RUSSIA – MEASURES AFFECTING THE IMPORTATION OF RAILWAY EQUIPMENT AND PARTS THEREOF REQUEST FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PANEL BY UKRAINE
Document: REQUEST FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PANEL
Date: 11 November 2016
Document codes: WT/DS499/2
Complainant: Ukraine
Respondent: Russia
Third parties: Canada, China, EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, U.S.
Dispute stage: Appellate Body
Agreements cited: Art. 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.2.3, 2.1  Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)Art. I:1, III:4, X:3(a), XI:1, XIII:1  GATT 1994

RUSSIA – MEASURES AFFECTING THE IMPORTATION OF RAILWAY EQUIPMENT
 AND PARTS THEREOF
REQUEST FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PANEL BY UKRAINE
The following communication, dated 10 November 2016 , from the delegation of Ukraine to the
Chairperson of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated pursuant to Article 6.2 of the DSU.

 My authorities have instructed me to request the establishment of a panel pursuant to
Articles 4 and 6 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settleme nt of
Disputes ("DSU") and Article XXIII of the General Agreement o n Tariffs and Trade 1994
("GATT 1994") and Article 14 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade 1994
("TBT Agreement") concerning certain measures imposed by the Russian Federation on
importation of railway rolling stock, railroad switches, other railroad equipment, and parts thereof
("railway products") from Ukraine.
 On 21 October 2015 Ukraine requested consultations with the Russian Federation pursuant
to Articles 1 and 4 of the DSU , Article XXII of the GATT 1994, and Article 14 of the
TBT Agreement. This request was circulated on 26 October 2015 as document The
consultations were held on 4 December 2015 with a view to reaching a mutually agreed solution ,
but unfortunately failed to settle the dispute.
 As a result, Ukraine respectfully requests that a panel be established to examine the
measures at issue on the basis of the standard terms of reference as set out in Article 7.1 of the
DSU.
I. BACKGROUND
 On 15 July 2011 th e Commission of the Customs Union 1 of the Republic of Belarus, the
Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation ("CU") approved Decision No. 710 adopting
Technical Regulations No. 001/20112, No. 002/20113, and No. 003/20114 ("Technical Regulations")
setting safety and technical requirements for placing on the market "railway rolling stock", "high -
speed rail transport" and "rail transportation infrastructure". The new Technical Regulations
entered into force 3 years after their official publication, i. e. on 2 August 2014 5, and since that
date all conformity assessment certificates for railway products have to be issued in accordance
with the new procedures set forth in the Technical Regulations.
 This decision was subsequently amended by Decision of the Collegium of the Eurasian
Economic Commission No. 285 of 2 December 2013 "On Amendment of the Decision of the

1 Presently, the Eurasian Economic Commission.
2 Available at:
http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/texnreg/deptexreg/tr/Documents/TR%20Podvignoisostev%20PID.
pdf
3 Available at:
http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/texnreg/deptexreg/tr/Documents/TR%20HighSpeed%20PID.pdf
4 Available at:
http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/texnreg/deptexreg/tr/Documents/TR%20Infrastruktura%20PID.pdf
5 Available at: http://www.eurasiancommission.org/en/nae/news/Pages/01-08-2014-2.aspx

Commission of the CU No. 710 of 15 July 2011" allowing for a tr ansitional period, i.e. until
1 August 2016, during which the conformity assessmen t certificates issued prior to the entry into
force of the above -mentioned Technical Regulations continue to be valid, and the products with
such certificates are allowed to be produced, placed on the market, and utilised in the Russian
Federation.
II. THE MEASURES AT ISSUE
 Since 2014, the conformity assessment certificates issued by the Federal Budgetary
Organization "Register of Certification on the Federal Railway Transport" (FBO "RC FRT") to
Ukrainian producers of railway products prior to the entry i nto force of the Technical Regulations
have systematically been suspended.
 Moreover, Ukrainian producers have not been able to obtain new conformity assessment
certificates based on the Technical Regulations from the certification bodies in the Russian
Federation. The applications submitted by Ukrainian producers to the FBO "RC FRT" have
systematically been rejected or returned without consideration.
 Furthermore, the conformity assessment certificates issued by the authorities in the Republic
of Belarus and in the Republic of Kazakhstan have not been recognized by the authorities of the
Russian Federation. In fact, the relevant authorities of the Russian Federation, including its
Ministry of Transport and the Federal Agency for Railway Transport, decided that Technical
Regulation No. 001/2011 is applicable only to goods produced in the CU countries. Consequently,
the authorities of the Russian Federation concluded that the conformity assessment certificates
issued to Ukrainian producers in other CU countri es were not valid in the territory of the Russian
Federation and that the railway products of these producers could neither be imported nor
registered for operation in the territory of the Russian Federation.
 The measures at issue covered in this panel request are:
1) The systematic prevention of Ukrainian producers from exporting their railway products
to the Russian Federation by way of suspension of their valid conformity assessment
certificates, refusal to issue new conformity assessment certificates and the non -
recognition of conformity assessment certificates issued by the competent authorities of
other members of the CU namely the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of
Kazakhstan. This practice is evidenced by instructions of the authorities of the Rus sian
Federation listed in Annexes I, II and III.
2) The suspensions of conformity assessment certificates, the rejections of new applications
for conformity assessment certificates and the refusals to recognize valid conformity
assessment certificates issued by other CU countries with regard to Ukrainian producers
as mentioned in Annexes I, II and III.
3) Technical Regulation No. 001/2011 "On safety of railway rolling stock", read together
with the Protocol of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation regarding
issuance by certification authority of the Customs Union of the certificates of conformity
for products manufactured by third-countries No. A 4-3 adopted on 20 January 2015 and
the instructions mentioned in Annex III.
 As a result of the measures described above, certain Ukrainian producers have been
effectively banned from exporting railway products to the Russian Federation. Following the
implementation of the measures at issue, exports of such products from Ukraine to the Russian
Federation, which had reached USD 1.7 billion in 2013, decreased to USD 600 million in 2014 and
to only USD 110 million in 2015.
III. LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The above measures of the Russian Federation are based on several instruments which together
provide a legal framework applicable in the territory of the Russian Federation for the placing on
the market of railway products. These instruments include:
 Decision of the Commission of the Customs Union No. 710 of 15 July 2011 "On Adoption
of technical r egulations of the Customs Union 'On Safety of Railway Rolling Stock', 'On

Safety of High -Speed Rail Transport ' and 'On Safety of Rail Transportation
Infrastructure'";
 Decision of the Collegium of the Commission of the Eurasian Economic Commission
No. 285 of 2 December 2013 "On Amendment of the Decision of the Commission of the
CU No. 710 of 15 July 2011";
 Customs Union Technical Regulation No. 001/2011 "On Safety of Railway Rolling Stock"
adopted by the Decision of the Commission of the C ustoms Union No. 710 of
15 July 2011;
 Customs Union Technical Regulation No. 002/2011 "On Safety of High -Speed Rail
Transport" adopted by the Decision of the Commission of the Customs Union No. 710 of
15 July 2011;
 Customs Union Technical Regulation No. 003/2011 "On Saf ety of Rail Transportation
Infrastructure" adopted by the Decision of the Commission of the Customs Union
No. 710 of 15 July 2011;
 Chapter 10 and Protocol on Technical Regulation to the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic
Union of 29 May 2015;
 The Agreement o n Uniform Principles and Rules of Technical Regulation in the Republic
of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation;
 Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 184 -FZ "On Technical Regulation" of
27 December 2002 (with subsequent amendments);
 Orders of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation No. 137 of 14 November
2005 "On the organization of work for numbered accounting of rolling stock, containers,
operated on the roads of general use" and No. 266 of 25 July 2012 "On Approv al of the
administrative regulations of the Federal Railway Transport Agency concerning public
service for implementation of numbered accounting of the railroad rolling stock and
containers".
IV. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE COMPLAINT
 In Ukraine 's view, the measur es described in Section II above are inconsistent with the
Russian Federation 's obligations under the following provisio ns of the GATT 1994 and the
TBT Agreement:
1. Article 5.1.1 of the TBT Agreement, because the procedures for assessing conformity applied
by the Russian Federation grant access for Ukrainian suppliers of the like products under
conditions less favourable than those accorded to suppliers of like products of national origin or
originating in any other country, in a comparable situation;
2. Article 5.1.2 of the TBT Agreement, because the procedures for assessing conformity are
applied by the Russian Federation with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary
obstacles to international trade;
3. Article 5.2.2 of the TBT Agreement, because the c ompetent bodies of the Russian Federation
do not promptly examine the completeness of the documentation of Ukrainian producers
applying for conformity assessment certificates and do not inform applicants in a precise and
complete manner of all deficiencies ; and because the competent bodies of the Russian
Federation do not transmit as soon as possible the results of the conformity assessment in a
precise and complete manner to the applicants so that corrective actions may be taken if
necessary;
4. Article 5.2.3 of the TBT Agreement, because the information requirements for conformity
assessment procedures are not limited to what is necessary to assess conformity and
determine the fees;
5. Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement, because the measures at issue accord less f avourable
treatment to like products originating in Ukraine than that accorded to like products of national
origin and to like products originating in any other country;

6. Article I:1 of the GATT 1994, because the products of Ukrainian origin are not accorde d
immediately and unconditionally any advantage, favour, privilege or immunity granted to like
products of any other country;
7. Article III:4 of the GATT 1994, because the measures at issue accord less favourable
treatment to like products originating in Ukraine than to like products of national origin;
8. Article X:3(a) of the GATT 1994, because the relevant laws, regulations and decisions are not
administered in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner;
9. Article XI:1 of the GATT 1994, because through the meas ures at issue the Russian Federation
instituted and maintains prohibitions or restrictions other than duties, taxes or other charges
on imports of Ukrainian products;
10. Article XIII:1 of the GATT 1994, because through the measures at issue the Russian
Federation applies prohibitions or restrictions on imports from Ukraine, while imports of the
like product from all other third countries or exportation of the like product to all other third
countries is not similarly prohibited or restricted.
These violations nullify or impair benefits accruing to Ukraine directly or indirectly under the
covered agreements within the meaning of Article XXIII:1 of the GATT 1994.
Ukraine asks that this request be placed on the agenda for the meeting of the Dispute
Settlement Body expected to be held on 23 November 2016.

Annex I: Suspension of conformity assessment certificates
No. Name of the Ukrainian producer at issue Name of the authority of the
Russian Federation
Date and number of cover letter and
decision of the Russian authority at
issue
1 PJSC «Dneprovagonmash» FBO "RC FRT"1 Cover letter of 08.08.2015
Instruction No. 1767 of 08.08.2014
2 PJSC «Dneprovagonmash» FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 03.10.2014
Instruction No. 1837 of 03.10.2014
3 PJSC «Dnipropetrovsky Strilotchny Zavod» FBO "RC FRT" Instruction No. 1922 of 27.02.2015
4 PJSC «Dnipropetrovsky Strilotchny Zavod» FBO "RC FRT" Instruction No. 1921 of 27.02.2015
5 PJSC «Kremenchuk Steel Works» FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 11.02.2015 No. 01425
Instruction No. 1908 of 11.02.2015
6 PJSC «Kremenchuk Steel Works» FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 17.07.2014 No. 08997
Instruction No. 1704 of 16.07.2014
7 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 08.10.2014 No. 12422
Instruction No. 1842 of 08.10.2014
8 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 11.02.105 No. 01424
Instruction No. 1907 of 11.02.2015
9 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 18.05.2015 No. 05276
Instruction No. 1998 of 18.05.2015
10 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 06.07.2015 No. 07297
Instruction No. 2034 of 06.07.2015

1 Federal Budgetary Organization "Register of Certification on the Federal Railway Transport".

No. Name of the Ukrainian producer at issue Name of the authority of the
Russian Federation
Date and number of cover letter and
decision of the Russian authority at
issue
11 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 07.09.2015 No. 09999
Instruction No. 2093 of 07.06.2015
12 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 09.10.2014 No. 12794
Instruction No. 1844 of 09.10.2014
13 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 08.06.2015 No. 06223
Instruction No. 2021 of 08.06.2015
14 PJSC "Kryukov railway car building works" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 18.05.2015 No. 05284
Instruction No. 1998 of 18.05.2015
15 PJSC "Poltavhimmash" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 27.01.2015 No. 00630
Instruction No. 1884 of 27.01.2015
16 PJSC "Poltavhimmash" FBO "RC FRT" Cover letter of 11.02.2015 No. 01418
Instruction No. 1901 of 11.02.2015
Annex II: Refusal and/or annulment of issuance of new conformity certificates
No. Name of the Ukrainian producer at issue Name of the authority of
the Russian Federation
Date and number of cover letter and
decision of the Russian authority at issue
1 PJSC «Dneprovagonmash» FBO "RC FRT"1 Decision of 02.10.2014 No. 12206
2 PJSC «Dnipropetrovsky Strilotchny Zavod» FBO "RC FRT" Decision of 09.02.2015 No. 01305
3 PJSC «Kremenchuk Steel Works» FBO "RC FRT" Decision of 23.01.2015 No. 00543

1 Federal Budgetary Organization "Register of Certification on the Federal Railway Transport".

Annex III - Rejection of conformity certificates issued in countries of the Customs Union
No. Name of the Ukrainian
producer concerned
Name of the authority of the
Russian Federation
Date and number of cover letter and decision of the Russian
authority at issue
1 LLP "Kamkhor Vagon"
(Astana, Kazakhstan)
Federal Railway Transport
Administration of the Ministry of
Transport of the Russian Federation
Letter No. B/Ч 35/4779ас dated 04.02.2015
2 JSC "Kryukov railway car
building works"
Federal Railway Transport
Administration of the Ministry of
Transport of the Russian Federation
Letter from Federal Railway Transport Administration of the
Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation to JSC "Russian
Railways" accompanied to Protocol No. A 4-3 of 20.01.2015 of the
Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation regarding issuance
by the certification authority of the Customs Union of the
certificates of conformity for products manufactured by third-
countries.
3 JSC "Kryukov railway car
building works"
Federal Railway Transport
Administration of the Ministry of
Transport of the Russian Federation
Protocol of the 61st Meeting of the Commission of the Rolling Stock
of 22-24 March 2016 and the annexed Dissenting Opinion of the
Federal Railway Transport Administration of the Ministry of
Transport of the Russian Federation (Saratov, Russian Federation).