AMENDMENTTOTHEFIRSTAGREEMENTONTRADENEGOTIATIONSAMONGDEVELOPINGMEMBERCOUNTRIESOFTHEECONOMICANDSOCIALCOMMISSIONFORASIAANDTHEPACIFIC(BANGKOKAGREEMENT)ASIA-PACIFICTRADEAGREEMENTPREAMBLERECOGNIZINGtheurgentneedtotakeactiontoimplementatradeexpansionprogrammeamongthedevelopingmembercountriesoftheEconomicandSocialCommissionforAsiaandthePacific(ESCAP)pursuanttothedecisionscontainedintheKabulDeclarationoftheCouncilofMinistersonAsianEconomicCo-operationandwithintheframeworkoftheAsianTradeExpansionProgrammewhichwasadoptedbytheIntergovernmentalCommitteeonaTradeExpansionProgrammecreatedundertheKabulDeclaration;GUIDEDbytheprinciplescontainedintheNewDelhiDeclarationadoptedatthethirty-firstsessionoftheEconomicandSocialCommissionforAsiaandthePacific;REALIZINGthattheexpansionoftradecouldactasapowerfulstimulustothedevelopmentoftheirnationaleconomies,byexpandinginvestmentandproductionopportunitiesthroughbenefitstobegainedfromspecializationandeconomiesofscale,thusprovidinggreateropportunitiesofemploymentandsecuringhigherlivingstandardsfortheirpopulations;MINDFULoftheimportanceofexpandingaccessonfavourabletermsfortheirgoodstoeachother’smarketsandofdevelopingtradearrangementswhichpromotetherationalandoutward-orientedexpansionofproductionandtrade;NOTINGthattheinternationalcommunityhasfullyrecognizedtheimportanceofencouragingtheestablishmentofpreferencesamongdevelopingcountriesattheinternational,regionalandsubregionallevels,particularlythroughtheresolutionsoftheGeneralAssemblyoftheUnitedNationsestablishingtheInternationalDevelopmentStrategyfortheSecondUnitedNationsDevelopmentDecadeandtheDeclarationontheEstablishmentofaNewInternationalEconomicOrderandtheProgrammeofActionfortheEstablishmentofaNewInternationalEconomicOrder;theConcertedDeclarationonTradeExpansion,EconomicCo-operationandRegionalIntegrationamongDevelopingCountriesadoptedatUNCTADII;aswellasPartIVoftheGeneralAgreementonTariffsandTradeandArticleVoftheGeneralAgreementonTradeinServicesanddecisionsmadeinpursuancethereof;1NOTINGFURTHERthatdevelopingcountrieshavealreadytakensomemajordecisionsintendedtopromotesuchtypeofpreferentialarrangementsamongthemselvessuchastheGlobalSystemofTradePreferences;CONVINCEDthattheestablishmentofpreferencesamongthedevelopingmembercountriesofESCAP,complementarytoothereffortsundertakeninotherinternationalforums,couldmakeanimportantcontributiontothedevelopmentoftradeamongdevelopingcountries;TheGovernmentsofthePeople’sRepublicofBangladesh,thePeople’sRepublicofChina,theRepublicofIndia,theLaoPeople’sDemocraticRepublic,theRepublicofKoreaandtheDemocraticSocialistRepublicofSriLankaHAVEAGREEDasfollows:ChapterI–GENERALPROVISIONSArticle1DefinitionsForthepurposesofthisAgreement,thefollowingdefinitionsshallapply:1)“ParticipatingState”meansaStatewhichhasconsentedtobeboundbytheAgreementbydepositionofitsinstrumentofaccessionorratificationwiththeExecutiveSecretaryofESCAP.2)“OriginalParticipatingStates”meansthePeople’sRepublicofBangladesh,theRepublicofIndia,theLaoPeople’sDemocraticRepublic,theRepublicofKoreaandtheDemocraticSocialistRepublicofSriLanka.3)“DevelopingmembercountriesofESCAP”meansthosecountriesincludedinparagraphs3and4ofthetermsofreferenceoftheEconomicandSocialCommissionforAsiaandthePacific,includinganyfutureamendmentsthereto.4)“Leastdevelopedcountry”meansacountrydesignatedassuchbytheUnitedNations.5)“Products”meansallproductsincludingmanufacturesandcommoditiesintheirraw,semi-processedandprocessedforms.6)“Likeproduct”isaproductwhichisidenticaltotheproductunderconsiderationor,intheabsenceofsuchaproduct,anotherproductwhich,althoughnotidentical,hascharacteristicscloselyresemblingthoseoftheproductunderconsideration.7)“Tariffs”meanscustomsdutiesincludedinthenationaltariffschedulesoftheParticipatingStates.28)“Borderchargesandfees”meansborderchargesandfees,otherthantariffs,onforeigntradetransactionswithatariff-likeeffectwhichareleviedsolelyonimports,butarenotindirecttaxesandchargeswhichareleviedinthesamemanneronlikedomesticproducts.Importchargescorrespondingtospecificservicesrenderedarenotconsideredborderchargesandfees.9)“Non-tariffmeasures”meansanymeasures,regulationsorpractices,otherthantariffsandborderchargesandfees,theeffectofwhichistorestrictimportsortosignificantlydistorttrade.10)“Marginofpreference”meansthepercentagedifferencebetweentheMost-Favoured-Nation(MFN)rateofdutyandthepreferentialrateofdutyforthelikeproduct,andnottheabsolutedifferencebetweenthoserates.Thus,Marginofpreference=(MFNduty–tariffrateconcededundertheAgreement)100(percent)MFNduty11)“Valueoftheconcessions”meanstheextentofbenefitsreceivedbyotherParticipatingStatesfromthetariff/non-tariffpreferencesgivenbyeachParticipatingStatethroughitsNationalListofConcessionsagreeduponunderthisAgreement.Inthecaseoftariffpreferences,thevalueoftheconcessionsshallbedeemedtobepreservedifmarginsofpreferencearemaintained.12)“Seriousinjury”meanssignificantdamagetodomesticproducersoflikeorsimilarproductsresultingfromasubstantialincreaseofpreferentialimportsinsituationswhichcausesubstantiallossesintermsofearnings,pr