G/TBT/W/425  
 
19 January 2016  
(16-0361)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
RUSSIAN FEDERATION – MEASURE AFFECTING IMPORT OF UKRAINIAN WALLPAPER 
STATEMENT BY UKRAINE TO THE COMMITT EE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE  
4-6 NOVEMBER 2015 
The following communication, dated 15 January 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Ukraine. 
 
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  1.  Ukraine would like to raise a new concern regarding the ban on imports of wallpaper produced 
by Ukrainian industry to the Russian Federation. 
2.  The ban was imposed on 13 April 2015 by the Fe deral Service on Customers' Rights Protection 
and Human Well-being Surveillance (Rospotrebnadzor) and affected major Ukrainian producers, 
which for many years have exported over 70% of  their production to the Russian Federation 
market. The claimed ground for prohibition was a lleged incompliance with sanitary and hygienic 
norms for emission of form aldehyde and styrene.  
3.  The measure was applied by the Russian Fede ration in a non-transparent and unpredictable 
manner. There was neither information on the offi cial website of the Rospotrebnadzor, nor any 
notification to Ukraine's authorities or producers concerning the ban.  
4.  Shortly before the introduction of the ban, th e wallpaper products in question were tested in 
specialized Russian and Ukrainian laboratories accredited by the Russian Federation accreditation 
body with regard to product quality and complia nce with the sanitary and technical regulation 
requirements of the Russian Federation. Recent certificates of conformity were issued to the 
Ukrainian producers for the period March 2015 – March 2018 and confirmed compliance with 
technical regulations including requirements for compounds emission such as formaldehyde and styrene. (In particular, with Common Sanitary and Epidemiologic and Hygienic Requirements to 
Goods Subject to Sanitary and Epidemiologic Control, Custom Union Commission Decision 
No. 299). 
5.  Ukraine reminds the Russian Federation of its request for information and justification of the 
measure which was sent on 17 July 2015 to the Russian TBT/SPS EP in accordance with provisions 
of Articles 10 and 2.5 of the TBT Agreement. Howeve r, after more than 3 months there is still no 
response from the Russian TBT/SPS EP with regard to justification of the measure or any official results of examinations/tests provided in support of the alleged inconsistency of the Ukrainian 
products with the sanitary and technical regulation requirements of the Russian Federation. 
6.  Regretfully this measure follows many other bans on Ukrainian products imposed by the 
Russian Federation during the last two years. These bans are still in place – and without any 
justifications – even though these STCs have been repeatedly raised and discussed at TBT 
Committee meetings. 
7.  Ukraine believes that the import ban on wallpaper – as well as previous bans on Ukrainian 
products (confectionary, dairy, beer and juice products, salt, railway transport) – is not justified, 
applied in a non-transparent and unpredictable manne r, discriminatory with regard to products of 
Ukrainian origin and with a view of creating unnece ssary obstacles to trade. As such, this measure 
is inconsistent with provisions of the Articles 2.1, 2.2 and 5.1 of the TBT Agreement.  G/TBT/W/425 
 
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  8.  Ukraine calls upon the Russian Federation to immediately lift this trade ban in order to comply 
with the provisions of the TBT Agreement. 
 
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