WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 26 
 
 
III. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE 
(1) INTRODUCTION  
1. Since its last Trade Policy Review (TPR), in 1999, Romania has continued to liberalize its 
trade regime, with a focus on export promotion, in cluding free zones. In addition, Romania has other 
incentives programmes for direct investments with significant impact on the economy, industrial 
parks, disadvantaged zones, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The incentives system 
comprises, inter alia , duty and tax concessions, and state aid. Romania also promotes investment 
(domestic and foreign) at the local level. 
2. Romania ceased to apply its import surcharge as from 1 January 2001, and its ASYCUDA fee 
was eliminated at the end of 2004. Therefore, goods  imported into Romania may now be subject to 
four types of duty: customs tariffs; excise duties;  VAT, with a standard rate of 19%; and a 0.5% 
customs commission, which does not apply to prefer ential trading partners. The tariff structure has 
been simplified; the simple av erage MFN tariff rate declined from 19.8% in 1999 to 17.5% in 2005 
(Table III.1). Applied and bound tariffs are entirely ad valorem , but this will change once Romania 
joins the EC, since it will have to adopt the EC 's common external tariff. Applied tariff rates in 
agriculture are well below the bound rates, leav ing Romania margins for tariff increases within 
existing bindings. Romania has also undertaken minimum access commitments through tariff quotas 
on twelve categories of agricultural products. However,  as applied MFN tariffs have been lower than 
even bound in-quota tariffs, its MFN tariff quotas do not apply. 
Table III.1 
Structure of MFN tariffs in Romania, 1999-05 
(Per cent) 
  1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
1.   Bound tariff lines (% of all tariff lines) 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
2.   Duty-free tariff lines (% of all tariff lines) 5.5 9.5 9.4 9.7 10.2 10.7 10.8 
3.   Non- ad valorem  tariffs (% of all tariff lines) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
4.   Tariff quotas (% of all tariff lines) 2.0 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.1 
5.   Non- ad valorem  tariffs with no AVEs (% of all tariff lines) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 
6.   Simple average applied rate 19.8 19.3 19.3 19.0 18.5 18.0 17.5 
 Agricultural products (WTO definition)a 34.0 32.9 33.2 31.7 30.1 28.2 27.9 
 Non-agricultural products (WTO definition)b 16.3 15.9 15.9 15.8 15.6 15.4 14.9 
 Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing (ISIC 1) 16.9 16.6 16.9 17.3 16.9 16.7 16.2 
 Mining and quarrying (ISIC 2) 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.2 
 Manufacturing (ISIC 3) 20.2 19.7 19.7 19.3 18.8 18.2 17.7 
7.   Simple average bound rate 40.0 39.8 39.1 38.6 38.0 37.6 37.7 
 Agricultural products (WTO definition)a 134.2 132.0 129.8 126.6 123.7 121.0 121.5 
 Non-agricultural products (WTO definition)b 16.3 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.1 
 Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing (ISIC 1) 61.8 59.8 58.9 56.2 54.4 52.8 52.6 
 Mining and quarrying (ISIC 2) 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.4 5.5 
 Manufacturing (ISIC 3) 39.0 39.0 38.3 37.9 37.4 37.1 37.2 
8  Domestic tariff "spikes" (% of all tariff lines)c 2.9 1.7 1.7 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.4 
9.   International tariff "peaks" (% of all tariff lines)d 51.9 51.2 51.4 51.1 50.3 49.2 46.9 
10.   Overall standard deviation of applied rates 17.9 17.9 17.9 15.5 14.5 13.3 13.4 
11.   "Nuisance" applied rates (% of all tariff lines)e 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.4 
a WTO Agreement on Agriculture. 
b Exclude petroleum. 
c Domestic tariff spikes are defined as those exceeding three times the overall simple average applied rate (indicator 6). 
d International tariff peaks are defined as those exceeding 15%. 
e Nuisance rates are those greater than zero, but less than or equal to 2%. 
Source:  WTO Secretariat calculations , based on data provided by the Romanian authorities. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 27 
 
 
3. Under its trade agreements, Romania provides ta riff preferences to 38 partners, including the 
25 EC member States. In an effort to simplify and harmonize its tax system with the EC's, Romania recently modified its legislation on excise duties and on VAT. Romania's non-tariff measures are basically aligned on the EC's. In line with its commitments under the WTO and the EC, Romania has 
redrafted or amended legislation in many areas, including customs, import licensing, standards and 
technical regulations, government procurement, and intellectual property righ ts. In general, import 
licences are maintained on h ealth, sanitary, phytosanitary, and environmental grounds, or under 
international conventions to which Romania is a si gnatory. It has not modified its contingency trade 
remedies legislation since the entry into force of  the WTO; Romania has never imposed contingency 
trade measures.  
4. Recognizing the need to increase efficiency a nd reduce the pressure on scarce resources, the 
Government initiated a reinvigorated privatizati on programme in many economic activities, including 
banking, transportation, energy, and telecommunica tions. Nevertheless, the Government's direct 
influence on the economy, mainly through state-ow ned enterprises (SOEs), remains substantial. A 
number of these SOEs are sheltered from competition,  and some remain a drain on public revenue.  
(2) M
EASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING IMPORTS  
(i) Registration and documentation 
5. All trading companies (domestic and foreign) are required to register with the National Office 
of the Register of Commerce (NORC), which is under  the Ministry of Justice, and the local taxation 
office. Registration costs about RON 305.1 Since its last TPR, Romania has made progress in 
streamlining and simplifying the registration of companies, notably by establishing a "one-stop-
office" in 2001. New standard forms have also been developed to separate registration from the 
authorization of companies.2 As a result, the average time for re gistration in the Trade Register and 
fiscal registration of a company has been reduced fro m 20 to 3 working days (5 working days in the 
case of amendment), provided authorization is not  required from other public authorities (e.g. for 
banking, insurance). The share of newly register ed companies with the NORC rose from 8.1% in 
2000 to 14.2% in 2003, and the total number of active enterprises has b een increasing since 2000.3 
6. The Commercial Register Law (No. 26/1990 , as amended), and the Commercial Company 
Law (No. 31/1990, as amended), regulate the registra tion of companies. The Commercial Register 
Law was amended in November 2003 to, inter alia , improve the organization of the NORC, and to 
extend the silent approval procedure related to the registration of companies. In addition, foreign 
citizens are now exempt from the obligation to pr ovide a fiscal record, while Romanian citizens 
benefit from a simplified procedure to obtain such a record.  The authorities have also continued to 
improve the legal and institutional framework for term ination of activities by companies. This is much 
                                                      
1 The cost of registering a company includes the following taxes (in RON): registration (120); judicial 
stamp fee (37); publishing the documents in the Official Journal  (31.5); registration of a trade name (30); 
certificate ascertaining the informati on from the affidavits (30); liquidation fund (17); verification of the 
availability of a trade name (10); checking the existen ce of a single head-office (10); transfer of documents to 
the Official Journal (10); and obtaining the unique code of registration from the Ministry of Finance (10). 
2 Authorization of a company is automatic, subject to a posteriori  checking. 
3 The large majority of newly registered companie s are SMEs, whose share increased to 56% of gross 
value added in 2002 (General Customs Directorat e online information. Available at: www.customs.ro/ 
vami_en/Main). WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 28 
 
 
needed as the judicial system has so  far been unable to provide an effective mechanism, in particular, 
due to the weak legal protection available for creditors.4  
7. According to Article 45 of the Customs Regula tions, the import bill of entry (bill of exit for 
exports) must be submitted for acceptance and registra tion to the customs office. It must be supported 
by the following documents: the bill of lading; in voice (original or copy), or any other document 
attesting to the customs value of the consignmen t; the customs value declaration (Annex 5 of the 
Customs Regulations); documentary evidence for a pplication of preferential customs tariffs or 
derogation from the basic customs tariff regime (e.g. certificate of origin); any other document 
required by the specific legal regulations valid for the import of the goods mentioned in the bill of 
entry (e.g. licence, certificate of confor mity); and the titleholder’s fiscal code.  Since 1993, Romania 
uses the EC's Single Administrative Document (SAD). 
(ii) Customs procedures, clearance, and valuation 
8. There have been no significant changes to the le gal structure relating to customs procedures, 
clearance, and valuation in Romania since its previous TPR; Customs Law No. 141/1997 (as amended) and its Regulations still provide the b asic legislative framework. The main problems of 
Romania's customs service are reportedly in its ad ministrative and operational capacity. However, the 
authorities are taking steps to address these issues,  including improving capacity to implement the 
acquis , accelerating clearance of goods, and reducing smuggling and corruption.
5 
9. In March 2004, a new organizational and func tional structure of the Romanian National 
Customs Authority (NCA) was adopted.6  In 2005, the NCA was tr ansferred from the National 
Control Authority to the National Agency for Fiscal  Administration under the Ministry of Public 
Finance.7 The NCA is responsible for the implementati on and administration of customs legislation, 
including the supervision of all imports and exports through the va rious customs points in Romania, 
and the prevention of customs evasion.  Customs procedures are fully automated.  
10. Since its last TPR, Romania has simplified its customs control procedures in accordance with 
Government Decision (No. 1186/2002).  Based on the nature of the product (i.e. whether it is subject 
to excise duties, specified customs regimes, and information on the commercial operator), shipments 
may now be channelled into a red line for document and physical inspection before clearance (37.3% 
of imports in the first half of 2005); a yellow line for document inspection (7.5% of imports in the same period); and a green line for automatic customs clearance (55.1% of imports).
8 The customs line 
is computer-selected on the basis of identified risks (e.g. origin, nature of the products, and past 
experience). Import clearance takes between 30 mi nutes and two hours depending on the colour line 
(if all the required documents are in order),  regardless of the mode of transport. 
                                                      
4 European Commission (2004c). According to the authorities, a Law is to be adopted by the end of 
2005 to address these concerns. 
5 In March 2004, the Customs Officers Statute was approved, containing, inter alia , provisions for 
tackling corruption among customs officers. 
6 The NCA is organized on the basis of Government Decision No. 366/2004. It is managed by a 
Secretary of State appointed by the Pr ime Minister. There are 10 regional cu stoms directorates, and 106 customs 
offices under the NCA, which is headquartered in Buch arest (General Customs Dir ectorate online information. 
Available at: www.customs.ro/vami_en/Main). 
7 Government Decision No. 165/2005. 
8 The NCA also uses a "blue" customs line, a subdivision of the "green" line, where authorities control 
at random a few specific imports (0.1% of imports in the first half of 2005). Physical and document inspection is 
carried out at inland customs offices . At the frontier, customs verifies, inter alia , the accuracy of the data 
specified in the declaration. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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11. Goods entering or exiting Romania may be assigne d to one of three customs destinations: 
placement under a customs regime, admission to a free zone9, re-export from the Romanian territory. 
A customs regime is either definitive (import, e xport, or trade in goods for personal use) or duty-
suspensive (transit, bonded warehousing, inward  processing, processing under customs control, 
temporary admission, and outward processing); admission to the latter requires NCA authorization. 
12. An importer needs a registration number from the NCA (before the first customs operation) or 
to hire a customs broker.10 The customs broker allows the commerc ial operator to avoid direct contact 
with the customs office. Accordi ng to the authorities, approximately 75% of shipments are cleared by 
customs brokers. 
13. The customs value declaration is stamped and registered by the Customs office after 
verification.  The importer is required to post a gua rantee covering the customs debt with the customs 
office in the form of a cash deposit in RON or a bank cheque.  The customs debt is settled upon 
payment of the customs duties and taxes, cancellati on of the customs value declaration, or other 
specified eventualities. Under Article 151(3) of the Customs Law, the NCA may grant exemptions 
from the obligation to guarantee the customs debt, for various categories of goods, including those 
subject to governmental agreements  or under a duty-suspension regime.11 
14. According to Article 77 of the Customs Law, the customs value is determined in accordance 
with the Agreement on Implementation of Artic le VII of the GATT 1994 (Customs Valuation 
Agreement), and includes transport, handling, an d insurance costs. Foreign currency values are 
converted to RON on the basis of the exchange  rates published daily by the National Bank of 
Romania.12 Article 109(5) and (6) of the Customs Regula tions provides rules on customs valuation for 
new and used motor vehicles, including cars, all-te rrain vehicles, trucks, motorcycles, and trailers 
(HS items 8702, 8703, 8704, 8711 and 8716).  For new cars, the customs value is based on the invoice price issued by the manufacturer or its immediate deal er.  For used cars, it is based on an order issued 
by the Minister of Public Finance, per individual t ype, age, and the vehicle's technical characteristics. 
15. The administrative appeal process fo r customs matters has two stages.
13 Appeals regarding 
customs decisions for amounts less than RON 500, 000, are taken to the competent local bodies 
established at the level of the General Directorate of  Public Finance in the area of the complainants' 
fiscal domicile; appeals regarding amounts of RON 500,000 or more, and those submitted against 
documents issued by the NCA, are to the competent bodies set up at the central level by the Minister 
of Public Finance; and appeals, submitted by  large taxpayers (i.e. with a turnover above 
RON 50 million), on amounts less than RON 500,000 , are heard by bodies established for large 
taxpayers. Importers not satisfied with appeal ru lings may contest them in the competent litigation 
court. 
                                                      
9 The "free zones" are established in the maritime and river ports of  Romania, along the Danube-Black 
Sea Canal and other navigable canals, and in the neighbourhood of frontier checkpoints.   
10 According to Article 80 of the Customs Regulations, "the customs broker is the Romanian legal 
entity established according to law which assumes the duty of performing in the interest of and on behalf of a 
third party the following operations: detailed declaration fo r imports or exports, or goods in transit, warehousing 
and other customs operations, presentation of goods with a view to customs control and payment of import/export duties to the NCA". 
11 See WTO (2000). 
12 See WTO document G/VAL/N/1/ROM/2, 14 July 1999. Under Article 76 of the Customs Law, "the 
customs value is that value used as computation basis on which is assessed the duty stipulated in the Import 
Customs Tariff of Romania". 
13 Articles 166 to 191 of the Customs Law No. 141/1997 have been abrogated through Emergency 
Ordinance No.13/2001. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 30 
 
 
16. Romania has notified the WTO that it has no laws or regulations relating to preshipment 
inspection.14 
(iii) Rules of origin 
17. Romania applies both non-preferential and preferential rules of origin.  Under Article 74 of 
the Customs Law on non-preferential rules of origin, goods originate from the country in which they 
are wholly produced or undergo subs tantial transformation, i.e. a processing that results in a change of 
tariff heading, subject to certain exceptions for ope rations that do not confer origin, or a 50% value 
added.15 
18. Romania's preferential rules of origin are set by the trade agreements and arrangements to 
which it is a party. Bilateral cumulation currently applies in its trade agreements with Moldova and 
Israel16, and in the bilateral free-trade agreements in South East Europe. Since January 1997, Romania 
has participated in the Pan-Europ ean Cumulation System; it applies the same rules to all partners in 
the system (EC, EFTA, Bulgaria in the context of CEFTA, and Turkey) (Chapter II(4)(ii)).17 The Pan-
Euro-Mediterranean Cumulation System is expected to be established in 2010 with the formation of 
the Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area. 
(iv) Tariffs, other duties, and taxes 
(a) MFN applied tariff structure 
19. Goods imported into Romania may be subject to four types of duty: customs tariffs, excise 
duties, value-added tax (VAT), and a 0.5% custom s commission (section (d) below). Romania's tariff 
is based on the 2002 Harmonized Commodity Descr iption and Coding System (HS); it comprises 
10,096 lines at the HS eight-digit level (down from 10,587 in 1999), and has 94 tariff bands. All 
tariffs, applied and bound, are ad valorem .  This will change upon Romania's accession to the EC, 
since it will have to adopt the common external tariff. 
20. Since its last TPR, Romania has reduced its applied MFN tariffs; the simple average MFN 
tariff has declined from 19.8% to 17.5% (Tables III.1 and AIII.1).  The coefficient of variation of 
0.8 reveals moderate dispersion of the tariff rates, which range from zero to 220% (Table III.2).  The 
modal (most frequent) range (21% of tariff lines) is 15-20%, a nd the modal rate is 20% (1,955 tariff 
lines, i.e. 19.4% of the total) (Chart III.1).  Th e number of duty-free items has almost doubled since 
1999 (1,090 tariff lines, or 10.8% of the total) ; these include products under the Information 
Technology Agreement (ITA), as well as some pharm aceuticals, wood pulp, glass and glassware, and 
basic food products. Mixtures of odoriferous substa nces (including alcohol solutions) and mixtures 
                                                      
14 WTO document G/PSI/N/1/Add.8, 28 September 1999. 
15 WTO (2000). 
16 Protocol 3 of the Romania-Israel  trade agreement was recently amende d in order to include Israel in 
the Pan-European Cumulation System. The amendment was forwarded to the Romanian Parliament for approval 
through Decree No. 439/2005. 
17 Implementation of the Pan-European Cumulation System has two major consequences. Firstly, semi-
finished products originating in any of the countries of the system, which are further processed or assembled in 
any other partner country, are considered as origina ting products. Secondly, the respective products can be 
traded between any of the countries involved in the system. Whether the origin of a product is retained or 
changed, depends on the degree of further processing in another country of the system. When processing is 
beyond minimal operations, the product acquires the origin of the country of its last processing. In case of minimal operations the origin is allo cated to the country that accounts for the highest value added (WTO, 2003). Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 31 
 
 
with a basis of one or more of these substances of  a kind used in the food or drink industries are 
subject to the highest tariff rate of 220%.18 
Table III.2 
Summary analysis of Romania's MFN tariff, 2005  
Applied 2005 rates 
Analysis No. of 
lines Simple avg. 
tariff (%) Range tariff 
(%) Std-dev 
(%) CV Imports 2004 
(US$ million) 
Total 10,096 17.5 0-220 13.4 0.8 32,663.7a 
By WTO definitionb             
Agriculture 2,071 27.9 0-150 19.7 0.7 2,149.1 
Live animals and products thereof 331 28.8 0-45 16.0 0.6 380.1 
Dairy products 160 37.2 0-45 9.1 0.2 31.7 
Coffee and  tea, cocoa, sugar, etc. 303 25.0 0-90 15.7 0.6 520.8 
Cut flowers and plants 62 14.5 0-30 9.8 0.7 26.3 
Fruit and vegetables 439 20.6 0-100 9.2 0.4 234.1 
Grains 55 14.2 0-30 10.1 0.7 273.5 
Oil seeds, fats, oils and their products 164 12.0 0-40 11.7 1.0 144.8 
Beverages and spirits 274 50.3 25-110 15.3 0.3 69.5 
Tobacco 30 50.3 30- 98 30.4 0.6 264.5 
Other agricultural products 253 26.4 0-150 29.2 1.1 203.7 
Non-agriculture (excl. petroleum) 7,984 14.9 0-220 9.4 0.6 28,154.9 
Fish and fishery products 381 21.1 0-25 3.3 0.2 75.9 
Mineral products, precious stones and precious 
metals 517 11.2 0-30 7.3 0.6 2,175.9 
Metals 1,045 13.9 0-30 7.4 0.5 3,045.7 
Chemicals and photographic supplie s 1,396 13.5 0-220 10.0 0.7 3,828.6 
Leather, rubber, footwear and tr avel goods 291 16.6 0-30 10.6 0.6 1,493.6 
Wood, pulp, paper and furniture 449 12.1 0-40 6.8 0.6 1,184.2 
Textiles and clothing 1,272 22.2 0-40 8.7 0.4 4,376.9 
Transport equipment 273 21.4 0-35 8.8 0.4 2,975.1 
Non-electric machinery 1,033 11.6 0-35 6.7 0.6 4,220.2 
Electric machinery 604 9.2 0-42 9.3 1.0 3,545.1 
Non-agricultural articles n.e.s. 723 13.2 0-42 9.9 0.8 1,233.6 
By ISIC sectorc       
Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing 598  16.2 0-100 12.1 0.7 707.9 
Mining 131  5.2 0-15 4.0 0.8 2,748.9 
Manufacturing 9,366  17.7 0-220 13.4 0.8 29,033.9 
By stage of processing       
Raw materials 1,199 14.1 0-100 10.9 0.8 4,927.1 
Semi-processed products 2,940 15.1 0-220 10.5 0.7 7,930.4 
Fully-processed products 5,957 19.3 0-150 14.7 0.8 19,726.7 
a Total imports are higher than the sum of sub-items  as US$79.5 million are not classified in the HS.  
b 41 tariff lines are excluded from both WTO agriculture and non-agriculture definitions (essentially petroleum products).  
c International Standard Industrial Classification (Rev.2).  Electricity, gas and water are excluded (one tariff line). 
Note: CV = coefficient of variation. 
Source : WTO Secretariat estimates, based on data provided by the Romanian aut horities; and imports 2003 from UNSD, 
Comtrade database. 
 
                                                      
18 HS 3302.1010. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 32 
 
 
(2.4)
(0.0)(2.8)(2.0)(1.3)(8.1)(9.3)(10.8)
(6.9)(17.6) (17.8)(21.0)
05001,0001,5002,0002,500
0% 0-5% 5-10% 10-15% 15-20% 20-25% 25-30% 30-35% 35-40% 40-45% 45-50% >50%0102030405060708090100
The figures in brackets correspond to the percentage of total lines. 
WTO Secretariat calculations, based on data provided by the Romanian authorities.Chart III.1
Breakdown of applied MFN tariffs, 2005
Number of tariff lines
Note:
Sourc e:Percentage
Number of lines
Cumulative percentage (right-hand scale)
 
21. Using the WTO definition19, MFN applied tariffs average 27.9% on agricultural products 
(down from 34% in 1999), and 14.9% on non-agricult ural goods (compared with 16.3% in 1999). On 
the basis of ISIC (Revision 2) definition, the average MFN tariff in manufacturing (17.7%, down from 20.2% in 1999) is higher than in agriculture ( 16.2%, down from 16.9% in 1999), and in mining and 
quarrying (5.2%, down from 5.5% in 1999).  Chart III.2 shows the MFN tariff distribution by ISIC 
sector. 
22. In aggregate, Romania's applied MFN tariff displays positive escalation from first-stage 
processed products, with an average tariff rate of 14 .1%, to fully-processed products, on which tariffs 
average 19.3%, via semi-finished goods, with an average rate of 15.1%.  Further disaggregation 
reveals that tariff escalation is positive in all indus tries, with escalation more pronounced in food and 
beverages, and textiles and appa rel (Chart III.3). The only exceptions are the following industries 
where the escalation is mixed: wood products (n egative from first-stage processed goods to semi-
finished products, and positive from the latter to fi nished goods), paper and printing, and chemicals 
and plastics (positive from first-stage processed produc ts to semi-finished goods and negative from 
semi-finished goods to fully processed goods). 
 
                                                     
 
19 WTO definition of agriculture:  HS Chapters 01-24 less fish and fishery products (HS 0301-0307, 
0509, 0511.91, 1504, 1603-1605 and 2301.20) plus some selected products (HS 2905.43, 2905.44, 2905.45, 
3301, 3501-3505, 3809.10, 3823.11-3823.19, 3823.6 0, 3823.70, 3824.60, 4101-4103, 4301, 5001-5003, 5105-
5103, 5201-5203, 5301, and 5302). Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 33 
 
 
10.8
10.3
15.3
17.924.5
24.1
79.4
18.438.9
39.3
5.3
40.017.4
17.6
17.43.3
3.2
5.02.8
3.0
0.52.4
2.5
0.8
05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,000All products
Manufacturing
Mining
Agriculture
0 0- 10% 10- 20% 20- 30% 30- 40% 40- 50% >50%Chart III.2
MFN tariff distribution by ISIC sectora, 2005
Number of lines
a
Source:Labels are share of the total number of tariff lines, by sector. 
WTO Secretariat calculations, based on data provided by the Romanian authorities. 
0.05.010.015.020.025.030.035.040.0Chart III.3
Tariff escalation by ISIC 2-digit industry, 2005
Per cent
Sourc e: WTO Secretariat estimates, based on data provided by the Romanian authorities.
All product s
Food, beverages
Textiles,
apparel
Wood products
Paper, printing
Chemicals ,
plastics
Non-metalli c
minera l
products
Basic meta l
products
Fabricated meta l
products
Other manufac -
turingNOT APPLICABLEAgriculture
MiningRaw materials Semi-processed Fully processed
NOT APPLICABLE
 
 WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 34 
 
 
23. Romania applies seasonal tariffs on certain agricultural products (e.g. roses). 
(b) MFN bound tariffs 
24. As a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations, Romania bound all its tariff lines at 
ad valorem  rates; currently, rates range from zero on products such as lead, tin, nickel, and electrical 
machinery and equipment, to 333% on pork and re lated products.  Overall, the simple average bound 
rate declined from 40% in 1999 to 37.7% in 2005 (a gainst a simple average applied MFN rate of 
17.5% in 2005). Applied rates in agriculture are well below the bound rates, thus allowing Romania 
considerable latitude to raise its import tariffs within existing bindi ngs. The simple average bound rate 
on agricultural products (WTO definition) is cu rrently 121.5%, compared with a simple average 
applied MFN rate of 28% (Table III.1). For non-ag ricultural goods, the simple average bound tariff 
rate is 16.1%, while the simple average applied MFN rate is 14.9% . Tariffs on products under the ITA 
are bound at zero. 
(c) Tariff preferences  
25. Romania has preferential trading agreements w ith 38 partners: the 25 EC members, the four 
EFTA states, the two other members of CEFTA, four  countries under the BFTA in SEE, plus Israel, 
Moldova, and Turkey (Chapter II(4)(ii)). Under these agreements, non-agricultural products are 
generally granted duty-free treatment, while select ed agricultural products are duty-free or carry 
reduced rates of duty, often with tariff quotas. Th e average preferential tariff (on all products) under 
these agreements ranges from zero (under the agre ement with Moldova) to 6.8%. Table III.3 
compares Romania's range of MFN and preferential tariffs.  
Table III.3  
MFN and preferential simple average tariffs, 2005  
Trade agreementsa  
 
MFN EC EFTA BG HR AL BA CS MK IL TR 
GSTP 
P16 
Duty free lines (%) 10.8 82.6 82.2 88.1 78.4 75.5 79.5 77.9 75.0 78.3 78.5 11.5 12.6 
Duty rates > 15% 46.9 11.7 13.8 8.0 17.8 18.5 18.0 17.3 19.0 17.9 17.5 46.3 43.7 
All products 17.5 4.8 5.2 3.5 6.0 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.8 6.1 6.0 17.1 16.4 
HS 01-24 26.2 20.7 22.2 15.2 26.2 26.2 25.1 25.2 26.2 26.1 25.8 25.3 24.8 
HS 25-97 14.9 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 0.7 0.5 1.0 0.2 0.1 14.7 13.9 
WTO Agriculture 27.9 21.3 25.2 17.2 25.6 27.7 26.7 25.6 27.8 26.1 25.2 27.1 26.4 
Animals and products 
thereof 28.8 22.7 28.8 18.9 28.8 28.8 27.7 28.0 28.8 28.8 28.8 28.8 28.8 
Dairy products 37.2 34.7 36.0 34.1 37.2 37.2 37.2 37.2 37.2 37.2 36.0 37.2 37.2 
Coffee and tea, cocoa, 
sugar, etc. 25.0 21.1 22.0 16.2 25.0 25.0 24.5 24.7 25.0 25.0 23.8 24.6 24.2 
Cut flowers, plants 14.5 7.2 14.5 3.4 14.5 14.5 9.5 11.3 14.5 14.5 14.5 14.2 14.1 
Fruit and vegetables 20.6 13.9 20.4 9.5 20.5 20.5 19.0 19.0 20.5 20.5 20.1 19.9 18.5 
Grains 14.2 14.2 14.2 2.6 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 14.2 13.7 9.6 
Oil seeds, fats and oils 
and their products 12.0 7.6 11.9 3.8 12.0 12.0 9.0 8.7 12.0 12.0 12.0 11.6 11.1 
Beverages and spirits 50.3 48.2 50.3 43.6 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 46.8 46.5 
Tobacco 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 50.3 49.9 44.3 
Other agricultural 
products n.e.s. 26.4 5.9 9.1 1.9 7.4 25.2 24.5 15.1 25.4 11.7 7.4 26.3 25.1 
WTO Non-agriculture 
(incl. petroleum) 14.8 0.5 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.0 1.0 14.5 13.8 
WTO Non-agriculture 
(excl. petroleum) 14.9 0.5 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.0 1.0 14.6 13.9 
Table III.3 (cont'd) Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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Trade agreementsa  
 
MFN EC EFTA BG HR AL BA CS MK IL TR 
GSTP 
P16 
Fish and fishery 
products 21.1 11.3 0.1 0.0 21.1 21.1 20.8 20.8 21.1 21.1 21.1 20.1 21.1 
Mineral products, 
precious stones and 
precious metals 11.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 11.1 11.1 
Metals 13.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.4 0.2 0.0 0.0 13.1 12.9 
Chemicals and 
photographic supplies 13.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.3 0.9 0.0 0.0 13.5 12.8 
Leather, rubber, 
footwear and travel 
goods 16.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.9 2.2 0.0 0.0 16.5 15.6 
Wood, pulp, paper and 
furniture 12.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 12.1 11.6 
Textile and clothing 22.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 22.1 20.8 
Transport equipment 21.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.0 20.5 19.9 
Non-electric machinery 11.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 11.5 9.8 
Electric machinery 9.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 9.0 8.3 
Non-agriculture articles 
n.e.s. 13.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 13.2 12.7 
ISIC              
Agriculture, hunting, 
forestry & fishing 16.2 9.4 11.2 5.8 15.5 16.1 14.0 13.4 16.1 15.4 15.3 15.9 15.1 
Mining and quarrying 5.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 5.1 5.1 
Manufacturing 17.7 4.6 4.9 3.4 5.5 6.1 5.9 5.8 6.3 5.6 5.4 17.4 16.7 
Escalation              
01 – First stage of 
processing 14.1 7.3 6.9 3.0 12.1 12.5 11.3 10.8 12.6 11.9 12.0 13.9 13.2 
02 – Semi-processed 15.1 1.2 1.2 0.8 1.5 2.4 2.2 1.9 2.6 1.5 1.4 15.0 14.2 
03 – Fully processed 19.3 6.1 6.8 4.9 7.1 7.6 7.2 7.3 7.7 7.3 7.0 18.8 18.1 
a In principle, the preferential simple average tariff under Romania's bilateral trade agreement with Moldova is zero. For 
simplicity, it is not contained in the table. 
Note: MFN:  Most Favoured Nation. 
 EC:  European Communities.  EFTA: European Free Trade Association. 
 BG: Bulgaria. 
 HR: Croatia.  AL: Albania. 
 BA: Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
 CS: Serbia and Montenegro.  MK: Macedonia.  IL: Israel. 
 TR: Turkey. 
 GSTP: Global System of Trade Preferences.  P16: Protocol of 16. 
Source: WTO Secretariat calculations , based on data provided by the Romanian authorities. 
26. Romania also maintains tariff preferences for developing countries, including least developed 
countries (LDCs) under two schemes: the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) among developing countries, and the "Protocol of 16" (P16).
20 Generally, eligible developing countries 
benefit from reduced rates on the products included in each scheme, with more favourable treatment 
to eligible LDCs. 
                                                      
20 Currently, the following countries participate in the P16: Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Israel, 
Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Republic of Korea, Romania, Turkey, Tunisia, and Uruguay. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 36 
 
 
27. Under Romania's trade agreements, tariff pref erences on agricultural products are generally 
subject to quota (Table AIII.2).  Romania does not  apply preferential tariff quotas to non-agricultural 
products. 
(d) Other duties and taxes 
28. In addition to customs tariffs, certain products may also be subject to a customs commission, 
excise duties, and the VAT.  Currently, Romania does not levy any surcharge on imports. The 
6% import surcharge, imposed on 10 October 1998, w as lowered to 4% at the beginning of 1999, and 
to 2% as from 1 January 2000. In accordance with  the phase-out schedule, it ceased to apply on 
1 January 2001.21 Furthermore, a fee of around €8 charged for electronic processing of customs 
declaration (via ASYCUDA) was abolished as from 1 January 2005.22 
29. Law No. 8/1994 established a special 0.5% customs commission for the development and 
modernization of customs offices; it does not  apply to preferential trading partners.23 It is computed 
on the c.i.f. value of all imports not accompanied by a certificate of preferential origin, with the exception of imports in the context of lo an agreements, non-reimbursable assistance from 
international economic bodies, and humanitarian aid. Also exempted are listed vessels, airplanes, 
helicopters, locomotives, and railway ca rs; and products covered by the ITA.
24 
30. Excise duties are levied on five categories of product: alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, 
petroleum products, electricity25, and a general category of othe r products including jewellery, 
perfumes, some electronic products, coffee, and mo tor vehicles. Excise duti es are either specific 
(e.g. on alcoholic beverages they depend on alcohol content), or ad valorem  (on products such as 
motor vehicles). The authorities are strengthening the control mechanism to address tax evasion, most 
notably in excise duties, and specifically on alcoholic  products. To offset part of the revenue loss from 
the recent tax reform, excise duties were increased on 1 April 2005 (Table AIII.3). 
31. As a general rule, excise taxes are levied on both imported and domestically produced 
goods.26 The taxation base is the duty-inclusive cust oms value for imports, and the sale price for 
locally produced goods. Exporters of goods purchased  from domestic producers on which the excise 
duty is paid and which are exported within 60 da ys, may claim for reimbursement of the duty.  
32. Since its last TPR, Romania has introduced new le gislation on excise duties in order to further 
harmonize them with the acquis . In this regard, the taxable regime  applicable to alcohol was unified, 
with the same duty rate applied to both ethyl al cohol and spirits. Nevertheless, Romania has been 
allowed to continue to apply an excise duty ra te lower than the EC minimum on cigarettes until 
31 December 2009. The EC also granted Romania transitional periods on the application of the 
minimum excise duty rates on: unleaded petrol (until 1 January 2011), gas oil used as motor fuels (until 1 January 2013), electricity (until 1 Janua ry 2010), natural gas used for non-commercial 
                                                     
 
21 The fiscal revenue from the import surcharge was estimated at 0.2% of GDP in 2000 (WTO 
documents WT/BOP/N/56, 22 January 2001 and WT/BOP/R/53, 9 October 2000). 
22 Government Ordinance No. 94/2004, approved by Law No. 507/2004.  
23 The EC has requested Romania to eliminate th e customs commission, at the latest, upon accession 
(European Commission, 2004c).  
24 Paragraph 2(a)(iii) of the Annex (on Modalities a nd Product Coverage) to the Ministerial Declaration 
on Trade in Information Technology Products provides for the elimination of other duties and charges in the sense of Article II:1(b) of GATT 1994. 
25 Excise duties now apply on electricity under Emergency Ordinance No. 138/2004, approved by 
Law No. 163/2005. 
26 Romania ceased to apply different excise regi mes to local and imported cigarettes in 2000. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 37 
 
 
purposes (until 1 January 2010), heavy fuel oils  used for district heating purposes (until 
1 January 2010), and heavy fuel oils u sed for other purposes (until 1 January 2009).27 In addition, a 
derogation has been granted to Romania to apply a reduced excise duty (not lower than 50% of the 
standard rate) to spirits produced fro m fruit and grapes for own consumption.28 
33. There are currently three VAT rates: zero29, 9% (down from 11% in 2003)30, and 19% (the 
standard rate, down from 22% in 2003). A number of  VAT exemptions that were contrary to EC 
legislation, and applied on an ex tensive range of goods and services31, have been replaced by the 
reduced 9% rate. As required by the acquis , VAT exemptions were introduced for the supply of goods 
in the context of diplomatic and consular relations, imports made by  international organizations, and 
goods placed under duty-suspension arrangements, while barter transactions were included within the 
scope of VAT.  VAT exemptions also apply to international passenger transport (with right of 
deduction); registered SMEs with a threshold of €35,000; non-profit organizations; religious 
establishments; trade unions; private farms; and some self-employed persons.32 
34. VAT is applied on the customs value of imports plus customs tariffs, customs commission, 
and excise duties if applicable; it is applied on th e sale price on locally produced goods. Since 1995, 
Romania has allowed applicants meeting certain  conditions to postpone the payment of VAT 
temporarily on certain imports listed by the Ministry  of Public Finance; these include 44 categories of 
raw materials, utilities, installations, equipment, and industrial and agricultural machinery used to 
establish a productive unit.33 The Minister of Public Finance has accepted only a few applications for 
suspension since the measure came into force. 
35. Romania bound other duties and charges at 0.5%. 
(e) Duty and tax concessions 36. The Customs Law provides for general exemptions from customs duties and taxes on seven 
categories of goods: (i) social, humanitarian, cultu ral, sports, and educational aid and donations
34; 
(ii) materials for tests, experiments or research, a nd foreign goods that, according to the law, become 
State assets; (iii) samples wit hout commercial value, advertisi ng, publicity and documentary 
materials, and donations made by foreign government s, international organizations and non-profit or 
charity organizations; (iv) goods of Romanian origin; (v) goods repaired or replaced by foreign 
                                                      
27 During these transitional periods, certain levels of excise duties have to be reached at intermediate 
deadlines (European Commission, 2005). 
28 This derogation applies with a limit of 50 litres of  fruit spirit of 40% volume per year per household 
(European Commission, 2004c).  
29 Zero-rated activities include those considered to be of public interest, such as medical, veterinary, 
and hospital treatment; and R&D activities. 
30 The 9% rate applies to: admissions to museums, zoos, botanical gardens, fairs, exhibitions, castles, 
and other historical monuments; books, newspapers and magazines, school manuals, with the exception of those 
intended for publicity; orthopaedic products; prostheses, except dental; medicines for human and veterinary use; 
and hotels and similar accommodation facilities, including camping.  
31 Products generally exempted from the payment of customs tariffs were exempted from payment of 
VAT, as well as goods and services for export, and services supplied in connection with export. 
32 European Commission (2004c). 
33 A time-limit of 60 days applies to a suspension for raw materials, and a limit of 120 days applies for 
utilities, installations, equipment, and industrial and agricultural machinery. 
34 This refers to goods received by humanitarian and cultural organizations , ministries and other 
administrative state bodies, trade unions and political parties, religious organizations, federations, sport 
associations or clubs, educational institutions, without being destined to or used for subsidizing electoral campaigns or activities that may threaten the national security. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 38 
 
 
partners within the guarantee period; (vi) goods received as legacy, proved by official documents;  
and (vii) goods returned to the country as a result of wrong delivery.  In addition, a general customs duty exemption applies to fish caught in waters out side the territory of Romania and imported by 
ships registered in Romania and flying the Romani an flag, or products manufactured from such fish 
on factory ships meeting the registration requirements in Romania and flying the Romanian colours.
35 
37. Romania also grants duty and tax concessions in the following cases: investment incentives 
programmes for free zones (section (3)(v) below), as we ll as for the promotion of investment projects 
with significant impact on the economy, industria l parks, disadvantaged zones, and small and 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (section (4)(i) be low); products imported und er leasing contracts36; 
and imports of parts and components for complex exports (section (3)(iv) below).37 
(v) Import prohibitions, restrictions, and licensing 
38. Since its last TPR, Romania has changed its import (and export) licensing regime, mainly 
through the enactment of Government Decisions  Nos. 1526/2003 and 1527/2003, which entered into 
force on 1 January 2004.38 Under these Decisions, Romania may prohibit the import (or export) of 
five categories of goods for reasons of health; pr otection of human life, animals or plants, natural 
resources and treasures; environmental protection;  public morality, and national security; and in 
compliance with international agreements (relating to weapons and ammunition; explosive and toxic products; drugs and narcotics; military equipment); and medicines, medical apparatus, and technical 
or sanitary materials not authorized by the Ministry of Health. 
39. Romania maintains no licensing system for reasons of quantitative restrictions
39; the 
requirement for licences on goods imported as economic governmental aid was also eliminated40; and 
licensing system for countertrade or offset operations in place at the time of Romania's previous TPR, is no longer in force.
41 Therefore, Romania's import (export) licensing system currently applies to 
goods subject to: (i) prohib itions, or restrictions for reasons of, inter alia , public morality, national 
security, health, and environment; (ii) safeguard meas ures; (iii) provisions of international agreements 
and understandings; (iv) "agricultu ral market organizations"; and (v) automatic import licensing for 
statistical purposes.42  
                                                      
35 Article 80 of Law No. 141/1997, which corresponds to Article 188 of the EC Customs Code. 
36 According to Law No. 90/1998, imports of products leased by Romanian persons are considered to 
be imported under the temporary admission regime, and exempted from payment of the customs debt or the obligation to post a guarantee for the period covered by the leasing contract. The maximum period for a leasing 
contract is seven years.  If, at any time during the leasi ng contract, the products are purchased by the lessee – i.e. 
imported definitively – the customs debt is paid on the purchase price. 
37 Complex exports refer to products and installations with long manufacturing cycles, defined as 
contracts of at least €200,000 (ships, tractors, agri cultural machinery), with a production cycle of minimum 
three months. 
38 These Decisions repealed Govern ment Decision No. 215/1992 and Order No. 13C/1998. Romania is 
yet to notify these legislative changes to the WTO Committee on Import Licensing. 
39 Government Decision No. 215/1992 was abolished by Government Decision No. 1526/2003. 
No quantitative restrictions on imports have been established by Romania since its last TPR. 
40 Government Decision No. 470/1992 was abolished by Government Decision No. 794/1997. 
41 Government Decisions Nos. 1526/2003 and  1527/2003, and Government Ordinance No. 34/2003. 
42 Such surveillance should be limited to exceptional situations, relating to the risk of threat with 
serious market impact, and shall not constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade (Article 2 of Government Decision No. 1526/2003). Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 39 
 
 
40. The following goods, are subject to import control for reasons of national security, health and 
environment, as well as compliance with Romania's international agreements43: weapons and 
ammunition; military equipment and other special products; drugs and narcotics; renewable wastes, 
and goods dangerous for human health and for th e environment; goods under control of final 
destination, for reasons related to non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and mi ssiles car riers, 
as well as of radioactive materials, nuclear  installations and nucl ear-related products. 
41. Automatic import licensing, for statistical purpo ses, currently applies to two categories of 
products: weapons and am munition and explosive material, other th an strategic items generally used in 
economic activities. This licensing system aims to pr ovide fast, reliable and accurate data on the trend of 
imports (and exports), for the prot ection of human life, health, and public order. These licences are 
issued by the MEC, with prior endorsement by the General Inspec torate of the Romanian Police.44 
42. Under the Customs Law, tariff  quotas are admi nistered through "curre nt-access certificates" 
issued by the MEC. In its Schedule LXIX,  Romania undertook to establishing tariff quotas on imports 
of 12 categories of agricultural products from WTO Members: meat and edible offal of pork; meat 
and edible offal of bovine meat; powder milk; chee se; potatoes for seeding; chocolate; other pasta; 
ice-cream; beer; vermouth; ethyl alcohol; and ciga rettes. Allocation should be made on a "first-come-
first-served" basis, and the maximum share per a llocation should be between 0.1% and 10% of the 
quota, taking into account usual commercial shipments for each product (i.e. a combination of first-come-first-served and past imports).  Current-access certificates should be issued on a non-
discriminatory basis, irrespective of the country of origin.
45 However, as MFN applied tariffs have 
been lower than even in-quota tariffs, Romania's MFN tariff quotas have not applied. Romania applies 
preferential tariff quotas on certain products (section (iv)(c) above). 
43. All economic operators registered  in Romania are eligible to apply for import (or export) 
licences. In general, the MEC processes licence appl ications within a maximum of five working days 
from the date of registration.46 A charge of RON 12 is payable for the licence application form. As a 
rule, a licence is valid until the end of th e calendar year during which it was granted.47 Normally, a 
licence application will not be rejected exce pt for failure to meet ordinary criteria48. Reasons for 
rejection are given to the applicant, who may appe al, firstly to the MEC, and subsequently to the 
Tribunals. 
                                                      
43 Goods subject to import controls are regulated by: Government Emergency Ordinance No. 158/1999, 
approved by Law No. 595/2004; Law No. 387/2003; Law No. 300/2002; Law No. 505/2004; Law No. 111/1996, 
republished and amended by Law No. 193/ 2003; and Government Decision No. 228/2004. The issuing of import 
licences for goods subject to control is subject to prio r endorsement by a relevant governmental body, i.e. the 
MEC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (through the National Agency for Export Controls), Ministry of Health, Ministry 
of Environment and Waters Management, National Commis sion for Nuclear Activities Control, and the National 
Agency for Dangerous Chemical Substances and Preparations. 
44 Order No. 391/2003 (as amended). 
45 WTO document G/LIC/N/3/ROM/2, 8 September 1999. 
46 A licence cannot be granted immediately;  prior review of the application is required. 
47 If quantitative restrictions are established, import licences are issued for a period of time that would 
avoid blocking the utilization of the quotas.  The same rule applies in case of tariff quotas, with the exception that 
current-access certificates are valid normally for two months, but not ex ceeding the end of the calendar year. 
Licences issued for any other reasons may only be extende d beyond the end of the calendar year by Order of the 
MEC, to cover unfilled quantities during the previous year. 
48 Usual information on the importer (exporter), designa tion of product, value, terms and conditions of 
delivery, etc., are required in the application form. A dditional information and/or documentation may be required 
for certain products.   WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 40 
 
 
(vi) Contingency trade remedies 
44. There have been no changes to the legal fra mework for contingency trade remedies in 
Romania since the entry into force of the WTO49. The legislation comprises: (i) Decree 
No. 228/7 May 1992 on the protection of domestic producers against unfair competition resulting 
from the import of certain goods at dumped or s ubsidized prices; (ii) Order No. 127/20 August 1992 
of the Ministry of Trade and Tourism on the rules of procedure of the Commission on anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and safeguard measures;  and (iii) Joint Order No. 128/24 August 1992 of 
the Ministry of Trade and Tourism, and the Ministry of the Economy and Finance on the rules of application and procedures for the establishment of anti-dumping duties, countervailing measures, and 
safeguard measures.  
45. An anti-dumping duty may be applied to any dumped product when it causes injury to 
Romanian producers, and when there is a link of  causality between dumping and injury. A product is 
considered to have been dumped if its export price to Romania is less than th e normal value of the like 
product or directly competitive product.
50 A countervailing duty may be imposed for the purpose of 
offsetting any subsidy granted, directly or indirect ly, in the country of origin or export, upon the 
manufacture, production, export or transport of goods that are imported into Romania and that cause 
injury.51 The Commission may impose a provisional duty wh ere preliminary investigation shows that 
dumping or a subsidy exists and that there is sufficient evidence of injury. Provisional anti-dumping or countervailing duties have a maximum period of validity of four months. However, under special 
circumstances, this may be extended for a further period of two months.
52 Review of decisions on 
final anti-dumping or countervailing duties may take place only one year after the date of the decision 
or of any undertaking.53 Anti-dumping or countervailing duties, or  any undertaking shall not be kept 
in force longer than necessary, and in any case no more than five years.54 
46. The General Directorate for Trade Policy of the MEC carries out contingency trade 
investigations, as well as export prices analyses, in order to protect domestic industries. Actions can be initiated upon written complaint to the MEC by an y natural or legal person, or by any association 
not having legal personality but acti ng on behalf of a Romanian industry.
55 Contingency trade 
measures are determined by final and executory deci sions of the Commission. It has the authority to 
propose, apply, and monitor anti-dumping and counter vailing measures, as well as to determine the 
safeguard measures. 
47. No anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard meas ures have ever been taken by Romania. It 
reserved the right to use the special safeguard prov isions under Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on 
Agriculture. Romania also reserved the right to use the transitional safeguard provision under the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, but has not made use of it (Chapter IV(4)(ii)(a)). 
                                                     
 
49 This legal framework was notified to the GA TT; it is also contained in WTO documents 
G/ADP/N/1/ROM/1 and G/SCM/N/1/ROM/1, 4 April 1995, and G/SG/N/1/ROM/1, 30 March 1995. 
50 Article 2.1 and 2.2 of Joint Order No. 128/1992.  
51 Article 3.1 of Joint Order No. 128/1992. Subsidie s granted on exports include, but are not limited to, 
the practices listed in the "Illustrative List of Expor t Subsidies" (Annex 1 of Joint Order No. 128/1992). 
52 Article 9 of Joint Order No. 128/1992. The extension may be made only if the decision to continue 
the application of provisional duties is taken in the third month of the validity period. 
53 Article 12 of Joint Order No. 128/1992. 
54 The Commission shall inform the Romanian producers concerned, six months prior to the expiry 
date. Article 13 of Joint Order No. 128/1992. 
55 The written complaint must contain sufficient eviden ce of the existence of dumping or subsidization, 
as well as the resulting injury to the industry, or in th e case of safeguards, substantiation of threat of major 
injury to domestic producers of similar or directly competitive products. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 41 
 
 
(vii) Standards and other technical regulations 
(a) Overview 
48. Since its previous TPR, Romania has continued to transpose various elements of the EC 
technical requirements into its domestic legal system by adopting legislation on, inter alia , 
accreditation and conformity assessment and metrology;  and by transposing some sector-specific laws 
(e.g. low voltage electrical equipment, lifts, ra dio and telecom terminal equipment, toys, gas 
appliances, cableways, and construction products), and foods tuff regulations.   According to the EC, 
Romania should now focus on developing the n ecessary administrative capacity to implement the 
acquis  (including on foodstuffs and food safety); introducing mutual recognition clauses in its 
national legislation; and comp leting the EC transposition on, inter alia , chemicals, medical devices, 
firearms, and cultural goods.56 
49. Romania has accepted the Code of Good Practice for the preparation, adoption and 
application of standards.57 The TBT national enquiry point is the Romanian Standards Association 
(ASRO).58  Regarding sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Romania now has two enquiry 
points: the National Sanitary, Veterinary, and Food  Safety Authority, which became operational in 
200459, and the Phytosanitary Division of the Mi nistry of Agriculture, Forests, and Rural 
Development (MAFRD).60 
(b) Standards, testing, and certification 
50. Government Ordinances Nos. 38/1998 and 39/199 8 (as approved by Laws Nos. 245/2002 and 
355/2002), provide the main legal framework on product standards, testing, and certification. It is 
aimed at increasing the competitiveness and quality of  exports; ensuring that they do not harm the 
environment and that they conform to health a nd safety norms; and ensuring equal treatment for 
imported and dom estic products. 
51. To separate standard setting from conformity assessment activities, two private associations, 
ASRO and the Romanian Accreditation Association (RENAR), were established in 1998.61 ASRO, a 
non-governmental body under the guidance of the MEC, approves and publishes national standards. 
Its work programme is aimed at adopting internati onal standards or developing equivalent Romanian 
standards.62 ASRO participates in the activities of regi onal and international standardization bodies 
such as the European Committee for Standard ization (CEN), the European Committee for 
Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC), the European Telecommunication Standards Institute 
(ETSI), the International Organization for St andardization (ISO), and the International 
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).  ASRO also o ffers assistance to commercial operators on 
national standards.63  
                                                      
56 European Commission (2004c). 
57 WTO document G/TBT/CS/N/5/Rev.1, 7 February 1996. 
58 WTO document G/TBT/ENQ/25, 13 October 2004. 
59 In 2004, the National Sanitary and Veterinary  Agency was replaced by the National Sanitary, 
Veterinary, and Food Safety Authority. It is headed by a president with a rank of Secretary of State, and is 
directly under the Prime Minister. There are 42 county  sanitary/veterinary and food safety directorates. 
60 WTO document G/SPS/EN Q/18, 20 December 2004. 
61 The Romanian Standards Institute was previously responsible for both standard setting and 
conformity assessment (see WTO, 2000). 
62 Government Ordinance No. 39/1998, approved and completed by Law No. 355/2003, and 
Law No. 177/2005. 
63 Romanian Standards Association online information. Available at: www.asro.ro. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 42 
 
 
52. According to the authorities, Romania's sta ndardization activities are based on both the CEN 
and the ISO/IEC Guides. There are about 250 Roma nian technical committees that deal with the 
setting up of national standards. The standardization process starts with the insertion of a new work 
item proposal into the National Standardization Pr ogramme. Once elaborated, the proposed norm goes 
to public enquiry. It is then approved by the Gene ral Director of ARSO, be fore being published, and 
later notified to the WTO.  According to the authorities, mand atory standards are in force for 
protecting life, health, security, the en vironment, and consumer interests. 
53. Romania has continued harmonizi ng its national standards with  international or regional 
standards, in particular with those of the EC. Cu rrently, close to 90% of EC standards have been 
transposed as Romanian standards.64 As of June 2005, a total of 28,395 standards were in force in 
Romania, of which 9,014 were national standards, 15,740 European standards, and 3,641 ISO and/or 
IEC standards. Technical regulations are applied to products for which safety is an issue, such as 
construction materials, medical devices, particul ar electrical equipment, etc. These products are 
subject to testing, certification or prior approval procedures. 
54. RENAR is responsible for developing a nati onal network of product certifiers and testing 
laboratories certified on the basis of the EC's EN 45000. Up to June 2005, RENAR had accredited 
350 laboratories; 22 quality management system ce rtification bodies; 9 environmental management 
systems certification bodies; 23 product certifica tion bodies; 3 personnel certification bodies; and 
11 inspection bodies. It is a full member of the European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA), the 
International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the In ternational Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation 
(ILAC), and a signatory of the Multilateral Recognition Agreement by EA.65 Certification by bodies 
agreed by the EC is accepted by Romania. Othe rwise, in the absence of mutual recognition 
agreements, foreign certification is not accepted by Romania. 
55. Quality and environmental management certifica tion has developed rapidly. According to a 
survey conducted by the ISO, 3,189 Romanian en terprises had been issued ISO-9000 certificates of 
quality management systems by the end of 2003 (compared with 214 in 1997); while 96 ISO-14001 
certificates of environmental quality had been  issued, compared with zero in 1997.66 
56. The MEC, through the Romanian Bureau of Le gal Metrology (BRML), is responsible for 
applying government policy in the field of metrology.67 On behalf of the State, the BRML carries out 
legal metrological control on measuring instrument s and measurements. As a signatory to the 
Convention du Mètre  in 1883, Romania has aligned its legisl ation with the EC's and international 
recommendations, including all the decisions taken by the Conférence Générale des Poids et 
Measures .68 
                                                      
64 European Commission (2004c). 
65 In 2002, RENAR organized the EA General Assembly  in Bucharest, and committed itself to host the 
Joint ILAC-IAF General Assembly in 2006 (Romanian Ac creditation Association online information. Available 
at: www.renar.ro). 
66 ISO (2004). 
67 Emergency Ordinance No. 18/1999 stipulates that the BRML is subordinated to the MEC. 
Government Decision No. 193/2002 regulates the functioning of the BRML. There are 14 interregional legal metrology inspection units, which coordinate 14 local metrology laboratories. Some other laboratories are also 
authorized by the BRML for verification in the fields of public interest.  
68 European Cooperation in Legal Metrology (WELMEC) online information. Available at: 
www.welmec.org/Romania.asp. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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(c) Marking, labelling, and packaging 
57. To ensure consumer protection, quality require ments apply to certain domestically produced 
and imported products sold on the domestic marke t;  these are treated alike, except for the 
requirement that labels on imports must include a tr anslation in Romanian of the main characteristics 
of the product (period of validity, possible interdiction of use, and main components). The Ministry of 
Health is responsible for quality requirement s on medicines and products for human use 
(e.g. cosmetics, homeopathic treatments). Qu ality requirements for other products are the 
responsibility of the National Authority for Consum er Protection, in collaboration with the MEC. 
(d) Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations 
58. The import, export and transit of live animals, animal products, and fodder are subject to prior 
authorization by the National Sanitary, Veterina ry and Food Safety Authority (NSVFSA). These 
activities must be certified as meeting the standards established by the Authority.69  The NSVFSA 
may impose temporary import bans as sanitary or phytosanitary measures. Romania continues to 
apply import bans on live animals (e.g. bovine, shee p, goats, and pigs) and some products thereof, 
from countries where foot-and-mouth-disease has been diagnosed (Table III.4).70  In 2004, Romania 
notified the WTO of the temporary suspension of imports of live poultry and domestic live birds, 
other than poultry, from Members affected by th e outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza.71 
Table III.4 
Prohibition of  imports and transit on SPS groundsa  
Disease  Products Origin 
Foot and mouth disease Domestic a nd wild bi-ungulate animals (bovine, 
ovine, caprine, porcine); 
semen, ova and embryos coming from domestic and wild bi-ungulate animals; 
meat originating from domestic and wild bi-ungulate 
animals; products, raw materials or animal origin wastes 
coming from domestic and wild bi-ungulate animals, 
intended for human consumption, feeding of animals, use in agriculture and industry Saudi Arabia; Bhutan; Egyp t; Georgia; Iran; Israel; 
Kazakhstan; Malawi; Malaysia; Mauritania; 
Mongolia; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Tajikistan; Zambia; Zimbabwe; Argentina; Brazil; Qatar; 
Kyrgyz Republic; Mali; Eritrea; Uruguay; Kuwait; 
Azerbaijan; Uganda; Botswana; Paraguay; Mozambique; Swaziland; Palestinian Authority; 
Venezuela; Syria; Hong Kong, China; Libya; 
Bolivia; South Africa; Colombia; Namibia 
Bluetongue Domestic and wild ruminants, as well as other 
herbivorous susceptible to this disease, semen, ova 
and embryos coming from wild and domestic 
ruminants, as well as other herbivorous susceptible to this disease, pathologi cal materials and biological 
products coming from wild and domestic ruminants, 
as well as other herbivorous susceptible to this disease China (Hubei, Guangdong); Croatia (Dubrovnik); 
Cyprus; Italia (Sardinia); Israel; Morocco (El Hajeb, 
Khemisstet, Sefron, Sidi, Kacem, Taza); Portugal 
(Alentejo); Spain; Chinese Taipei 
Ovine and caprine brucellosis Live ovine and caprine, semen, ova/embryos coming 
from ovine or caprine Croatia 
  Table III.4 (cont'd) 
                                                      
69 The National Sanitary, Veterinary, and Food Safety Authority is responsible for risk assessment, risk 
management, and risk communication on food and feed, and is the enquiry point for the European Food Safety Agency. It controls all laboratory infra structure, as well as the border insp ection posts (BIPs) with respect to 
animal food and feed; and is in charge of the Rapid Alert System for Food and F eed (RASFF). Three national 
reference institutes are under the National Sanitary, Ve terinary, and Food Safety Au thority: the Institute for 
Diagnosis and Animal Health, Institute for Hygiene and Ve terinary Public Health, and Institute for Control of 
Biological Products and Veterinary Medicinal Use Products. 
70 See WTO documents G/SPS/N/ROM/1-3, various dates. 
71 See WTO documents G/SPS/N/ROM/5 and 6, 11 March 2004, and 22 March 2004. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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Disease  Products Origin 
Vesicular stomatitis Live bovine, ovi ne, caprine, porcine, equine and 
cervidee, as well as semen, ova, and embryos coming 
from live bovine, ovine, porci ne, equine and cervidee Belize; Bolivia; United States (Colorado, New 
Mexico, Texas, Arizona) 
Classical swine fever Live domestic and wild porcine, semen, embryo and 
ova coming from domestic or wild porcine;  
fresh meat coming from domestic or wild porcine, meat products that were not treated through a 
procedure that ensures the destruction of CSF virus, 
animal origin products coming from porcine intended for animal feeding or agriculture or 
industrial use that were not treated through a 
procedure that ensures the destruction of CSF virus; animal origin products coming from porcine 
intended for pharmaceutical or surgical use that were 
not treated through a procedure that ensures the destruction of CSF virus; 
pathological material and biological products that 
were not treated through a procedure that ensures the destruction of the CSF virus. Albania; Bulgaria (Burgas); Germany; Japan; 
Russia; Slovakia (Lucemec ); Serbia-Montenegro; 
Nicaragua (Managua) 
Newcastle disease Live domestic a nd wild poultry, products and by 
products of poultry Bulgaria; Cyprus; Greece (Peloponnesus, Kilkis); 
Japan; Thailand; Venezuela 
Nodular dermatitis Domestic a nd wild bovine, semen coming from 
bovine species Swaziland 
Tularemia Live wild rabbits Hungary 
Rift Valley fever Live ruminants,  meat and meat products coming 
from domestic and wild ruminants Senegal 
Hemorragic disease of 
rabbits Live domestic and wild rabbits, semen coming from 
domestic or wild rabbits, meat coming from domestic or wild rabbits, hides and skins from 
domestic and wild rabbits that were not treated 
through a procedure that ensure the destruction of the virus Uruguay 
Pest des petits ruminants Wild or dome stic ruminants, semen, ova/embryos, 
fresh meat coming from ruminants, meat products coming from ruminants that were not processed 
through a procedure that ensures the destruction of 
the virus; animal origin products coming from ruminants 
intended for animals feeding or industrial or 
agriculture use that were not treated through a procedure that ensure the destruction of the virus 
animal origin products coming from porcine 
intended for pharmaceutical or surgical use that were not treated through a procedure that ensures the 
destruction of the virus; 
pathological material and biological products that 
were not treated through a procedure that ensures the 
destruction of the virus Israel 
Caprine Arthritis/ 
Encephalitis Live domestic and wild caprine, products and by 
products coming from them Bosnia-Herzegovina 
Scrapia Live domestic and w ild ovine and caprine, their 
products and by-products Brazil; Finland; France; Japan; Portugal; Slovenia; 
Switzerland 
Avian influenza Live domestic a nd wild poultry, their products and 
by-products Hong Kong, China; Republic Popular of Korea; 
Republic of Korea; Viet Nam; Thailand; United 
States; Italy (Lombardia); China; Pakistan; South 
Africa 
Caprine pox Domestic ovine and caprine, semen, hides, wool 
coming from ovine and caprine Viet Nam 
Bovine Spongiform 
Encephalopathy Live domestic and wild beef Canada; France; Switzerland; United States (cases 
diagnosed in the last 18 months) 
  Table III.4 (cont'd) Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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Disease  Products Origin 
African swine fever Live domestic and wild porcine, semen, ova and 
embryos coming from domestic and wild porcine; 
fresh meat coming from domestic or wild porcine, 
meat products coming from wild or domestic animals that were not treated through a procedure that 
ensures the destruction of the virus, animal origin 
products coming form porcine intended for animals feeding or industrial or agricultural use that were not 
treated through a procedure that ensure the 
destruction of the virus; animal origin products coming from porcine intended for pharmaceutical or surgical use that were 
not treated through a procedure that ensures the 
destruction of the virus; pathological material and biological products that 
were not treated through a procedure that ensures the 
destruction of the virus Namibia; Burkina Faso 
African equine fever Equines, semen and embryos coming from equines Botswana; Swaziland; Zimbabwe 
a The prohibitions concern imports and transit from countries that notified List A and B diseases to OIE. 
Source: Information provided by the Romanian authorities. 
59. Romania's quarantine regime, and measures in place for the protection or control of plants and 
plant products are broadly harmonized with the EC's.72 According to NSVFSA Order No. 46/2005, 
the quarantine period for imported animals is 30 days . The quarantine period on exports is 30 days for 
horses, and 6 days for sheep, goats, and cows. Im ported plants and plant products listed in 
Government Decision No. 1619/2003 (Annex 5, part B) must be accompanied by a phytosanitary 
certificate. Plant health inspection of regulated plants and imported plants is carried out by 
phytosanitary inspectors at the border or by county  phytosanitary units, when suspicious symptoms 
are found73, or in the case of a monitoring pl an and phytosanitary risk channels.74 Health inspections 
for exports of plants and plant products are carried  out by inspectors of the county phytosanitary units 
at the place of production. The inspectors deliver the phytosanitary certificate to accompany the 
consignment. If the results are not in compliance with Romania's legal provisions, one or more of the 
following measures are applied: removal of in fected/infested produce from the consignment; 
imposition of quarantine regime until the laboratory r esults are available; movement authorization, 
under official control, to the industrial processi ng places; return of consignment; destruction. 
60. Since its previous TPR, Romania has continued to align its SPS regulations with EC norms. 
Romania notified the WTO that a health certificate was necessary to import egg products into the 
country as from 1 July 2003, in order to transpose an EC Decision.75 Moreover, Romania has adopted 
several pieces of implementing legislation recently,  regarding food safety and foodstuffs, to comply 
with the acquis . In the area of food safety controls, a Pr otocol has been recently signed between 
relevant Ministries, the National Authority for Consumer Protection, and the National Sanitary, 
Veterinary, and Food Safety Authority to  clarify their respective responsibilities. 
                                                      
72 Government Ordinance No. 136/2000, Government Decision No. 1030/2001, and Government 
Ordinance No. 136/2000, modified by Government Decision No. 1619/2003. 
73 In case of suspicion of a harmful organism, samples must be taken for analysis (e.g. fruit from any 
country is checked for fruit fly). Such consignments ar e not subject to customs formalities until the laboratory 
results are obtained. 
74 Phytosanitary risk channels are established on the basis of past experience, and on other countries' 
information (e.g. seed potatoes tubers are checked fr om all countries for potato brown rot and ring rot). 
75 WTO document G/SPS/N/ROM/4, 7 May 2003. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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61. Romania is a member of the World Organiza tion for Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission. 
(viii) Public procurement 
62. Since its previous TPR, Romania has made some  modifications to its legislative framework 
on public procurement, notably through Emergenc y Ordinance No. 60/2001 (as amended), approved 
by Law No. 212/2002. The Law provides for, inter alia , the basic principles, procedures, and methods 
on public acquisitions, while further ha rmonizing domestic provisions with the acquis .76 Nevertheless, 
Romania needs to further improve the enforcement of  its public procurement rules, and eliminate their 
inconsistencies with the acquis , especially in relation to public/private partnership.77 Public 
procurement problems are also acute in the health  subsector. In February 2004, Romania approved 
new regulations to, inter alia , strengthen the procurement procedures for medical supplies.78 
63. The public procurement reforms are aimed at in creasing the efficiency of Romania's budget 
and public resources, whilst following the principl es of transparency, non-discrimination, and 
confidentiality, in order to create competitive c onditions and engender the supply of high quality 
goods and services.  Acquisition of goods and services  not exceeding €2,000 per year (without 
VAT)79, and procurement of armaments by the Ministry of Defence are not governed by this 
framework. Furthermore, state-owned enterprises with  the status of commercial companies continue 
to have their own purchasing policies. However, pr ocurement by utilities companies (water, transport, 
energy, telecoms) is subject to the public procurement law. 
64. The tendering procedures may be: (i) open, where any supplier, contractor or services 
provider is allowed to submit tenders; (ii) restri cted, performed in two distinct phases (only the 
candidates pre-selected by the contracting authority ar e invited to submit tenders); (iii) negotiated, but 
competitive (i.e. the contracting authority negotiates with several suppliers, contractors or providers), 
or with a single source (i.e. where the contracting authority negotiates the contract clauses with a 
single supplier, contractor or provider); (iv) requ est for quotation, the simplified procedure by which 
the contracting authority requires, tenders from se veral suppliers, contractor s or providers, without 
publishing a notice; and (v) design contest, a procedure that enables the contracting authority to 
acquire a plan or design (e.g. land planning, town planning) selected by a jury following a competition 
with or without the award of prizes to the winner/ winners. In general, public procurement contracts 
are awarded through open or restricted procedures.  
65. The contracting authority can use the request-for-quotation procedure only when the 
estimated contract value, without VAT, is less than  the RON equivalent of €40,000 for the supply of 
goods and services, and €100,000 for works. The indicative tender notice shall be published, 
separately for goods, services, and works, within 30 days from the approval of the budget of the 
contracting authority; the results of the tendering procedures shall be published, through a notice, not 
                                                      
76 Other legislative developments refer to the adoption of implementing measures relating to review 
procedures, the reduction of preferential treatment of small and medium-sized ente rprises (SMEs), electronic 
procurement, and defence procurement. 
77 The EC has expressed concerns because Romania has adopted ad hoc  decisions derogating from the 
national public procurement rules. One of the most seri ous cases was the award of €2.2 billion contract for the 
construction of the Bors-Cluj-Brasov motorway to the U.S. company, Bechtel, w ithout public tender. As a 
result, the EC decided not to provide financial support for this project (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2004). 
78 Based on World Bank recommendations, the authorities are in the process of defining a strategy to 
improve expenditure management for the entire health subsector (IMF, 2004c). 
79 Romanian Foreign Trade Centre online information. Available at: www.traderom.ro/dcepe/ 
IndrumarAfaceri/engleza/Ghid.htm. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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later than 30 days from the date of the decision of  the jury. Deadlines for submitting tenders vary from 
10 to 52 days, depending on the estimated value of the contract.80 
66. The Central Finance and Contracting Unit (CFCU) , under the Ministry of Public Finance, is 
responsible for, inter alia , ensuring the effective execution and th e proper application of the rules and 
procedures governing tendering financed from EC  funds. The Directorate for regulating and 
monitoring public procurement, within the Ministry of  Public Finance, is the regulatory body for 
public procurement. It also issues specialized opi nions (for consultative purposes only) on complaints 
by tenderers. According to the public procurement la w, the CFCU is responsible for the use of public 
funds through procurement procedures (i.e. choice of  procedure, elaborati on of tendering documents, 
appointment of the evaluation commission, and taking all procurement decisions). 
67. To comply with the acquis , provisions granting preferences to local suppliers have been 
eliminated.81 The participation of foreign suppliers is based on the condition of reciprocal treatment 
for Romanian suppliers in the country of origin of the supplier, certified by the MEC;  and on the 
condition that no Romanian supplier can fulfil the conditions of the purchase, duly substantiated by 
the purchasing entity on the tender document. 
68. Romania is an observer in the WTO Governme nt Procurement Agreement (GPA), and is 
expected to become member of GPA after joining the EC. 
(ix) Local-content requirements 
69. In 1995, Romania notified, under Article 5. 1 of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related 
Investment Measures (TRIMs), a programme for newly established companies in industry 
(Law No. 71/1994), which included local-content requirements.82 Romania requested an extension of 
the transition period for its elimination, and the C ouncil for Trade in Goods granted an extension until 
31 May 2003.83 The programme was abolished in 2002.84 
70. A scheme subsidizing interest on domestic credits  in RON for exports (section (3)(iv) below), 
requires a minimum 50% Romanian content (raw materi als, labour, spare parts, project and technical 
assistance). 
(x) Other measures 
71. Romania has no agreements with foreign govern ments or enterprises designed to influence 
the quantity or value of goods and services exported to Romania. Furthermore, the authorities are 
aware of no such agreements between compani es operating in Romania and foreign enterprises. 
                                                      
80 Irrespective of the procedure applie d, the contracting authority is obliged to ensure that the principles 
of free competition, transparency, equal treatment, and confidentiality are observed. 
81 Government Ordinance No. 75/2004, approved by Law No. 492/2004. 
82 WTO document G/TRIMS/N/1/ROM/1, 7 April 1995. The measure was also notified under 
Article 29.3 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Coun tervailing Measures (WTO document G/SCM/N/9/ROM, 
31 October 1996).  
83 As a developing country, Romania had until 31  December 1999 to eliminate its TRIMs. The 
extension of Romania's transition period was authorized on 5 November 2001 (WTO document G/L/503, 
9 November 2001). 
84 Law No. 71/1994 was abrogated by Government Decision No. 42/2002, ratified by Law  
No. 406/2002. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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72. Romania applies no trade sanctions, either nati onally or internationally, other than those 
endorsed by the United Nations Security Council or other regional organizations of which it is a 
member. 
73. Compulsory reserve stocks are set for, inter alia , some agricultural goods, and  oil products. 
(3) MEASURES DIRECTLY AFFECTING EXPORTS  
(i) Registration and documentation 
74. Similar registration and documen tation requirements apply to exporters and importers in 
Romania (sections (2)(i) and (ii) above). 
(ii) Export taxes 
75. Romania does not apply any export taxes. 
(iii) Export prohibitions, controls, and licensing 
76. Exports are prohibited or controlled for various reasons, including environment, health, public 
morality, national security, or to give effect to Ro mania's obligations under in ternational conventions. 
The licensing procedures for exporters are the sa me as for importers (section (2)(v) above). 
(iv) Export subsidies, finance, assistance, and promotion 
77. In addition to duty and tax concessions (secti on (2)(iv)(e) above), various incentives schemes 
are available to exporters. An export promotion programme, administered by the Export-Import Bank 
of Romania, reimburses 50% of the interest paid  on domestic loans used for production of exports.85 
According to the authorities, funding available unde r this programme amounted to RON 24.7 million 
in 2004 (RON 25.3 million in 1999). Law No. 143/ 1999 (as amended; republished in August 2005) 
stipulates that the Competition Council can authorize general aid to promote exports, through, inter 
alia, international fairs, and national weeks. The law prohibits export aid or any aid contingent upon 
export performance insofar as such  aid may be inconsistent wi th Romania's commitments under 
international agreements. Insuran ce and reinsurance of short-term export credits also fall under the 
guidelines of the Competition Council. 
78. The Export-Import Bank of Romania administers an export incentives programme, which 
includes: short-, medium- and long-term export credit insurance against commercial and political 
risks; insurance of Romanian investments abroad against political risks; bonds and guarantees for 
export credits, issued on behalf of and financed by  the Romanian State; and subsidization of up to 
60% of interest on domestic credits in national cu rrency to stimulate complex exports, within the 
annual limits established through the State Budget (RON 14.3 million in 2004, up from 
RON 10 million in 1999).86 
79. Until 2001, Romania provided export subsidies under a programme for eligible companies 
registered between 22 August 1994 and 17 June 1997.  It was notified  to the WTO under Article 29.3 
of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervail ing Measures (transformation into a market 
                                                      
85 WTO document G/SCM/N/16/ROM, 31 October 1996. 
86 WTO document G/SCM/N/9/ROM, 31 October 1996. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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economy).87 This programme was abrogated through Gove rnment Decision No. 42/2002, ratified by 
Law No. 406/2002. In 2004, Romania eliminated ot her tax incentives aimed at stimulating domestic 
production for export, through the enactment of the Fiscal Code.88   
80. In 2000, Romania granted export subsidies on cereals (RON 9.9 million). According to the 
authorities, export subsidies of RON 60,000 were allocated to wines in 2004. 
(v) Free zones 
81. There are six free zones in Romania (five in 1999), incorporating 640 companies 
(440 Romanian and 200 foreign), in  various activities (e.g. machine tools, furniture, clothing, paper 
and cardboard packaging, and IT).89 A policy of decentralizing free zones is under way, and most are 
now under the responsibility of local authorities rather  than the Ministry of Transport, Constructions, 
and Tourism (MTCT). 
82. The Free Trade Zones Law No. 84/1992 (as ame nded) sets out the framework for operations 
and practices in the zones. It is designed to prom ote foreign direct investment and joint-ventures in 
export-oriented enterprises, provide easy access to  imports of raw materials and equipment on 
favourable terms, and increase employment.  Free  zones also target regional development and 
employment creation.  Licences for operating in free zones are obtained from the Free Zone 
Administration. 
83. On the basis of Law No. 244/2004, free zones ar e eligible for: exemption from customs duties 
and fees; exemption from profit tax90; exemption from VAT for the entire duration of their activity 
(provided goods are not imported into Romanian te rritory or are consumed inside the free zone); 
unrestricted profit transfer; and convertible currenc ies for exchange transactions. Investments in free 
zones, by the operators, as well as by the free zon es administrations are also eligible for regional 
development aid (50% of the costs in the case of large companies, and 65% of the costs for SMEs). 
The land and constructions in the free zones may be leased or let only to Romanian nationals. The 
leasing period should not exceed 49 years.91 There is no limit on foreign capital participation in 
investment within the free zones, and 100% re patriation of capital is allowed without prior 
permission, tax, duty, or fee. The Labour Code also applies to free zones. 
                                                      
87 WTO document G/SCM/N/9/ROM, 31 October 1996. According to the Agreement, such programme 
shall be phased out or brought into conformity with Ar ticle 3 (prohibited subsidies) within a period of seven 
years from the date of entry into force of the WTO. The programme was also notified under the TRIMs 
Agreement (WTO document G/TRIMS/N/1/ROM/1, 7 April 1995). 
88 For example, a reduction of 50% on the profits tax on the share of exports of goods and services in 
total sales (WTO, 2000). 
89 The activities permitted in a free zone are:  handling, storage, sorting, measuring, packaging, 
processing, assembly, production, branding, testing, auction, sale/purchase, expertise, repairs, knocking down of 
goods, organization of exhibitions, stock exchange and financial/banking operations, transport and domestic or 
international deliveries, leasing or re nting of buildings, storage areas or vacant spaces for the construction of 
economic or hotel units, quality and quantity control of goods, freighting, supply of ships and other means of 
transport, services and other activities specific to free zones. 
90 Taxpayers performing activities in free zones on a licenced basis were liable to a 5% profit tax until 
31 December 2004. However, taxpayers who invested at least US$1 million before 1 July 2002, continue to 
benefit from the profit tax ex emption until 31 December 2006. 
91 Ministry of Economy and Commerce online information. Available at: www.minind.ro/International/ 
economy_investments.html. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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(vi) Other measures 
84. According to the authorities, Romania does not participate in any arrangements designed to 
curb or control exports to third countries at the request of foreign governments/companies. 
(4) MEASURES AFFECTING PRODUCTION AND TRADE  
(i) Incentives 
85. In addition to the export-oriented incentives ( sections (3)(iv) and (v) above), Romania has 
four other incentives programmes, for: direct i nvestment with significant impact on the economy 
(DISIE); industrial parks; disadvantaged zones; and SMEs.92 Investment incentive schemes apply 
equally to foreign and domestic investors,  and fall under the responsibility of various 
ministries/agencies.93 The purpose of these programmes is to encourage and orient investments, in 
order to reduce regional imbalances within the country, and create new employment opportunities, 
while using new technologies to increase value added. 
86. The programme for the promotion of DISIE refers to investments that94: (i) have a value in 
excess of US$1 million; (ii) are made in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 332/2001; (iii) contribute to the development and modernization of the Romanian economic infrastructure; 
(iv) have a positive spin-off effect on the economy; a nd (v) create jobs.  In order to qualify under this 
scheme, the project, inter alia , must be finished within 30 months of registration;  and must not breach 
environmental protection legislation, endanger natio nal security, or violate public order, health, or 
good morals.
95 In addition, investors are bound to preserve their investments for at least ten years, 
otherwise, tax arrears must be paid. The investme nts can be made in all economic sectors, except 
banking, insurance and re-insurance, and sectors re gulated by special laws. The incentives provided 
under the DISIE programme include: 
(a) exemption from customs duties for imported technological machinery, installations, 
equipment, measuring apparatus, automa tion equipment, and software products 
necessary for the project96; 
(b) deduction of 20% of the value of  the new investments (valid until 
31 December 2006); 
(c) carrying forward the fiscal loss during the following five years for taxable profit 
determination;  
(d) accelerated depreciation, provided the company does not register losses;  and 
                                                      
92 The developments in investment incentives in Romania during 1991-99 are described in WTO 
(2000). 
93 The institutions are: Romanian Agency for Foreign Investments (DISIE); Ministry of Administration 
and Interior (industrial parks); Ministry of Administration and Interior, and the Regional Development Agency (disadvantaged zones); and National Agency for SMEs and Cooperatives (SMEs). The gr antor in all cases is the 
Ministry of Public Finance. 
94 Law No. 332/2001, as amended. 
95 Law No. 332/2001 indicates that investors eligible for various incentive schemes must choose only 
one. 
96 These goods must also be new, i.e. must have been produced one year at most prior to their arrival in 
Romania, and they must never have been utilized. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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(e) until 31 December 2006, a Local Council ma y approve exemption or reduction of the 
land tax for no more than three years from the initiation of a project. 
87. Romania has 25 industrial parks (zero in 1999), including one in Bucharest. Industrial parks 
are limited zones where economic, scientific resear ch and/or technological development activities are 
performed, using the human and materi al potential available in the region.97 To act as an industrial 
parks management business, companies require a licence; specific conditions should be met by the 
land on which the park is built. The incentives on indus trial parks are similar to those provided for the 
promotion of DISIE, except that industrial parks are granted an exemption from payment of charges 
levied for changing land destination or removing land from the agricultural circuit. 
88. To be eligible for the disadvantaged zones scheme98, investment projects must meet the 
following criteria: (i) be located in a region wher e the unemployment level has been at least three 
times the national level over the previous three mo nths; (ii) be established in an isolated region 
lacking communication and appropriate infrastructure; a nd (iii) the region should be strictly defined in 
geographical limits, established for three to ten y ears. The incentives provided to the 32 economically 
disadvantaged regions (26 in 1999) economically disadvantaged regions include exemption from 
profit tax99, and state aid.100 
89. In August 2004, Romania unveiled its stra tegy for SME development during 2004-08.101 The 
five priorities are: creation of a favourable business environment; development of SME competitiveness; improving access to finance; impr oving access to foreign markets; promoting 
entrepreneurship; and strengthening management performance.
102 The National Agency for SMEs and 
Cooperatives (NASMEC) has main responsibility fo r SMEs. Incentives under the programme for the 
promotion of private SMEs include: state aid since 2005, profit tax exemption, non-refundable financial allocations, non-refundable financial aid, and guarantee funds.
103  Risk capital and 
investment funds, as well as low interest cr edit schemes are  envisaged for the future. 
90. Under the Fiscal Code, Romania also grants th e following incentives to investors (domestic 
and foreign) at the local level: exemption from tax on  buildings for industrial parks, and scientific and 
technological parks; exemption from the land tax in  industrial parks, and scientific and technological 
parks; 50% reduction on the land tax and on the tax on buildings in the case of  tourism services, for a 
maximum of five months a year; and until 31 December 2006, a Local Council may approve the 
exemption or reduction of the land tax for no more than three years from the initiation of a project. 
                                                      
97 Law No. 490/2002. 
98 Law No. 20/1999, as amended. 
99 Disadvantaged zone companies that have a perman ent investor certificate issued before 1 July 2003 
are eligible for profit tax exemption on new investments as long as the disadvantaged area exists.  
100 State aid is granted on the basis of the criteria (e.g . investment costs) stipulated in the Regulation on 
regional State aid and State aid for SMEs, an d upon approval by the Competition Council. 
101 Law No. 346/2004 (as amended). SMEs employ under 250 persons, are independent from big 
commercial companies, and have a yearly turnover of up to € 8 million. From 1997 to 2002, SMEs accounted, 
on average, for more than half of total turnover, and over 25% of exports and investments by all enterprises in 
Romania. Their share of total employees increased from 33% in 1997 to more than 50% in 2002 (Romanian Foreign Trade Centre online inform ation. Available at: www.tradero m.ro/dcepe/IndrumarAfaceri/engleza/ 
Ghid.htm). 
102 European Commission (2004c). 
103 Law No. 346/2004, which abolished Law No. 133/1999, and Government Decision No. 1461/2004. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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(ii) Public enterprises and privatization 
91. Since Romania's previous TPR, the public sector  has continued to exert a direct and strong 
influence on the economy, mainly through state-owned enterprises (SOEs). After losing access to directed credit and most budget subsidies in the 1990s, loss-making SOEs resorted to payments 
offsets and arrears to keep afloat, with the conse quent negative impact on the budget. At the end of 
2003, arrears in energy (e.g. gas, electricity, and heating companies) represented 6-7% of GDP, while 
arrears in the mining and railway subsectors amoun ted to 2.7% and 1% of GDP, respectively. The 
build-up of SOE arrears in Romania has been attributed to a number of factors, including protracted privatization.
104 
92. The privatization programme in Romania star ted in 1991 (Law No. 58/1991); initial efforts 
were focused on privatizing SMEs.105 Since 2001, the privatization of  larger SOEs has been given 
priority, with a view to relieving the financial burden on the national budget106, and ensuring a 
market-based and competitive production system, wh ile meeting the EC's accession economic criteria. 
The pace of privatization only picked up following la rge-scale restructuring of SOEs. Of the 513 large 
companies in the privatization portfolio in 1993, about 74% had been sold by the end of 2003. 
Important privatizations include: Sidex (steel)107, Roman Brasov (truck chassis and truck maker), 
Siderurgica (steel), and Aro (car manufacturer). Moreover, in July 2004, the authorities signed the sale-purchase contracts for the privatization of the most important SOE (the oil company, Petrom), two gas-distribution companies, and two power-distributors.
108 
93. Since 1 May 2004, the Authority for State Asset s Recovery (AVAS) has been in charge of 
overseeing the final stages of the privatization programme. AVAS was created by merging Banking 
Assets Resolution Agency (AVAB) wi th the Authority for Privatiza tion and Management of State 
Ownership (APAPS).109 According to Emergency Ordinance No. 23/2004, AVAS main tasks include: 
recovering state-owned banking assets and prepari ng them for privatization; concluding the 
privatization (or liquidation) of all companies in which the State holds equities; and monitoring the 
observance of the privatization contracts. In add ition, MEC, through the Office of State Ownership 
and Privatization in Industry (OPSPI),  is responsible for the privatiza tion of some other SOE, mainly 
in energy, and certain industries. The OPSPI is to co mplete the restructuring strategy in the large loss-
making mining and railway subsectors. 
94. The privatization portfolio fell from 9,137 companies at the end of 1999 to 1,044 as of June 
2005 (with an aggregate share capital managed by AVAS of RON 1.6 billion). Of the 
1,044 companies, 473 are to be privatized (RON 539.6 million), 89 of which are majority state-owned 
(RON 343.3 million) (Table AIII.4), and 384 mi nority state-owned (RON 196.3 million); 544 are 
                                                      
104 SOEs that remain in the pipeline for privatization for long periods of time have little incentive to 
reduce arrears. 
105 See WTO (2000). 
106 The ratio of the deficit of the broad public sector (including SOEs) to GDP is targeted to be reduced 
by about 0.7 percentage points in 2005 (IMF, 2004b). 
107 Sidex was sold to the Indian-Britis h LNM Group in 2001 (OECD, 2003). 
108 The sale of 51% shares of Petrom to OMV (Austria) had been delayed. Distrigaz Sud was sold to 
Gaz de France for €311 million, a nd Distrigaz Nord to Ruhrgaz (Germany ) for €303 million. Electrica Banat 
and Electrica Dobrogea were sold to Enel (Italy) for €111.8 million (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2005). 
109 Law No. 58/1991 created two institutions in charge of the privatization programme: the State 
Ownership Fund, a public institution administering the St ate's stockholdings (70% of the capital share of SOEs 
subject to privatization); and five regional Private Ownership Funds, organized as joint stock companies, and 
administering the remaining 30% of cap ital shares of SOEs to be privatized . In 1996, the five Private Ownership 
Funds were transformed into Financial Investment Societies, while the State Ownership Fund, initially designed to function for no more than seven years, prolonged its activity and was renamed, in 2001, as APAPS.  Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 53 
 
 
non-privatizable (RON 680.7 million); and 27 companies (RON 393 million), with specific status, 
such as R&D institutes, are being transferred to other public companies. Among the most important 
SOEs that remain in the overall privatization por tfolio are: the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR, 
the largest bank in the country), the Savings Bank, Romgaz (the country's main natural gas extraction 
company), and the two gas distribution companie s. The authorities intended to complete the 
privatization of companies in the AVAS portfolio by mid 2006. 
95. The privatization methods available under Article  4 of Law No. 137/2002 are: (i) direct share 
sales (i.e. public offer, sale methods specific to capital market, negotiation, outcry or sealed envelope 
auction, bank certificate of deposits issued by in vestment banks, or any combination of the above); 
(ii) increase of capital share by private capital contribu tion; (iii) free transfer or sale of social assets 
(e.g. schools, power plants); and (iv) any combination of the above methods. On the basis of Government Decision No. 31/2003, 101 out of 110 " golden shares" (retained by the State and owned 
by AVAS), which accompanied the negotiated sales met hod, were transformed into ordinary shares. 
In June 2005, Law No. 185/2005 abolished the possibilit y for the State to retain a "golden share", as it 
contravenes EC practices, and all existing "golden shares" were transformed into ordinary shares. 
96. In 2002, the share of privately owned capital in the Romanian economy exceeded that of the 
public sector for the first time since the beginning of  the country's transition to a market economy. By 
2003, the share of (majority) private capital amounted to 56.4% of total capital.
110 About half of the 
aggregated FDI stock in Romania has resulted from privatization. Nevertheless, as percentage of 
GDP, privatization revenues dropped from 1.8% in 1998 to 0.2% in 2002. This was largely the result 
of an expanding GDP, and the decreasing number of privatizations concluded; there were over 
1,000 per year in 1997-99 and less than 100 in 200 1-04. According to the authorities, investment 
commitments assumed through privatization contr acts amounted to US$2,246.7 million over 1993-04. 
97. Romania has notified the WTO that it has no state-trading enterprises as defined in GATT 
Article XVII.111 
(iii) Competition policy and price controls 
98. Some major modifications have been made to  the competition policy framework in Romania 
since its last TPR. These include: (i) amending the Competition Law (No. 21/1996) in the area of anti-trust to abolish the requirement for individual no tifications under the "block exemptions", and to 
eliminate the possibility of exemptions for abuse of a dominant position
112; and (ii) merging the 
Competition Council and the Office of Competition into a single competition authority, the 
Competition Council, as from March 2004.113 Other changes include the adoption of State Aid Law 
No. 603/2003, which amended and completed State Ai d Law No. 143/1999, so that such aid may be 
granted only after authorization by the Competition Council.  The Competition Law and the State Aid Law were republished in August 2 005. As a result, the Romanian Competition Law now contains the 
main principles of EC anti-trust rules as regards restrictive agreements, abuse of dominant position, 
and merger control.
114 
                                                      
110 AVAS online information. Available at: www.avas.ro. 
111 WTO document G/STR/N/9/ROM, 16 March 2004. 
112 The new legislation also increases the turnover threshold triggering the obligation to notify mergers. 
113 Following the reorganization, the Competition Council is now present at the level of the 41 counties 
and in Bucharest. Its territorial offices monitor st ate aid granted from local  budgets, where funds are 
administered autonomously. 
114 Additional efforts by Romania towards a more de terrent sanctions policy, and more emphasis on 
preventing serious distortions of competition, are deemed necessary by the EC (European Commission, 2004c). WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
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99. The Competition Law (No. 21/1996, as republished)  aims to protect, maintain, and stimulate 
competition and a normal competitive environment for th e benefit of the consumer.  It applies to anti-
competitive practices by private commercial opera tors and state-owned enterprises, including 
commercial companies where the State is a majo r shareholder. The Law also applies to anti-
competitive practices by central and local public ad ministration authorities wh en they intervene in 
market operations or take decisions that limit th e freedom to trade or the autonomy of commercial 
operators, or establish discriminatory conditions. It covers acts and deeds on the territory of Romania 
and those perpetrated abroad if they have effects in Romania.115  The Law applies to all sectors, 
except those regulated by specific laws (e.g. banking).116 
100. Law No. 21/1996 (as republished) does not prohibi t dominant positions or mergers as such, 
but subjects them to the oversight of the Compe tition Council to ensure that potential anti-competitive 
practices are assessed in accord ance with established criteria.117  Article 5 of the Law prohibits certain 
agreements, association decisions and concerted practi ces (e.g. fixing of prices, fees, rebates, mark-
ups; and elimination of other competitors from the market). The Competition Council may grant exemption for individual agreements, association decisions or concerted practices, and establish 
exemptions for certain categories.
118  An exemption can be granted, provided a category of agreement, 
association decision, or concerted practice meets th e conditions of Article 5(2)(a)–(d), i.e. that 
positive effects outweigh negative ones; consumers benefit from the agreements as much as the 
parties involved;  the possible restrictions on co mpetition are indispensable to obtain the expected 
benefits; competition is preserved; and th e agreement contributes to certain objectives.119 
101. For economic concentrations, the Competition Coun cil follows specified criteria to appraise 
compatibility with a normal competitive environment,  including the need to preserve and develop 
competition on the Romanian market. The Compe tition Council may authorize a concentration 
provided the undertakings concerned prove that all the criteria in the Law are met (e.g. the 
concentration contributes to increasing economic efficiency, distribution or technological progress, or to enhancing export competitiveness). The provision applies to economic concentrations with an 
aggregate turnover of more than €10 million, involv ing at least two companies based in Romania, 
each with a turnover exceeding €4 million. 
102. During 2001-04, 86.3% of all decisions take n by the Competition Council resulted in non-
objection, and 11.4% were negative clearance deci sions (Table III.5). Abuse of dominant position 
decisions decreased from 15 in 2001 to 11 in 2004, and notifications for granting block exemptions 
from 163 to 2, mainly due to the elimination of the obligation to notify.  Sanctions (including for 
failure to notify) were issued in 16.5% of all d ecisions taken over 2001-04, only one with fines. The 
Competition Law establishes fines for up to 1% of the aggregate turnover of the financial year prior to 
certain actions (e.g. failure to notify an economic  concentration, and submission of incorrect or 
                                                     
 
115 WTO (2000). 
116 Articles 2.1 and 2.4 of the Competition Law. 
117 There are some natural monopolies in Romania, such as in the cement industry. In this regard, the 
Competition Council tries to ensure, by constant monitoring, that the abuse of such monopolistic position does 
not occur (OECD, 2003). 
118 The following activities qualify for exemption fro m the provisions of Article 5(1): exclusive 
distribution; exclusive purchase; R&D;  specialization;  transfer of technology and/or know-how; franchising; 
vehicle distribution, service and spare parts during the warranty and post-warranty period; and insurance. 
119 The objectives, as enumerated in Article 5(2)(e), include: improvement of the production or 
distribution of goods, the carrying out of works, or the provision of services; promotion of technical or 
economic progress; improvement of the quality of the good  or service; and considerably lower prices to the 
benefit of consumers in the long run. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 55 
 
 
incomplete information, or failure to submit). For other infringements, the La w allows for fines up to 
10% of the aggregate turnover of the previous financial year. 
Table III.5 
Decisions taken by the Competition Council, 2001-04 
 2001 2002 2003 2004 
Agreements, decision of associatio ns, concerted practices 177 154 49 16 
Complaints 8 29 11 7 
Requests for non-intervention/negative clearance 5 6 16 5 
Requests for individual exemption 1 0 0 2 
Notifications for granting block exemption 163 119 22 2 
Economic concentrations 169 157 247 165 
Negative clearance 9 14 16 45 
Non-objection 153 138 228 118 
Authorized 5 5 2 2 
Conditioned authorization 1 0 1 0 
Rejected 1 0 0 0 
Abuse of dominant position 15 19 7 11 
Complaints 0 3 8 3 
Notification failure 62 30 68 46 
Sanctions 2 12 46 4 
Anticompetitive agreements 2 12 43 3 
Abuse of dominant position 0 0 2 1 
With fines 0 0 1 0 
Contestations 49 29 43 0 
Other cases 13 14 14 5 
Total 487 418 482 248 
Source:  Competition Council (2003), Annual Report 2003 , Bucharest;  and information provided by the Romanian 
authorities. 
103. Steps are being taken to coordinate the activ ities of the Competition Council with those of 
regulatory authorities in Romania; protocols were si gned with the National Authority of Regulation in 
Communications on 14 July 2004 and with the National Authority of Natural Gas, and with the 
National Authority of Energy, on 21 July 2004.120  
104. In line with the objective of moving to a market  economy, most of the price controls from the 
centrally planned era have been dismantled. Regul ated prices (i.e. fixed by the State or by the 
regulatory authority on the basis of a price-cap methodology) represent 23% of the CPI basket, mainly in: electrical energy, natural gas, telecommunications , postal services, services of local interest, and 
mineral resources and oil.
121 Over the last few years, Romania has increased the end-user prices of, 
inter alia , gas, electricity, and heating (Chapter IV(3)(iii)(a)). 
(iv) Protection of intellectual property rights 
(a) Overview 
105. As part of its efforts to harmonize with EC legislation on intellectual property rights (IPRs), 
and in accordance with its commitments under the WTO TRIPS Agreement, Romania has introduced 
                                                      
120 OECD (2005b). 
121 The Ministry of Public Finance regulates 0.36% of total prices in Romania (8 products/services, 
such as Bucharest's metro, identity cards, an d pipelines in 2005, down from 76 in 1997). WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 56 
 
 
some changes to its IPR regime since its last  TPR.  The changes include: (i) Law No. 202/2000 on 
Specific Measures for the Enforcement of IPRs in Customs Clearance Operations122; (ii) amending the 
Patents Law (No. 64/1991) to transpose an EC Directive on biotechnological inventions; 
(iii) amending the Industrial Designs Law (No. 129/ 1992) to transpose an EC Directive on industrial 
property rights; and (iv) amending the Copyright  and Neighbouring Rights Law (No. 8/1996) to 
further align it with the acquis .123 Moreover, in December 2003, the National Strategy for Intellectual 
Property 2003-07 was approved; th is included the Government's intentions to address IPR 
enforcement problems, particularly  with respect to piracy and c ounterfeit. Romania remains on the 
United States Special 301 Watch List, due to inad equate enforcement against copyright piracy.124 
106. Intellectual property rights legislation in Romania comprises mainly: the Copyright and 
Neighbouring Rights Law (No. 8/1996, as am ended by Law No. 285/2004); Patents Law 
(No. 64/1991, as amended) a nd implementing regulations; La w No. 581/2004 on Supplementary 
Protection Certificates for Medicaments and Plant Protection Products; Trademarks and Geographical 
Indications Law (No. 84/1998) and implem enting regulations; Industrial Designs Law 
(No. 129/1992); Protection of Topographies for In tegrated Circuits Law (No. 16/1995) and 
implementing regulations; Protec tion of New Plant Varieties Law (No. 255/1998); and the Law on 
Specific Measures for the Enforcement of IPRs in Customs Clearance Operations (No. 202/2000).  
The Romanian intellectual property legislati on was reviewed by the WTO TRIPS Council during 
1997-99.125 
107. The institutions responsible for intellectual prope rty matters are: the Department of Foreign 
Trade of the MEC, for general IPRs issues; the St ate Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM); 
the Romanian Copyright Office (ORDA); the Genera l Customs Directorate, for border measures and 
issues related to trade in counterfeit goods; and the High Court of Justice for sanctions. 
108. Parallel imports of goods and services subject to  IPR protection are prohibited in Romania.  
Romanian legislation on copyright, trade marks,  designs, geographical indications, and patents 
provides for national exhaustion of distribution righ ts, which enables the right holders to prevent 
parallel imports of products subject  to any form of IPR protection.126  
109. Romania is a member/participant in various international agreements, conventions, and 
treaties related to intellectual property rights (Tab le III.6). Romania acceded to the WIPO Copyright 
Treaty, and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty in  February 2001, and to  the European Patent 
Convention. 
                                                      
122 This Law was notified to the WTO in document IP/N/1/ROM/E/1, 20 April 2004. 
123 According to the authorities, once approved, the new law will eliminate the statutory limit on  
remuneration for cable retransmission. 
124 USTR (2004). 
125 WTO documents IP/Q-Q4/ROM/1 (various dates); IP/C/W/117/Add.17, 9 March 1999; and  
IP/C/W/125/Add.6, 16 February 1999; contain the introductory statement made by Romania, as well as the questions posed and answers given during the review.  
126 Article 6 of the TRIPS Agreement provides that, for the purposes of dispute settlement, nothing in 
the Agreement shall be used to addre ss the issue of exhaustion of intellectual property rights, provided that the 
national treatment and MFN treatment obligations are met.  Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
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Table III.6 
Romania's participation in in ternational IPR agreements, 2005 
Treaty Entry into force  
Berne Convention 1 January 1927 
Budapest Treaty 25 September 1999 
Hague Agreement 18 July 1992 
Locarno Agreement 30 June 1998 
Madrid Agreement (Marks) 6 October 1920 
Madrid Protocol 28 July 1998 
Nairobi Treaty 20 July 2005 
Nice Agreement 30 June 1998 
PCT 23 July 1979 
PLT 28 April 2005 
Paris Convention 6 October 1920 
Phonograms Convention 1 October 1998 
Rome Convention 22 October 1998 
Strasbourg Agreement 31 March 1999 
TLT 28 July 1998 
UPOV Convention 16 March 2001 
Vienna Agreement 30 June 1998 
WCT 6 March 2002 
WIPO Convention 26 April 1970 
WPPT 20 May 2002 
Source : Information provided by the Romanian authorities; and WIPO online information.  Available at: 
 http://www.wipo.int/treaties.  
(b) Patents 
110. A patent shall be granted for any invention having as subject matter a product or a process, in 
all technological fields, provided that it is new, involves an inventive step, and is susceptible of 
industrial application. Patent applications are published 18 months after th e national deposit date. A 
patent application can be examined at the filing da te or at the opening of the national phase or within 
30 months of one of these dates. D ecisions regarding patent applications are made by OSIM, within 
18 months of the date on which examination was requested. Law No. 203/2002 also provides for the 
protection of a product obtained directly through a patented process. 
111. Decisions to grant or refuse patents shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Industrial 
Property  within 60 days of the filing. Decisions by OS IM can be contested before the Re-examination 
Board, and subsequently before the Bucharest C ourt. In 2004, 1,101 patent applications were 
registered, 938 of which were from Romanians. 
112. A patent has a maximum term of 20 years, but the term is ten years for an invention that 
improves other patented inventions and cannot be worked without the pr eviously patented inventions.  
The holder is entitled to an exemption from tax on th e profit from the exploitation of an invention for 
the first five years.  Renewal of a patent must be requested annually subject to payment of a fee.  The 
owner may exploit the patent either individually or in cooperation with other na tural or legal persons;  
transfer of rights may be by assignment, licensing, or by testamentary succession.127  The illegal 
manufacture, use or commercialization of the subject  matter of a patent or any other infringement of 
the rights conferred by the patent is punishable unde r the Criminal Code on the initiative of the owner. 
                                                      
127 If a patent has not been exploited or is insufficiently exploited without justification, and the owner 
has not reached an agreem ent on the transfer of rights, the Muni cipal Court of Buch arest may grant a 
compulsory licence four years from th e date of application or three years from the grant of the patent. WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 Trade Policy Review 
Page 58 
 
 
(c) Trade marks 
113. Romania's legislative framework on trade marks pr otects verbal, figurative, three-dimensional 
or combined signs, provided they are registered by OSIM.  Applications for protection are subject to the requirements of Law No. 84/1998.
128  The initial term of protection is ten years, and the exercise 
of rights and their transfer are subject to the provisions of Law No. 84/1998. 
(d) Copyright 
114. An original intellectual creation, or a creation derived therefrom, benefits from protection for 
the life of the author plus 70 years.129 Objects of copyright include literary works, works of art, 
musical compositions, movies and other audiovisual works, and photographs. The law also recognizes 
and protects the neighbouring rights of performers for their own performances, producers of sound 
and audiovisual recordings for their own recordings , and TV and radio broad casting stations for their 
own broadcasts. In addition, the maker of a datab ase may authorize or prohibit the extraction and/or 
re-utilization of the entire or substantial part of the database ( sui-generis  rights). Specific terms of 
protection include lifetime plus 70 years after death for computer programs130, 50 years for sound and 
audiovisual recordings, 50 years for radio and TV programmes, and 15 years for sui-generis  rights. 
115. Romania's law recognizes the author's exclusive right to use and exploit the creation.  The 
author may exploit a copyright on an individual basis or entrust the rights to a "collective management 
body" established for the branch of creative activ ity of relevance. Such bodies may negotiate a 
remuneration fee with the users up to a maximum of  10% of the monies generated by the exploitation 
of copyright, and 3% for neighbouring rights. They must also forward to ORDA a record of the 
repertoire of works under management. 
(e) Industrial designs 
116. Under Law No. 129/1992 (as amended in 2002), indu strial designs must be new and have an 
individual character.131 The Law establishes the opposition proce dure with respect to the examination 
of industrial design applications. Protection of an industrial design entitles the owner to an exclusive 
right for ten years, renewable for three successive five-year periods. 
(f) Other areas 
117. Romania protects geographical indications that serve to confer a reputation, quality or 
characteristic on a product.  These can be protected by registering them with OSIM, in the National 
Register of Geographical Indications, or in accordan ce with the terms of Law No. 84/1998, or of the 
international conventions to which Romania is party.  Such indications are protected for an indefinite 
period and the applicant's right to use them is gran ted for a period of ten years with unlimited renewal 
(if the conditions under which the right was acquired c ontinue to apply).  No applications to protect 
designations of geographical origin have been registered to date. 
                                                      
128 In addition, Romania accepts inte rnational registrations at WIPO ma de by persons from contracting 
parties of the Madrid Agreement; si nce 1998, Romania also accepts appli cations for regist ration under the 
system established by the 1989 Protocol and 1998 Regulations of the Madrid Agreement.   
129 Exceptions to copyright pertain to ideas, theories, concepts, discoveries, and inventions;  official 
documents or symbols of the State;  means of payment;  simple facts and dates;  and news or press releases. 
130 Defined to include any expression of a program, application program and operating system, 
expressed in any language, either source code or object  code, the preliminary conceiving materials, and the 
manuals. 
131 In addition, Romania accepts international registra tions of industrial designs at WIPO by residents 
of contracting parties of  the Hague Agreement. Romania WT/TPR/S/155/Rev.1 
 Page 59 
 
 
118. Romania's legislation does not protect undisclosed information. 
(g) Enforcement 
119. Administrative capacity in Romania remains insu fficient to ensure effective implementation 
of IPRs legislation.132 To address this situation, and increase cooperation among the various 
enforcement agencies (e.g. Minist ry of Justice, Police, NCA, OSIM, and ORDA), a common Action 
Plan is in progress under the supervision of the Pr osecutor's Office attached to the High Court of 
Justice. In addition, the National Strategy for Intellectual Property 2003-07 is aimed at, inter alia , 
strengthening the administrative structures related to the protection of IPRs.  
120. In practice, ORDA cooperates with copyright holders (either individually or through the 
collective management body) on investigations of possible copyright infringement. Under Law 
No. 8/1996, as modified by Law No. 285/2004, copy right sanctions consist of: imprisonment ranging 
from three months to ten years, or criminal fines of between RON 2,000 and RON 100,000.  However, the rates of copyright piracy in Ro mania remain high since very few IPR cases are 
prosecuted.
133 Another area of concern is the sale of c ounterfeit decoder devices. The theft of video 
signal is hindering cable companies' efforts to upgr ade networks and keep subscription rates low. Law 
enforcement problems are threatening profits of cable companies.134 Currently, Audio-Visual Law No. 
504/2002 stipulates only criminal fines ranging from RON 100 to RON 3,000 for trade of counterfeit decoders. According to the authorities, however, a new law will increase the fine range to RON 
5,000-30,000,  with an imprisonment ranging from six  months to three years.  The appointment of a 
special IPR prosecutor in 2004 by the Prosecutor General is expect ed to reduce copyright piracy.
135 
121. OSIM, unlike ORDA, is not responsible for inves tigations of infringement or for resolving 
disputes between persons over invent or status or other rights. A right  holder is required to pursue such 
a claim through the domestic courts. Possible reme dies include civil damages. According to the 
authorities, in 2004, 11,555 cases of possible infri ngement of IPRs (amounting RON 1.16 million) 
were handled as follows: in 9,546 cases (82.6% of th e total) the preliminary complaint was withdrawn 
or retracted, or the parties reached a settlement; 1,073 (9.3%) resulted in an administrative fine; 
99 (0.9%) were sent to court; other solutions were reached in 837 cases (7.2%). 
122. In order to solve IPR enforcement problems at  the border, the Law on Specific Measures for 
the Enforcement of IPRs in Customs Clearance Operations was enacted in 2000. According to 
Article 25 of the Law, the General Customs Dir ectorate may apply fines ranging from RON 3,000 to 
RON 5,000 for goods infringing IPRs at the border; the goods may also be seized.136 Fires of 
counterfeit or pirated goods, range  between RON 1,000 and RON 2,000.137 In 2004, 153 cases 
(130 during 2001-03) of possible infringement of IP Rs were submitted to the NCA. Trade marked 
goods (e.g. footwear, clothes, cosmetics, leather) ar e the most frequent products retained by the NCA 
for infringing IPRs. 
 
                                                      
132 European Commission (2004c). 
133 Recently, the Union of P honogram Producers of Romania (UPFR)  won a trial cour t case where the 
defendant was sentenced to one year in prison, required to pay substantial damages, and counterfeited CDs and tapes were seized. However, the Appeals Court reversed the decision, setting a bad precedent not only for UPFR 
and the phonogram industry, but for the entire IPR-related industry in Romania (USTR, 2004). 
134 A video provider estimates that for each legitimate subscriber five others are watching fraudulently 
through counterfeit devices (USTR, 2004). 
135 According to the authorities, specialized courts on  IPRs are to be established in the near future. 
136 Where goods have been commercialized, th e amounts resulting from the sale are seized. 
137 The Government may update the amount of the fines depending on the inflation rate (Article 31).