Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry accuses Rospotrebnadzor of violation of WTO requirements

Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal Service for Control in the Sphere of Protection Consumers' Rights and Wellbeing of Humans) violates the World Trade Organization requirements in the situation with prohibition of imports of products made by Ukrainian Roshen corporation confectionary factories by distorting the results of its inspection.

The press service of the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry of Ukraine reports.

"The Ukrainian side has fulfilled all the conditions for the organization of Rospotrebnadzor inspection of Roshen corporation confectioneries. At the same time, the Rospotrebnadzor inspection team violated the inspection procedure at this stage and refused to address the issue of constructive bilateral trade. Such actions are contrary to the laws of both countries and the standards and requirements of the World Trade Organization. Rospotrebnadzor statement on the results of verification Ukrainian Roshen corporation factories contains explicit false information, and its tone is not in the spirit of Ukrainian-Russian cooperation," the press service informs.

The press service also recalled that Rospotrebnadzor from the outset had no reason to order a ban on the import of Roshen corporation products. In particular, Rospotrebnadzor publicly acknowledged that Roshen corporation products fully comply with the Russian sanitary legislation, which regulates safety performance. Under the WTO law, only a breach of the requirements for product safety is the reason for the ban of its import to the WTO member states.

"October 21-24, 2013, Rospotrebnadzor inspectors during the inspection of Roshen corporation confectionaries did not take samplings for laboratory tests," the press service of the Agriculture Ministry informed.

Instead, as reported, Rospotrebnadzor said by the audit results that as before it considers Ukrainian confectionary as such that does not meet the health requirements of Russia and that it will reexamine it only after “a fundamental change in the position of the Ukrainian side."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the 8th meeting of the Subcommittee on International Cooperation of the Russian- Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission in Rostov-on-Don on October 28 vowed that "no breach of trade and economic relations (between Russia and Ukraine) will occur, they will be carried out on the most favored basis, as is provided for the World Trade Organization countries."

Rospotrebnadzor had imposed a ban on imports of Roshen confectionery products from Ukraine in July 2013.

Adapted from ukrinform