Trade Barriers EU-Russia based in technical regulations Introduction Russia is a large market that offers business opportunities for companies like yours. However, accessing this market can be somehow challenging. To identify the main practical obstacles for foreign trade with Russia and support companies like yours in overcoming them, the European Commission is conducting this survey among companies that may face these types of challenges, with an emphasis on technical requirements for products and certification rules. Your contribution to this questionnaire is elementary for us to obtain a comprehensive overview of the market access obstacles European companies experience when trading with Russia. We thank you for taking the time to help us by sharing your company s experience. In exchange and to express our gratitude, companies completing the questionnaire would be provided with information on the main technical issues specific for entering Russian market in relation to various sectors. This questionnaire is set up to record no personal or company contact data, and is used only for statistical analysis. However, in the questionnaire we give the option to provide more detailed information or your contact details, if you wish us to contact you personally to discuss your organisation s particular challenges in trade with Russia. Any contribution you can give is highly appreciated. Please read the questions carefully and provide your answers as accurately as possible. Should you like to receive any additional information before completing the questionnaire, or if you have any question on how to complete it, please feel free to contact us at RussiaTBTstudy@ibf.be Thank you very much for your collaboration. A. Filters and general information A1. Where is your company registered? In the Russian Federation In the EU Others Please specify the country of origin of your company Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus 1
Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovak Republic Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom A2. During the last 12 months, has your company exported to Russia product of any of the following industry sectors? Chemical industry Machinery Automotive industry Optical and photographic instruments Electrical equipment (non optical) Textile industry Construction products Footwear A2. During the last 12 months, has your company exported to Russia product of any of the following industry sectors? Chemical industry Machinery Automotive industry Optical and photographic instruments Electrical equipment (non optical) Textile industry Construction products Footwear 2
B. Assesment of obstacles for EU-Russia trade B1. We are going to present you a series of potential obstacles that your company may have faced to export to Russia. Please tell us if you consider that the impact of each of these obstacles is irrelevant (IR), somewhat relevant (SR), relevant (R), very relevant (VR) or critical (C) for the company. IR SR R VR C Discrimination concerning establishment and operations of the company in the Russian federation in comparison with other Russian or third countries companies Obtaining the licences or approvals for carrying the company activity in Russia Obstacles generated by differences in the technical regulations in the EU and Russia Products held by the Customs Authorities Difficulties to ensure the freedom of transit trough the territory of the Eurasian Union Devaluation of the rouble Product ban of the authorities B2. We are going to present you a series of potential obstacles related to potential differences in the technical specifications of products in the EU and Russia that your company may have faced to export goods to Russia. Please tell us if you consider that the impact of each of these obstacles on the company is irrelevant (IR), somewhat relevant (SR), relevant (R), very relevant (VR) or critical (C) for the company. IR SR R VR C Access to the texts of the Russian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector Awareness about the changes in the Russian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector Understanding of the language inrussian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector Lack of harmonisation of the technical requirements for equivalent products contained in Russian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector Differences in the labelling requirements in Russian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector Differences requirements for the technical documentation in Russian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector 3
Differences in the requirements for testing, certification and conformity assessment in Russian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector Lack of recognition of test reports and certificates, or repetition of testing and certification Differences in the standards that are connected to the technical regulation(s) in Russian or Eurasian Union legislation on technical regulation in our industry sector 4
B3. Which additional obstacles related to technical specifications has your company experiences when exporting goods to Russia? 1 2 3 Obstacle 5
B4. Do you consider that the impact of each of these obstacles is irrelevant (IR), somewhat relevant (SR), relevant (R), very relevant (VR) or critical (C)? IR SR R VR C Obstacle described nr. 1 Obstacle described nr. 2 Obstacle described nr. 3 B5. We would be very grateful if you were able to share more detailed information about the obstacles related to technical specifications faced by your company to sell goods in Russia. Please, feel free to provide specific examples or detailed descriptions of those obstacles that are more relevant for your company. B6. Please, select the three actions from the following list that, from your experience in Russia EU trade, will be more effective to reduce the difficulties generated by the current technical requirements for your products in Russia Recognition of test reports and certificates issued under internationally recognised conformity assessment schemes Approximation of the lists of standards that pertain to the Eurasian Technical Regulations with the lists that pertains to the European Directives and regulations. Harmonisation of terms and definitions used in Technical Regulations. Discontinuation of registration of Declaration of Conformity in the Eurasian Union. Harmonisation of labelling requirements. Regulatory Dialogue between the European Union Commission and the Eurasian Union Commission, aimed at reducing the differences in regulations. B7. Which additional measures would you suggest in order to reduce the difficulties generated by the current technical requirements for your products in Russia? 6
B8. We would be very grateful if you were able to share more detailed opinion about potential actions to reduce the difficulties generated by the current technical requirements for your products in Russia. Please, feel free to provide specific examples or detailed descriptions of such potential actions. C. Other questions C1. Did your company took part in any stakeholder consultation for the establishment of modification of technical regulations in Russia or the Eurasian Union? Yes No How do you consider was your participation? Completely useless Useless Indiferent Useful Very useful C2. Has you company/organisation been offered sufficient opportunity to review the draft legislative and regulatory acts in the field of technical regulation and provide comments and suggestions before they come into force in Russia or the Eurasian Union? Yes No How do you consider that your inputs were? Completely useless Useless Indifferent Useful Very useful C3. From your perspective, which elements of the technical regulation in Russia would need to be revised to guarantee greater approximation of the EU and Russian/Eurasian systems of technical regulations? 7
C4. In your opinion, which other elements of the technical regulation in Russia would need to be revised to improve approximation? C5. In your opinion, which are the main obstacles related to technical requirements of products that need to be addressed to facilitate Russia-EU trade? D. Respondent profile D1. Which is your company s main sector of activity? Sector of activities are classified according to NACE Ver 2 (2008) http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/nomenclatures/index.cfm? TargetUrl=LST_NOM_DTL&StrNom=NACE_REV2&StrLanguageCode=EN Agriculture, forestry and fishing Mining and quarrying Manufacturing Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities Construction Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles Transportation and storage Accommodation and food service activities Information and communication Financial and insurance activities Real estate activities Professional, scientific and technical activities Administrative and support service activities Public administration and defence; compulsory social security Education Human health and social work activities Arts, entertainment and recreation Other service activities Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies 8
D2. How many employees have been working in average for your company in 2017? Less than 10 employees 10 to 25 employees 26 to 50 employees 51 to 250 employees More than 250 employees D3. Which was the approximate turnover of your company in 2017? Monetary Units Please select the monetary unit Euros Roubles Other currency Specify the currency D4. Is your company a commercial affiliate of other company? Yes No Which is the country of origin of your ultimate parent company? Russian Federation EU Others Please specify the country of origin of the company Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia 9
Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovak Republic Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Please specify the country of origin of the company D5. What is your position in your company? This survey is anonymous and for statistical purposes only. However, if you d like the researchers to contact you to discuss your experiences in more detail, please provide your email address and phone number below. Thank you very much for your time and collaboration. You will receive an email containing the report with the key findings and conclusions of this survey. It has been a pleasure to have the chance to share your knowledge and opinions of the effects of potential obstacles related to potential differences in the technical specifications of products in the EU and Russia. We are interested in knowing more about your viewpoints on this issue. If you are also interested in sharing your experiences and opinions, please send us an e-mail to MAIL@IBF.COM with all the information that you would like to share or to set a phone call with us to discuss your experience. This information can be useful for policy-makers to enhance the commercial relation. Thanks again for your support. 10