CU regulatory framework in technical regulations considers domestic producers' and consumers' interests as much as possible - Albert Rau

One of the key elements of any integration is a coherent policy in the sphere of technical regulation. First Vice Minister of Industry and New Technologies of Kazakhstan Albert Rau gave an interview to our correspondent regarding this issue.

What regulatory documents were adopted by the Customs Union member countries for the formation of a unified legal framework in the sphere of technical regulation?

The three partners have already adopted the agreement on implementation of coordinated policy in the field of technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures; the agreement on circulation of products liable to mandatory conformity assurance on customs territory of the Customs Union; the agreement on mutual recognition of accreditation of certification bodies and testing laboratories that perform work on conformity assessment of products.

The agreement on common principles and rules for technical regulation in Customs Union member states was signed as well. The principles defined in the agreement are based on the requirements, which subsequently will enable to smoothly integrate the single economic space in the international community.

How relevant is a unified system of technical regulation for the further work of the Customs Union?

First of all, we must take into account that despite the measures taken to improve the system of technical regulation, lack of unified technical standards is a serious barrier to business development within the Customs Union. Thus adoption of the unified system of technical regulations is the number one goal for the CU member states. It will help form a single legal space for ensuring the safety of products, eliminating technical barriers and protecting the customs territory against unsafe and counterfeit products from third countries.

Furthermore, the adoption of the unified technical regulations will simplify the work of producers and expand the geography of deliveries. It will become possible to eliminate the costs associated with work on the harmonization of existing rules and regulations.

How many technical regulations are needed to be taken by the Customs Union member countries?

Technical regulations of the Customs Union are developed only in relation to the goods, which are included in the unified list of products subject to obligatory certification. The list includes 61 product groups. It is planned to develop 47 priority technical regulations - 13 in Kazakhstan, 25 in Russia and 9 in Belarus.

What can you say about the process of developing regulations in Kazakhstan?

Following the ninth meeting of the CU's Coordination Committee on Technical Regulation, and Application of Sanitary, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Measures it was decided to submit for discussion five draft technical regulations - "On the safety of meat and meat products" (Agriculture Ministry), "On the safety of food and feed additives" (Agriculture Ministry), "On the security of explosives and products on their basis" (Ministry of Emergencies), "On the security of paints and varnishes" (Ministry of Industry and New Technologies), "On the security of synthetic detergents and household chemical goods" (Ministry of Industry and New Technologies).

In whole, the situation is as following: 9 draft technical regulations developed by the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus have been submitted for intrastate endorsement. The ministries of healthcare, emergencies, transport and communications, industry and new technologies were identified as responsible bodies for intrastate endorsement.

What other documents must be adopted besides the technical regulations?

These are the interstate standards - GOSTs - developed and adopted within the CIS Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification for the products conformity assessment. As is known all member countries of the Customs Union joined the Council. In the absence of the relevant GOSTs the national standards of the CU states can be applied as a unified standard. Preference will be given to the national standards based on international ones.

What measures are taken for simplification of doing business for the foreign economy participants within the Customs Union?

For this purpose there was developed a draft Agreement on harmonization of the CU member states' legislations in defining the types of administrative offenses and establishment of responsibility for violations in technical regulations sphere, application of sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary measures.

The document has been approved by the Customs Union Commission and is currently under the intrastate endorsement.

Many people are interested in how Kazakhstan's interests are protected in integration process. What about the protection of our interests in technical regulations sphere?

The regulatory framework of the Customs Union in technical regulations sector considers our producers' and consumers' interests as much as possible. Kazakhstani goods have access to the market of the Customs Union by unified minimum requirements and procedures. Unified requirements on goods circulation security have been introduced. The establishment of the Customs Union led to expansion of the range of goods on the domestic markets. Due to reduction of costs for certification, testing and other customs procedures, products prices in CU states fall.

Thank you for the interview!