The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the
Philippines and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO)
(hereinafter referred to as "the Parties"),

Recognizing the joint interest and benefit in strengthening
technical cooperation within the framework of friendship and in
pursuance of their desire to cooperate in defined areas.

Have decided to establish the following arrangements which will
be implemented by the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and
Inspection of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan and the
Bureau of Product Standards of the Department of Trade and
Industry of the Philippines:

PARAGRAPH 1
PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES

The Parties decide that this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
will be implemented with the principles and objectives of:
(a) Eliminating technical barriers to trade and promoting
economic relations between Taiwan and the Philippines;
(b) Reaffirming their commitment to the principles and norms
adopted by international organizations for standardization
and conformity assessment;
(c) Developing cooperation in the field of standardization and
conformity assessment; and
(d) Being guided by their joint economic interests.

PARAGRAPH 2
SCOPE

The Parties will within their competence cooperate and perform
joint activities in the field of standardization and conformity
assessment on the basis of additional agreements, the minutes
and programs as the following:
(a) Harmonizing national standards with international standards
in order to promote technical, scientific and economic
cooperation;
(b) Establishing and developing direct relationships between the
scientific and research institutes of both Parties regarding
standardization and conformity assessment;
(c) Providing information within an appropriate period of time
on any significant changes occurring in certification
procedures and on the trends of national standardization and
related regulations; and
(d) Conducting activities on the joint recognition of the
results of conformity assessment procedures.
The Parties will act effectively to promote technical
cooperation with a view towards mutual recognition of each
other's technical competence in the above field and will
encourage cooperation in any other matters of joint interest.

PARAGRAPH 3
EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

The Parties will exchange the following technical information:
(a) Normative documents, information and periodicals published
by the respective national standardization bodies,
catalogues of national standards, separate national
standards, information on regulations, conformity assessment
procedures and consumer product safety;
(b) General information and publications on certification,
accreditation of testing laboratories and certification
bodies; and
(c) Information and materials regarding the training programs
and the upgrading of specialists qualifications in the field
of standardization and conformity assessment.
The exchange of delegations of specialists and trainers to
study, share experience and conduct consultations or training of
specialists in the field of standardization and conformity
assessment will be carried out according to the separate
arrangements and protocols, according to PARAGRAPH 7 of this MOU.

PARAGRAPH 4
COSTS AND EXPENSES

The costs and expenses of international travel, local
transportation and subsistence during exchange of specialists
are described in the Annex which is attached to this MOU.
Financing of the various activities initiated under this MOU
will be jointly arranged on a case-by-case basis.

PARAGRAPH 5
CONFIDENTIALITY

The Parties will insure confidentiality concerning documents and
information received within the framework of this MOU. The
aforementioned documents and information can only be transferred
to a third Party after gaining the written consent of the Party
that provided the documents and information.

PARAGRAPH 6
COOPERATION IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Parties decide to work within the framework of international
and regional organizations such as World Trade Organization
(WTO), International Organization for Standardization (ISO),
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC), etc., to promote their positions
and increase their roles regarding international activities in
the field of standardization and conformity assessment.

PARAGRAPH 7
IMPLEMENTATION

Both Parties decide to use this MOU as the basis for negotiating
a mutual recognition agreement/arrangement on conformity
assessment results for electrical and electronic products when
it is appropriate.
For further realizing the provisions of this MOU, the Parties
may negotiate and conclude additional protocols or exchange of
notes.

PARAGRAPH 8
DISPUTES AND RESOLUTIONS

Any disputes arising from the interpretation or fulfillment of
this MOU will be settled by negotiations.

PARAGRAPH 9
AMENDMENT

This MOU may be amended by a written protocol or an exchange of
notes of both Parties.

PARAGRAPH 10
VALIDITY AND TERMINATION

This MOU will be valid for a period of two (2) years from the
signing date and thereafter it will be automatically renewed for
further successive periods of two (2) years each.

Either Party may terminate this MOU by providing the other Party
with a written notice at least six (6) months in advance.


Signed in duplicate in Taipei on February 12, 2009 in the
Chinese and English languages, both texts being equally valid.
In case of divergence in interpretation of this MOU, the English
text will prevail.



For Taipei Economic and For Manila Economic and
Cultural Cultural Office
Office in the Philippines
DONALD C.T. LEE ANTONIO G. BASILIO

Representative Representative

Witnessed by:
Ministry of Economic Department of Trade and
Affairs of Taiwan Industry of the Philippines
SHENG-CHUNG LIN THOMAS G. AQUINO
Vice Minister Senior Undersecretary





Annex
1. The costs and expenses for local transportation of trainees,
as described in PARAGRAPH 3 of this MOU, will be covered by
the Party providing the training; the costs for the
international travel and subsistence of the trainees will be
covered by the sending Party.
2. The costs and expenses for international travel, local
transportation and subsistence for experts providing
consultation and training, as described in PARAGRAPH 3 of
this MOU, will be covered by the inviting Party.
3. The specific details regarding the exchange of experts and
trainees will be provided in separate arrangements and
protocols.