G/TBT/W/558  
 
9 July 2018  
(18-4301) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 RUSSIAN FEDERATION — RULES OF CEMENT CERT IFICATION  
STATEMENT BY THE EUR OPEAN UNION TO THE C OMMITTEE ON TECHNICA L BARRIERS TO TRADE  
20 AND 21 JUNE  2018 
The following communication, dated 9 July 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 refer to 
its previous statements on this issue.  
2.  Russian notificat ion G/TBT/N/RUS/48 of the Government Resolution No. 930 of 03.09.2015 "On 
amendments of the Single List of Goods Subject to Mandatory Certification" added cement to the 
list of goods subject to mandatory certification. Russian notification G/TBT/N/RUS/49 c ontained 
the "Order of Federal Agency for Technical Regulation (Rosstandart) "Conformity assessment. 
Rules of cement certification", setting out the relevant rules for cement certification.  
3.  Both measures were adopted and in force at the time of their noti fications. 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.  
4.  The EU deeply regrets not to see any improve ment and even worse that Russia continues 
adopting restricting measures that are disproportionate, unjustified and not notified to the WTO 
before their entry into force  
5.  As regards the situation on the ground, the EU would like to recall that, since the in troduction 
of the mandatory certification for cement, the EU exports of cement have been blocked – with the 
exception of white cement, needed for Russian industry. The EU requests Russia to remove these 
trade restrictive practices which are a  the consequen ce of the following main restrictions.  
6.  First, it still remains extremely difficult to obtain the necessary certificates of conformity. EU 
importing companies (in Russia) having requested certificates to Russian competent authorities 
face unjustified refusa ls – no justification is provided on the ground for not delivering the 
necessary certificates. In a very limited number of cases, where certificates have been issued, the 
delivered and valid certificates have not been recognised and accepted by the Russian  customs 
authorities, thus blocking the access to the Russian market.  
7.  Therefore, the EU calls upon Russia to share with the WTO members a list of bodies that are 
authorised to deliver such certificates. The EU also requests these bodies to provide justific ation 
and state the reasons for refusal to issue the certificate of conformity when such refusal takes 
place.  
8.  The EU also calls upon Russia to inform its customs that valid certificates cannot be rejected at 
the border and to ensure that the EU exporters do not face unjustified refusals at the border.  G/TBT/W/558  
 
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  9.   The second restriction concerns the inspection controls, as indicated in section 8.2 fourth 
sentence of the notified GOST standard. According to this provision, the certification body conducts 
additional ins pection control of each batch of cement supplied for imports from third countries.  
This includes sampling at the border, testing and control of all characteristics set out in the 
standard according to which the certificate of conformity was granted. On the  basis of the results, 
the certification body has to make a decision whether to confirm, suspend or terminate the 
certificate of conformity.  
10.  The EU understands that this provision sets a requirement for "additional inspection control" 
of each cement batch arriving in Russia.  
11.  Could Russia please explain what is meant by shipment (whether it would mean each wagon, 
whole train or yearly productio n); by whom and how these samples will be taken from imported 
cement; how the tests will be performed, their length and whether after sampling and testing, the 
imported cement will be allowed to proceed further to the unloading point and/or to the end 
consumer or whether the imported cement will be held at the border until the results of the testing 
are known and a decision on the certificate of conformity is taken which we understand takes on 
average 28 days.  
12.  In addition, it appears that this aspect has a lso been addressed on 11 July 2017 by the 
Russian Federal Anti -monopoly Service (FAS) in a warning sent to Rosstandard regarding the need 
to avoid undertaking any action that would involve a discriminatory treatment in the trade of 
cement from foreign supp liers. 
13.  The EU would like to ask Russia to inform about the actions that have been undertaken to 
follow up this opinion.  
14.  In particular the EU would like to ask the Russian Federation to provide information 
concerning possible amendments to the relevant stan dards, in terms of substance, as well as the 
timing of any change to come in this regime. We also would be grateful if Russia could tell us 
whether it plans to react to the concerns of the WTO Members.  
15.  Thirdly, given that no reply has been provided by Russ ia in the previous TBT Committee 
meetings, the EU would like to ask Russia once again for the reasons and justification for 
additional requirements for conformity assessment which affect only imported products. – The 
GOST -R standard has been amended in Jan uary 2017, introducing additional obstacles for 
importers of cement such as extension from 10 working days to 30 days for the response to an 
application for a conformity certificate; requirement for a separate certificate for each type of 
cement; requireme nt that one shipment is defined by one type and quality of cement and has to 
be tested according to the relevant standard; requirement to have the quality of cement producer 
proven and confirmed by an authority that is not identified (arbitrary) etc.).  
16.  The EU reiterates its request to the Russian Federation to suspend these measures, leading to 
a de facto ban of cement imports of EU origin, to justify the 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, and to confirm that the strength test does not have to be performed for certified cement as 
it leads to it being blocked at the border. The EU also reiterates its request to be informed about 
the on -going discussio n 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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