Chapter VIII TAX INCENTIVES TO INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT Article XIX The Contracting States, with a view to establishing uniform tax incentives to industrial development, agree to ensure as soon as possible a reasonable equaliza tion of the relevant laws and regulations in force. To that end they shall, within a period of six months from the date of entry into force of the present Treaty, sign a special protocol specifying the amount and type of exemptions, the time limits thereof, the conditions under which they shall be granted, the systems of industrial classification and the principles and procedures governing their application. The Executive Council shall be responsible for coordinating the application of the tax incentives to industrial development. Chapter IX Article XX The Central American Economic Council, composed of the Ministers of Economic Affairs of the several Contracting Parties, is hereby established for the purpose of integrating the Central American economies and co-ordinating the economic policy of the Contracting States. The Central American Economic Council shall meet as often as required or at the request of any of the Contracting Parties. It shall examine the work of the Executive Council and adopt such resolutions as it may deem appropriate. The Central American Economic Council shall be the organ responsible for facilitating implementation of the resolutions on economic integration adopted by the Central American Economic Co-operation Committee. It may seek the advice of Central American and international technical organs. Article XXI For the purpose of applying and administering the present Treaty and of undertaking all the negotiations and work designed to give practical effect to the Central American economic union, an Executive Council, consisting of one titular official and one alternate appointed by each Contracting Party, is hereby established. The Executive Council shall meet as often as required, at the request of one of the Contracting Parties or when convened by the Permanent Secretariat, and its resolutions shall be adopted by majority vote. In the event of disagreement, recourse will be had to the Central American Economic Council in order that the latter may give a final ruling. Before ruling on a matter, the Executive Council shall determine unanimously whether the matter is to be decided by a concurrent vote of all its members or by a simple majority. Article XXII The Executive Council shall take such measures as it may deem necessary to ensure fulfilment of the commitments entered into under this Treaty and to settle problems arising from the implementation of its provisions. It may likewise propose to the Governments the signing of such additional multilateral agreements as may be required in order to achieve the purpose of Central American economic integration, including a customs union in respect of their territories. The Executive Council shall assume, on behalf of the Contracting Parties, the functions assigned to the Central American Trade Commission in the Multilateral Treaty on Free Trade and Central American Economic Integration and the Central American Agreement on the Equalization of Import Duties and Charges, as well as those assigned to the Central American Industrial Integration Commission in the Agreement on the Régime for Central American Integration Industries, as well as the powers and duties of the joint commissions set up under bilateral treaties in force between the Contracting Parties. Article XXIII A Permanent Secretariat is hereby instituted, as a juridical person, and shall act as such both for the Central American Economic Council and the Executive Council established under this Treaty. The Secretariat shall have its seat and headquarters in Guatemala City, capital of the Republic of Guatemala, and shall be headed by a Secretary-General appointed for a period of three years by the Central American Economic Council. The Secretariat shall establish such departments and sections as may be necessary for the performance of its functions. Its expenses shall be governed by a general budget adopted annually by the Central American Economic Council and each Contracting Party shall contribute annually to its support an amount equivalent to not less than fifty thousand United States dollars (US $50,000), payable in the respective currencies of the Signatory States. Members of the Secretariat shall enjoy diplomatic immunity. Other diplomatic privileges shall be granted only to the Secretariat and to the SecretaryGeneral. Article XXIV The Secretariat shall ensure that this Treaty, the Multilateral Treaty on Free Trade and Central American Economic Integration, the Agreement on the Régime for Central American Integration Industries, the Central American Agreement on the Equalization of Import Duties and Charges, bilateral or multilateral treaties on free trade and economic integration in force between any of the Contracting Parties, and all other agreements relating to Central American economic integration already signed or that may be signed hereafter, the interpretation of which has not been specifically entrusted to another organ, are properly executed among the Contracting Parties. The Secretariat shall ensure implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Central American Economic Council and the Executive Council established under this Treaty and shall also perform such functions as are assigned to it by the Executive Council. Its regulations shall be approved by the Economic Council. The Secretariat shall also undertake such work and studies as may be assigned to it by the Executive Council and the Central American Economic Council. In performing these duties, it shall avail itself of the studies and work carried out by other Central American and international organs and shall, where appropriate, enlist their co-operation. Chapter X GENERAL PROVISIONS The Signatory States agree not to sign unilaterally with non-Central American countries any new treaties that may affect the principles of Central American economic integration. They further agree to maintain the "Central American exception clause" in any trade agreements they may conclude on the basis of most-favoured-nation treatment with any countries other than the Contracting States. Article XXVI The Signatory States agree to settle amicably, in the spirit of this Treaty, and through the Executive Council or the Central American Economic Council, as the case may be, any differences which may arise regarding the interpretation or application of any of its provisions. If agreement cannot be reached, they shall submit the matter to arbitration. For the purpose of constituting the arbitration tribunal, each Contracting Party shall propose to the General Secretariat of the Organization of Central American States 23 the names of three magistrates from 'The Organization of Central American States came into being Dec. 21, 1951, upon the entry into force of the Charter of San Salvador, signed at San Salvador by Representatives of Costa Rica. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua Oct. 14, 1951. The text of the charter appears in the Annals of the Organization of American States, vol. IV, No. 3 (1952), pp. 353–355. its Supreme Court of Justice. From the complete list of candidates, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Central American States and the Government representatives in the Organization shall select, by drawing lots, one arbitrator for each Contracting Party, no two of whom may be nationals of the same State. The award of the arbitration tribunal shall require the concurring votes of not less than three members, and shall have the effect of res judicata for all the Contracting Parties so far as it contains any ruling concerning the interpretation or application of the provisions of this Treaty. Article XXVII The present Treaty shall, with respect to the Contracting Parties, take prece dence over the Multilateral Treaty on Free Trade and Central American Economic Integration and any other bilateral or multilateral free-trade instruments signed between the Contracting Parties; it shall not, however, affect the validity of those agreements. The provisions of the trade and economic integration agreements referred to in the previous paragraph shall be applied between the respective Contracting Parties in so far as they are not covered in the present Treaty. Pending ratification of the present Treaty by any of the Contracting Parties, or in the event of its denunciation by any of them, the trade relations of the Party concerned with the other Signatory States shall be governed by the commitments entered into previously under the existing instruments referred to in the preamble of the present Treaty. Article XXVIII The Contracting Parties agree to hold consultations in the Executive Council prior to signing any new treaties among themselves which may affect free trade. The Executive Council shall examine each case and determine the effects that the conclusion of such agreements might produce on the free-trade régime established in the present Treaty. On the basis of the Executive Council's examination, the Party which considers itself affected by the conclusion of these new treaties may adopt whatever measures the Council may recommend in order to protect its interests. Article XXIX For the purposes of customs regulations relating to free trade, the transit of goods and the application of the Central American Standard Import Tariff, the Contracting Parties shall, within a period of one year from the date of entry into force of the present Treaty, sign special protocols providing for the adoption of a Central American Standard Customs Code and the necessary transport regulations. Chapter XI FINAL PROVISIONS Article XXX This Treaty shall be submitted for ratification in each State in conformity with its respective constitutional or legislative procedures. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the General Secretariat of the Organization of Central American States." The Treaty shall enter into force, in the case of the first three States to ratify it, eight days following the date of deposit of the third instrument of ratification and, in the case of the States which ratify it subsequently, on the date of deposit of the relevant instrument. * Instruments of ratification were deposited by Guatemala, May 5, 1961, El Salvador, May 8, 1961, Nicaragua, May 26, 1961, and Honduras, Apr. 27, 1962. Article XXXI This Treaty shall remain effective for a period of twenty years from the date of its entry into force and shall be renewable indefinitely. Upon expiry of the twenty-year period mentioned in the previous paragraph, the Treaty may be denounced by any of the Contracting Parties. Denunciation shall take effect, for the denouncing State, five years after notification, and the Treaty shall remain in force among the other Contracting States so long as at least two of them remain parties thereto. Article XXXII The General Secretariat of the Organization of Central American States shall act as depository of this Treaty and shall send a certified copy thereof to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of each of the Contracting States and shall also notify them immediately of the deposit of each instrument of ratification as well as of any denunciation which may be made. When the Treaty enters into force, it shall also transmit a certified copy thereof to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the purposes of registration as set forth in Article 102 of the United Nations Charter. Article XXXIII The present Treaty shall remain open for the accession of any Central American State not originally a party thereto. Provisional article As soon as the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica formally accedes to the provisions of this Treaty," the organs hereby established shall form part of the Organization of Central American States (OCAS) by an incorporation agreement; and the OCAS shall be reorganized in such a way that the organs established by this Treaty retain all their structural and functional attributes. In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty in the City of Managua, capital of the Republic of Nicaragua, this thir teenth day of the month of December nineteen hundred and sixty. ANNEX A SCHEDULE OF GOODS SUBJECT TO SPECIAL REGIMES IN CONFORMITY WITH ARTICLE IV OF THE PRESENT TREATY [Not reprinted here; see pp. 18-45 of the source text.] ANNEX B CUSTOMS PROCEDURES [Not reprinted here; see pp. 46-47 of the source text.] CUBA 82. THE SOVIET 1961 PROGRAM OF ECONOMIC, TECHNICAL, AND CULTURAL ASSISTANCE TO CUBA: Joint Communiqué Signed at Moscow by the First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. (Mikoyan) and the Chief of the Economic Mission of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba (Guevara), December 19, 1960 (Excerpts) 26 An economic mission of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba, headed by Major Ernesto Che Guevara, was in the Soviet Union from Oct. 29 to Nov. 16, from Dec. 8 to Dec. 13, and from Dec. 18 to Dec. 20, 1960. 27 The principal task of the mission was the signing of a protocol on trade between the U.S.S.R. and the Cuban Republic for 1961, in conformity with the trade and payments agreement signed in Havana on Feb. 13, 1960. The mission had a number of meetings at which questions of trade, technical assistance and cultural relations between the two countries were discussed. The mission delegates visited several cities of the Soviet Union and many industrial enterprises, institutes and state institutions and had meetings with various officials of the country. During his stay in the Soviet Union, Major Ernesto Che Guevara, head of the Cuban economic mission, was received by N.S. Khrushchev, Chairman of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers. The Soviet government delegation at the talks was headed by A.I. Mikoyan, First Vice-Chairman of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers. The Cuban mission appreciates the sincere efforts of the Soviet Union to attain world peace, which found their principal expression in the concrete proposals on peaceful coexistence between states with differing social systems and in the clear-cut proposals on general disarmament made by N.S. Khrushchev, Chairman of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers, in the United Nations." All this is of still greater importance if one bears in mind that the country making these proposals on peaceful coexistence and disarmament is the mightiest country 20 English-language text printed in The Current Digest of the Soviet Press, vol. XII, No. 51, Jan. 18, 1961, pp. 21-23. 27 The texts of this protocol and of the other agreements referred to in the communiqué as having been signed in the course of Major Guevara's several successive visits in the Soviet Union appear not to have been made public. The trade and payments and other agreements signed at Habana on Feb. 13, 1960, appear in 369 UNTS 3-35. 28 29 See American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pp. 715–718. |