G/LIC/Q/RUS/2  
 
13 March 2014  
(14-1576)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Import Licensing  Original: English  
 
RUSSIAN FEDERATION IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES1 
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS FROM CA NADA, THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
JAPAN, AND THE UNITED STATES 
 
The following communication, dated 4 March 2014, is being circulated at the request of the delegations of Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States. 
 
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1.  In March 2013, we submitted questions to th e Secretariat and the Russian Federation on its 
notification to this Committee (G/LIC/N/1/RUS/1). To date, we have received no answer to our questions in G/LIC/Q/RUS/1. We call the Russian Fe deration's attention to these questions, and we 
would like to know when the government will submit its written response. 
 2.  We are disappointed that the Russian Federa tion did not attend the last ILC meeting, on 
4 October 2013. We hope to see Russia at the upcoming April 2014 meeting so we can engage 
with the Russian government on the import licensing issues of concern.  3.  As we have noted on a number of occasions, we remain troubled that the Russian Federation 
has failed to respond to the Questionnaire on Import Licensing Procedures under Article 7.3 of the 
Agreement, which was due on 22 November 2012, 90 days after accession. The one-year anniversary of Russia's WTO accession has long passed, and we still have not seen this document. 
Meanwhile, 30 September was the date for all WTO Members to submit their Article 7.3 
Questionnaire responses to the Committee. The Russian Federation has also missed this deadline. When and how will Russia address this lack of tran sparency and provide the required notifications? 
 
4.  We noted that there are a number of other laws and regulations regarding the government's import licensing procedures, including those wh ich Russia implements as part of the Customs 
Union with Kazakhstan and Belarus, that do not appear to have been notified. We are deeply 
troubled by this apparent lack of transparen cy. When will Russia provide these requested 
documents to the Import Licensing Committee–prefera bly in English–in accordance with Article 1.4 
of the Import Licensing Procedures Agreement? 
 
5.  In addition to requesting full transparency with respect to Russia's legal regime on import licensing as contained in our written questions (G/LIC/Q/RUS/1), the United States subsequently 
raised the issue of a specific licensing regime that was apparently imposed on 23 August 2012, 
after Russia became a WTO Member. We called to the Committee's (and Russia's) attention the Eurasian Economic Commission's (EEC) issuance of Decision No. 143: "Measures to protect the economic interests of producers of stainless steel pipes in the Customs Union," establishing an 
import licensing regime to regulate a quota on certain pipe products. We have seen no notification 
to the Committee of import licenses to administer any such quotas. As we noted in April 2013, we are concerned that this licensing programme raises questions under Article 3 of the Import 
Licensing Procedures Agreement and we are furt her concerned that the quotas raise questions 
with respect to the GATT 1994. We again call on the Russian Federation to notify properly the 
EEC Decision No. 143 to the ILC, and to provide copi es of the Decision, preferably in English, to 
the Secretariat at the same time, in accordance with the Agreement on Import Licensing 
Procedures. 
                                               
1 See Understanding on procedures for th e Review of Notifications (G/LIC/4). G/LIC/Q/RUS/2 
 
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  6.  In sum, in the interests of transparency, we  request that the Russian Federation review its 
import licensing regime, notify all required information regarding its import licensing requirements, and provide translated copies of government rules, regulations, etc. to the Secretariat.  
7.  We also have questions about Russia's import licensing regime for products with cryptographic 
capabilities. On 15 May 2013, the EEC amended the regulati ons governing the import licensing 
regime for products with cryptographic capabilities. We have not seen any notification to the WTO 
of these amendments. Moreover, notwithstanding these amendments, it is not clear that the 
EEC regulations establishing the import licensing procedures for products with cryptographic capabilities accurately reflect Russia's WTO commitments in this regard. Specifically, the definition of "mass market goods" contained in Annex 1 of the regulations differs in significant ways from the 
definition of "mass market goods" contained in Table 29 of Russia's Working Party Report. We do 
not agree with Russia's divergence from the Working Party Report language and have raised these concerns directly with Russia. Please advise the Import Licensing Committee when Russia plans to 
revert to the agreed upon language in the Workin g Party Report. In addition, please describe the 
steps Russia is taking to address our concerns regarding its import licensing regime for products with cryptographic capabilities. 
 
8.  Russian Federation government sources have acknowledged that the average processing time for an import license (including both the "permit" from the FSB and the license from the Ministry of 
Industry and Trade) is 75 working days. Article 3(5)(f) of the Import Licensing Procedures 
Agreement provides that applications should be processed in not more than 60 days. Please 
describe for the Committee the steps that the Russian Federation is taking to reduce the processing time of these import license applications. 
 
9.  Finally, on 15 October 2013, the Eurasian Economic Commission issued Decision No. 223 imposing quotas on combine harvesters imported into the Russian Federation (as well as into 
Belarus and Kazakhstan). Annex 2 of that Decision describes the steps importers must take to 
obtain an import license for a share of the quota volume as well as the methodology for allocating those volumes. Article 5.1 of the Agreement on Im port Licensing Procedures states that "Members 
which institute licensing procedures or changes in  these procedures shall notify the Committee of 
such within 60 days of publication".  It appears that the Russian Federation has not submitted a 
notification to this Committee of the import licensing regime in place for subject combine harvesters. Therefore, we call on the Russian Fe deration to properly notify EEC Decision No. 223 
and to provide copies of the Decision to the Secretariat at the same time, in accordance with the 
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures. We also understand that the Russian Federation intends to publish revised quota distribution rules by 1 March. We trust that the Russian 
Federation will promptly noti fy this revision as well. 
 
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