G/TBT/W/572  
 
29 November 2018  
(18-7550) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
RUSSIAN FEDERATION — RULES OF CEMENT CER TIFICATION  
STATEMENT BY THE EUR OPEAN UNION TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
14 AND 15  NOVEMBER  2018 
The following communication, dated 22  November 2018, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the European Union . 
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1.  The EU raised this issue in the previous meetings of the TBT Committee and would like to refer 
to its previous statements on this issue.  
2.  Both Russian notifications G/TBT/N/RUS/48 and G/TBT/N/RUS/49 referred to the measures that 
were adopted and entered into force at the time of their notification. The EU therefore reiterates its 
request to Russia to suspend both measures and to re -notify them  under the TBT Agreement at a 
draft stage, when WTO Members' comments could still be taken into account.  
3.  The EU would like to underline that its comments on these two measures sent to the Russian 
Federation in May and June 2016 were never replied to. The E U remains concerned with the lack of 
any improvement of the situation. The EU deeply regrets that Russia continues to adopt restricting 
measures in the area of cement certification that are disproportionate, unjustified and are not 
notified to the WTO befo re their entry into force. To our regret, our repeated efforts to solve this 
issue though bilateral contacts failed.   
4.  As regards the situation on the ground, the EU would like to recall that, since the introduction of 
the mandatory certification for cemen t, the EU exports of cement have been blocked – with the 
exception of white cement, necessary for Russian industry. The EU requests Russia to remove the 
trade restrictive practices, which are a consequence of restrictions introduced by these measures 
and w ere described by the EU in detail in its previous interventions in this Committee.  
5.  The EU would like to once more call upon Russia to share with the WTO members a list of bodies 
authorised to deliver certificates of conformity. The EU requests that these b odies provide 
justification and state the reasons for refusal to issue certificates of conformity.  
6.  The EU also calls upon Russia to inform its customs authorities that valid certificates of conformity 
cannot be rejected at the border. The EU urges the Rus sian authorities to ensure that the EU 
exporters do not face unjustified refusals at the border.  
7.   The EU would like to request Russia to provide an explanation, in the context of inspection 
controls, of what exactly is meant by shipment (whether it means each wagon, a whole train or 
yearly cement production); of how the samples would be taken from imp orted cement, and by 
whom. The EU would like to know how the tests would be performed, what is their planned length, 
and whether - after sampling and testing - the imported cement would be allowed to proceed further 
to the unloading point and/or to the end  consumer, or whether the imported cement would be held 
at the border until the results of the testing are known and a decision on the certificate of conformity 
is taken which, as the EU understands, currently takes on average 28 days.  G/TBT/W/572  
 
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  8.  On 11 July 2017, th e Russian Federal Anti -monopoly Service (FAS) sent a warning to Rosstandard 
regarding the need to avoid undertaking any action that would involve a discriminatory treatment 
in the trade of cement from foreign suppliers.  
9.  The EU would like to receive informa tion about the actions that followed this opinion.  
10.  In particular, the EU would like to ask the Russian Federation to provide information concerning 
possible amendments to the relevant standards, in terms of substance, as well as the timing of any 
change to  come in this regime.  
11.  Given that no reply was provided by Russia in the previous TBT Committee meetings, the EU 
would like to ask Russia once more to state the reasons and justification for additional requirements 
for conformity assessment affecting only the imported products.  
12.  In January 2017 the GOST -R standard was amended. It introduced additional obstacles for 
importers of cement, such as an extension from 10 working days to 30 days for the response to an 
application for a conformity certificate; a req uirement for a separate certificate for each type of 
cement; a requirement for one shipment to be defined by one type and quality of cement, tested 
according to the relevant standard; and a requirement for proof of the quality of cement produced, 
proven an d confirmed by an unidentified authority.  
13.  The EU reiterates its request to the Russian Federation to suspend the measures that led to a 
de facto ban of cement imports of EU origin and to justify current additional testing processes at the 
border for each cement batch exported to the Russian Federa tion by the EU in light of the TBT rules, 
as well as to confirm that the strength test does not have to be performed for certified cement, given 
that it leads to it being blocked at the border.  
14.  The EU also reiterates its request to be informed about the o n-going discussions on possible 
amendments of these measures, both on the content of amendments, as well as on the planned 
timetable for their introduction.  
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