Sanitary and Phytosanitary Issues for the Customs Union of Russian Federation, Belarus and Kazakhstan in Relation to Trade with Other CIS Countries and the EU, with Special Reference to Food of Non-animal Origin and Phytosanitary Controls

摘要

This article examines the regulatory impact of SPS measures applied by the Members of the Eurasian Customs Union (CU) on trade with other countries, first, by looking at Russia's SPS legislative regime before and after its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the degree of compliance with the principles of the WTO's SPS Agreement. This includes references to some laws and regulations of the subjects of the Russian Federation (such as Republics, Oblast, Krai)(1) as well as the Federal legislation applicable to the entire territory of the Russian Federation. Second, it analyses the adoption of SPS measures by the CU in relation to trade within the CU and with other countries, taking into account background provided in a related article by the same authors.(2) Russia is a key for understanding the issues of trade regulation because Russia's case for joining WTO was made on the basis of the CU. For this reason, the adoption of SPS measures by Kazakhstan (in accession negotiations) and by the Kyrgyz Republic (WTO Member since 1998 and candidate for membership of CU) are discussed and compared. The article concludes with a discussion of the key issues about SPS measures and trade in the CU that were raised in the introduction. It is intended that this will provide the legal/regulatory background for economic analysis of trade in food and other agricultural products within the CU and between the CU and third countries.