this Agreement, as elaborated more specifically through its principles and rules, are to:

1. liberalize and facilitate duty free trade in goods and services and expand investment between the Parties;

2. establish a co-operative framework for strengthening the economic relations between the Parties;

3. establish a framework conducive for a more favourable environment for their businesses and promote conditions of fair competition in the free trade area; and

4. establish a framework of transparent rules to govern trade and investment between the Parties.

Relation to other agreements:

1. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and other agreements to which both Parties are party, the Parties shall immediately consult with each other with a view to finding a mutually satisfactory solution, taking into consideration general principles of international law.

2. Notwithstanding paragraph b, if this Agreement explicitly contains provisions regarding such inconsistency as indicated in Paragraph 3, the provisions of this agreement shall apply until amendment of this agreement.

Tariff Elimination

1. The Parties agree to eliminate import and export duties on all landed goods, and on all articles of local production that are exported as cargo, that have originated from the other Party, except as noted below. All goods imported may be transported into any part of the alliance without the payment of any additional tax, excise, or transit duty whatever, other than sales taxes or revenue duties which are levied equally on both imports and domestic products.

   1. Import and export duties of 3% shall apply to silver ore and processed silver products

Import Quotas

1. Vasilissomnia shall implement at 30% import quota mandating the purchase by Vasilissomnian entities of tropical fruits, coffee, sugar, fibres, and minerals from Atlas. In the event that the total combined imports said items imports fall below 30% of Vasilissomnia total imports of these items then the Governments of Vasilissomnia shall either

   1. offer price subsidies at the rate of 30% less the current percentage to encourage such purchases, or

   2. make a direct government purchase of said items to increase the total portion back to 30%.

Streamlining Customs Procedures

1. For prompt customs clearance of goods traded between the Parties, each Party shall:

   1. streamline and simplify regulatory and customs requirements as much as possible,

   2. recognising that trading using electronic filing and transfer of trade-related information and electronic versions of documents such as bills of lading, invoices, letters of credit and insurance certificates, as an alternative to paper-based methods (hereinafter referred to as “paperless trading”), will significantly enhance the efficiency of trade through reduction of cost and time, shall co-operate with a view to realising and promoting paperless trading between them.

   3. make its customs procedures conform, as far as and as promptly as possible, to relevant industry standards and recommended practices accepted by both Parties.

   4. encourage co-operation between their relevant private and public entities engaging in activities related to paperless trading. Such co-operation may include the setting up and operation by such entities of facilities to provide efficient and secured flow of electronic trade-related information and electronic versions of relevant documents between enterprises of the Parties.

Testing and Certification Standards

1. The Parties recognize that differences in testing and certification standards especially in electrical, electronic, telecom and pharmaceutical products, can be a non-tariff barrier. Both parties agree to accord mutual recognition of test results and certification by accredited conformity assessment bodies in either alliance, so that exporters can have their products tested and certified by assessment bodies in their countries without having to duplicate the procedure in the importing country.

   1. Each Party shall ensure, through appropriate means such as audits, inspections or monitoring, that the registered conformity assessment bodies fulfil the criteria for designation set out in the applicable laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the other Party. When applying the criteria for designation of the conformity assessment bodies, Designating Authorities of a Party should take into account the bodies’ understanding of and experience relevant to the requirements set out in the applicable laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the other Party.

   2. Each Party may request the other Party, by indicating in writing a reasoned doubt on whether a registered conformity assessment body complies with the criteria for designation set out in the applicable laws, regulations and administrative provisions, to conduct verification of the conformity assessment body in accordance with the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of that other Party.

   3. Each Party may, upon request, participate as an observer in the verification of conformity assessment bodies conducted by the Designating Authorities of the other Party, with the prior consent of such conformity assessment bodies, in order to maintain a continuing understanding of that other Party’s procedures for verification.

   4. The Parties shall exchange information on methods, including accreditation systems, used to designate the conformity assessment bodies and to ensure that the registered conformity assessment bodies fulfill the criteria for designation.

   5. Each Party should encourage its registered conformity assessment bodies to co-operate and consult with the conformity assessment bodies of the other Party.

   6. The Parties agree to share all relevant information with each other in the event of product Health and Safety advisories and recalls.

Each Party shall set out regulations allowing short-term business visitors of the other Party and intra-corporate transferees of the other Party and streamline existing procedures for existing classes of travelers between their alliances.

The Parties agree to the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income earned by their citzens in the other and shall exchange reporting of income and taxation paid by such citizens of the other party earned in their respective alliances.

No part of this agreement shall prevent a Party from applying measures to regulate the entry of natural persons of the other Party into, or their temporary stay in, its territory, including those measures necessary to protect the integrity of, and to ensure the orderly movement of natural persons across its borders, provided that such measures are not applied in such a manner as to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to the other Party under the terms of a specific commitment.

A Party may recognize the education or experience obtained, requirements met, or licenses or certifications granted in the territory of the other Party for the purposes of the fulfillment, in whole or in part, of its standards or criteria for the authorization, licensing or certification of natural persons with professional qualifications.

Recognition referred to in paragraph 1 above, which may be achieved through harmonization or otherwise, may be based upon an agreement or arrangement between the Parties or may be accorded unilaterally.

Where a Party recognizes, by agreement or arrangement or unilaterally, the education or experience obtained, requirements met or licenses or certifications granted in the territory of a non-Party, the Party shall accord the other Party an adequate opportunity to demonstrate that the education or experience obtained, requirements met or licenses or certifications granted in the territory of the other Party should also be recognized.

Disputes between the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement should, if possible, be settled through the diplomatic channel.

If a dispute between the Contracting Parties cannot thus be settled, it shall upon the request of either Contracting Party be submitted to an arbitral tribunal.

Such an arbitral tribunal shall be constituted for each individual case in the following way. Within one month of the receipt of the request for arbitration, each Contracting Party shall appoint one member of the tribunal. Those two members shall then select a international of a third State who on approval by the two Contracting Parties shall be appointed Chair of the tribunal. The Chair shall be appointed within one month from the date of appointment of the other two members

The arbitral tribunal shall reach its decision by a majority of votes. Such decision shall be binding on both Contracting Parties. Each Contracting Party shall bear the cost of its own member of the tribunal and of its representation in the arbitral proceedings; the cost of the Chairman and the remaining costs shall be borne in equal parts by the Contracting Parties. The tribunal may, however, in its decision direct that a higher proportion of costs shall be borne by one of the two Contracting Parties, and this award shall be binding on both Contracting Parties. The tribunal shall determine its own procedure.

At the desire of either party, and on fourteen days notice given in writing, this Treaty, together with any regulations of trade hereunto annexed, or those that may be hereafter introduced, shall be subject to revision by Commissioners appointed on both sides for this purpose, who will be empowered to decide and insert therein, such amendments as experience shall prove to be desirable and unanimously agreeable to both parties. Agreements become effective when both alliances agree in writing and then update their fact book entries or dispatches. If agreement has not been reached at the end of fourteen days the original terms remain in force.

An alliance may withdraw from this treaty on one years notice given in writing.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

DONE at Dofurceistan, in Vasilissomnian & English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence of interpretation, the Vasilissomnian text shall prevail.