G/TRIMS/Q/RUS/7  
 
8 November 2017  
(17-6057) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Trade -Related Investment Measures  Original: English  
 
 RUSSIAN FEDERATION – MEASURES IMPLEMENTIN G  
RUSSIA'S  IMPORT SUBSTITUTION POLICY  
REPLIES TO QUESTIONS1 FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION  
The following communication, dated 7 November  2017, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the Russian Federation . 
 
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Question 1  
 
In EU's understanding the Federal Law 223 -FZ "On purchases of goods and services by 
certain types of legal entities", as amended by Law 249 -FZ of 13 July 2015, covers, on 
the one hand, purchases by entities covered by Articl e 1(2) of the Law, i.e. essentially 
companies in which the State or State entities hold an interest of over 50%, (hereafter 
"State Owned Enterprises" or "SOEs") and, on the other hand, purchases by any legal 
person using State funding for implementation of  investment projects that are included 
in a specific registry (Articles 1(5) and 3.1  of the Law). Is this understanding correct?  
 
 
Question 2  
 
With regard to purchases by SOEs, it is the EU's understanding that, accordi ng to 
Article  3 (8) of the Law, the g overnment of the Russian Federation may require priority 
for goods of Russian origin and for works and services performed or rendered by 
Russian persons. Could the Russian  Federation confirm this understanding and indicate 
the conditions and the procedures  and the criteria used for requiring such priority. 
Please also indicate any implementing acts.   
 
Question 3  
 
With regard to purchases by SOEs, according to Article 3 (8) of the Law, the government 
of the Russian Federation may require the participation b y small and medium -sized 
enterprises (hereafter "SMEs") in procurement tenders. Could the Russian Federation 
indicate the exact definition of SMEs as concerned by this provision, whether SMEs shall 
be registered in Russia to be eligible, if foreign ownersh ip is limited to 49% to be 
eligible and if there is indeed an allocation of 18% of share for SMEs in the purchases by 
SOEs with a turnover above 10 billion USD?  
 
Question 4  
 
With regard to purchases for investment projects, according to Article 3.1(4) of t he Law, 
the government of the Russian Federation determines the procedure for selecting 
investment projects for inclusion in a registry. In our understanding this procedure was 
determined in the resolution of the government of the R ussian Federation No 151 6 of 
30 December 2015. Could the Russian  Federation indicate the conditions for being 
included in a registry and if the list of investment projects is public?   
                                                
1 G/TRIMS/Q/RUS/5.   G/TRIMS/Q/RUS/7  
 
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  Question 5  
 
With regard to purchases for investment projects, according to Article 3.1(7) of th e Law, 
the government of the Russian Federation may determine particular types of products 
that may not be purchased by the entities concerned outside the Russian Federation 
without approval of such purchases by the coordination authority.  
 
a. Could the R ussian Federation confirm that the goods listed by the 
governmental orders n°2781 -r of 29 D ecember 2015 and n°2744 -r of 
29 December 2015 cannot be purchased abroad and on what basis the 
criteria for this list was established?  
b. Could the Russian Federatio n indicate the procedure and criteria (and their 
legal basis) based on which the coordination authority grants or refuses to 
grant its approval for such purchases?  
c. Please indicate whether the approval procedure also applies to products 
other than those listed in the orders n°2781 and n°2744.   
 
Question 6  
 
In EU's understanding, pursuant to Article 3.1(9) -(11) of the Law, entities implementing 
investment projects are required to establish lists of products from the machine building 
industry required for i mplementation of investment projects and submit such lists "for 
the consideration of" the coordination authority. Those lists should in particular include 
information on whether the products originate in a foreign country and on operational 
characteristics  and estimated prices of such products. Please explain the rationale and 
operation of this requirement.  
 
 
Reply  
 
Clarifications regarding purchases by State Owned Enterprises ha ve been provided by the 
Russian  Federation during the Trade Policy Review and can be found in document 
WT/TPR/M/345/Add.1.  
 
 
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