3.86.  Armenia is a member of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and Codex Alimentarius, and is a contracting party to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)

3.87.  According to the authorities, during the review period, laws and regulations were aligned with international standards in line with the EAEU framework.[67] Also, laboratories have been modernized and upgraded with new equipment and systems. Further, the phytosanitary veterinary and food safety legislation has been brought into compliance with the procedures defined by the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures of the IPPC, and the standards and practices of the OIE and Codex Alimentarius. Additionally, Armenia has worked on a food safety risk assessment and a risk management framework to enhance the performance of the food safety system

3.88.  According to Government Decisions N1731-N of 30 December 2010 and N1147-N of 8 October 2015, the authorized regulatory body on food, veterinary, phytosanitary and food safety inspection was the State Service for Food Safety under the Ministry of Agriculture, which is also the national enquiry point. According to Paragraph 11 of Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law on the State Administration System Bodies, the State Service for Food Safety was changed to the Food Safety Inspection Body. According to Part 8 of Article 9 of the same Law, the transition period will elapse on 30 September 2018. At the same time, according to Paragraph 7 of the Annex of the Law on the Structure and Activity of the Government, the Ministry of Agriculture will develop and implement the Government's policy in the field of veterinary, phytosanitary and food safety

3.89.  The legislation regarding food safety consists of: The Law on State Control for Food Safety, LA-143-N of 21 June 2014; The Law on Food Safety, LA-135-N of 21 June 2014; The Law on Veterinary, LA-137-N of 21 June 2014; The Law on Phytosanitary, LA-140-N of 21 June 2014; and The Law on Feed, HO-141-N of 21 June 2014

3.90.  In addition, SPS-related provisions are found in Section XI and Annex 12 of the EAEU Treaty (Protocol on the Application of Sanitary, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Measures). Decisions of the Commission of the CU or of the EAEU regulate in greater detail the application of these measures

3.91.  The EAEU Treaty established a coordinated SPS policy for EAEU members. However, member States retain their rights to introduce temporary SPS measures, e.g. in cases of justified risk of specific imported goods. The Treaty provides that procedures for implementing these temporary SPS measures are to be developed by the Commission (Article 56.4)

3.92.  In line with Article 56.1 of the Treaty, SPS measures must be applied on the basis of scientific principles, and only to the extent necessary for the protection of human, animal or plant life and health. They must be based on international and regional standards, except when their application on a scientific basis results in a higher level of protection. According to CU Commission Decision No. 721/11, in the absence of EAEU or national rules establishing veterinary and SPS requirements, the standards, guidelines and recommendations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the OIE, or the IPPC are applied. Those standards prevail over the more restrictive rules applicable in the Union, so long as there is no scientific justification for the application of the latter

3.93.  The EAEU's risk assessment disciplines, as defined in Board Decision No. 17/14, are based on Article 5 of the WTO SPS Agreement.[68] Member States are required to ensure that veterinary or SPS measures are based on an assessment, as appropriate to the circumstances, of the risks to human, animal or plant life or health, taking into account risk assessment techniques developed by the relevant international organizations. In addition, they are also required to take into account relevant economic factors, including the potential damage in terms of loss of production or sales in the event of the entry, establishment or spread of a pest or disease, the cost of control or eradication in the territory of the member States and the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative approaches to limiting risks

3.94.  Each EAEU member State is obliged to recognize veterinary certificates issued by the other member States. Regulated products with high phytosanitary risk based on the principle of scientific analysis imported into the Union's customs territory must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate whenever in transit within the area (paragraph 23 of the SPS Protocol)

3.95.  The EAEU's disciplines are implemented on the basis of Commission Decisions No. 317/10 (as amended) on the Application of Veterinary and Sanitary Measures in the Customs Union and No. 318/10 on Assurance of Plant Quarantine in the Customs Union, which establish the following: a) Common lists of goods subject to veterinary control and to phytosanitary quarantine control; b) Common regulations regarding veterinary and phytosanitary control, inspection and approval procedures at the EAEU's external borders and within its customs area, as modified by CU Commission Decision No. 893/11;[69] c) A list of Common Veterinary Requirements i.e. supporting documentation (veterinary certificate/passport), import permit and registration of third country enterprises - for 110 groups of products subject to veterinary control; and d) A common veterinary certificate. In addition, common export veterinary certificates are also defined for 46 controlled products when these are imported from third countries into the territory of the EAEU (CU Commission Decision No. 607/11). This Decision has been amended several times to align the veterinary certificates with international standards, recommendations and guidelines

3.96.  In the absence of common veterinary requirements for the EAEU, bilateral certificates may be developed based on a common EAEU position, in accordance with relevant international standards, guidelines and recommendations. When common veterinary requirements exist, exporters may either use the EAEU common veterinary certificate or alternatively a bilateral export certificate that reflects the particular conditions of the exporting country. Bilateral export certificates that differ from the EAEU's common certificate and requirements can be negotiated between EAEU member States' competent authorities and an exporting country (Decision No. 726/11 on Veterinary Measures), provided that: the exporting country had made such a substantiated request prior to 1 January 2013; the certificate ensures the appropriate level of protection, as determined by the EAEU member States; and its terms and requirements are no less favourable than those of an international treaty concluded prior to 1 July 2010 between the relevant EAEU member State and the exporting country

3.97.  Any bilateral veterinary export certificate (as amended), initialled by one of the EAEU member States before 1 July 2010, remains valid for exports to the customs territory of the EAEU until an export certificate is agreed with the EAEU member State based on the agreed positions of the other EAEU member States. If the former was initialled between 1 July and 1 December 2010, it remains valid for import and circulation only in the territory of the EAEU member State that initialled the certificate

3.98.  After Armenia joined the EAEU, SPS standardization requirements have become more stringent in order to match EAEU requirements. One example is the direct application of EAEU technical regulations by all member States. Another example is the provision of the conformity assessment of food products according to EAEU technical regulation 021/2011. Another example is the new labelling requirement, according to EAEU technical regulation 022/2011, which stipulates that food products marketed in the EAEU area should be labelled in Russian and in any other language required by the legislation of each member State. In addition, certain food safety criteria have become more stringent, in particular with regards to the maximum residue limits (MRLs) of certain substances in food products

3.99.  At end-May 2018, Armenia had made a total of 27 notifications to the WTO on SPS measures, of which 3 were made after 1 January 2010. All 3 of these notifications related to EAEU measures, 2 to goods subject to veterinary control and 1 to goods subject to phytosanitary control. No specific trade concerns were addressed to Armenia during this period, nor did Armenia raise any concerns about measures taken by other Members

3.74.  The legal framework for standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment is the EAEU Treaty and national legislation. According to the EAEU Treaty, "technical regulation of the EAEU members shall be used for the purpose of protecting life and (or) human health, property, the environment, protecting life and (or) health of animals and plants, prevention of actions misleading consumers as well as to ensure energy efficiency and resource conservation within the EAEU. Adoption of technical regulations of the EAEU for other purposes is not allowed".[61]

3.75.  Furthermore, the Treaty states that international standards are the basis for technical regulations in the EAEU, "except in cases where respective documents are unavailable or non-consistent with the purposes of technical regulations of the Union, including due to climatic and geographical factors or process-related and other specific features". In the absence of an applicable international standard, regional standards or national standards of other countries may be used as a basis for EAEU measures. A product subject to a technical regulation may be put into circulation in the EAEU only if it has passed the necessary conformity assessment procedures.[62]

3.76.  At the EAEU level, the EEC approves, inter alia, the: General list of products subject to EAEU technical regulations; Procedure for the development and adoption of EAEU technical regulations; EAEU technical regulations; Procedure for the inclusion of certification bodies and testing laboratories to the EAEU universal registry of compliance assessment bodies, as well as their establishment and maintece; and EAEU uniform compliance certificate and compliance declaration

3.77.  To date, about 46 technical regulations have been adopted in the EAEU. (Standards are not adopted by the EAEU.) In order to meet the requirements of technical regulations, interstate standards are used, which are developed and adopted by the Eurasian Standards Committee (EASC); also used are national standards of the member countries of the EAEU. There are about 5,000 standards currently listed by the EEC as supporting the technical regulations in force in the EAEU. About 60% of them are harmonized with international standards. The procedure within the EEC for the adoption of technical regulations and standards is the same as that in Russia. (http://www.eurasiancommission.org/)

3.78.  Issues related to standards and technical regulations continue to be the responsibility of different government bodies within the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments and the Government. The National Institute of Standards (SARM) CJSC is the national standardization body. It coordinates the activities of standardization technical committees. The Ministry of Economic Development and Investments also oversees the work of the National Institute of Metrology and the National Accreditation Body, a non-commercial state organization.[63] The WTO Notification Agency, under the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments, is responsible for complying with Armenia's notification obligations under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), and is Armenia's TBT enquiry point

3.79.  At the national level, the authorities: Establish procedures for state control (inspection) regarding compliance with EAEU technical regulations in Armenia, and bear responsibility for failure to comply with EAEU technical regulations requirements. Establish the accreditation procedure for conformity assessment bodies, and elaborate the state policy for accreditation and conformity assessment; and Encourage the accreditation of conformity assessment bodies, as accreditation assures the competence and reliability of these bodies

3.80.  EAEU Treaty provisions and EAEU Decisions on the preparation and application of technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures are based on the following: Interaction between member States and supranational bodies, in particular within the Consultative Committee on Technical Regulation and Application of Sanitary, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Measures (the Consultative Committee); An appointed "Developer" - a member State or the EEC to lead the discussion on a particular draft technical regulation within a working group composed of representatives from member States with specific technical and administrative expertise;[64] Public consultations on draft technical regulations;[65] and The EAEU's technical regulations and the list of standards supporting the implementation of those technical regulations; these are approved by the Commission either the Board or the Council - depending on the subject matter. The Council has the right to veto the decisions taken by the Board. In general, prior review and approval by the relevant national authorities are also required

3.81.  The Consultative Committee is an advisory body to the Board that develops proposals for technical regulations and sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary measures on the basis of agreed positions of the EAEU member States' authorized bodies. Sub-committees on Standardization and Uniformity of Measurements are established under the Consultative Committee

3.82.  Armenian companies will have had up to five years to comply with the technical regulations of the EAEU. Before the deadline, companies must comply with the relevant national legislation. For most of the goods manufactured in the EAEU which are subject to safety requirements, the transitional period began on 1 January 2016, and for some products, such as furniture or wheeled vehicles, the new requirements will be mandatory beginning in 2019 and 2022, respectively. The Government recommends that exporters and importers begin using EAEU technical regulations as soon as possible. By the end of the transitional period, all the goods produced, imported and circulating in the territory of the EAEU must meet the Union's mandatory requirements

3.83.  The Market Surveillance Inspection Body is a state inspectorate body that oversees the fields of measurement uniformity, market surveillance, technical regulation, and consumer protection. It provides services regarding safety, and quality of consumer goods; it also defines rules of trade and industry, establishes means of measuring the performance of controls, and oversees the protection of the rights and interests of consumers

3.84.  Regarding significant developments during the review period, the authorities have highlighted the following: The reform agenda of the quality infrastructure in the "2010-2020 Quality Infrastructure Reform Strategy" of 2010 aims to improve the competitiveness of Armenian products in foreign markets and reduce technical barriers; Along with the adoption of new legislation (laws on Technical Regulation, on Standardization, on Accreditation, and on Uniformity of measurements), structural adjustments and capacity building activities were launched in the areas of technical regulations, accreditation and conformity assessment, standardization, metrology, and market surveillance; Since Armenia's accession to the EAEU in January 2015, 46 national technical regulations have been reviewed. Currently, 17 national regulations are in a transitional period, and 36 EAEU technical regulations have been enforced. The transitional period is to allow Armenian exporters, importers, and producers to adjust to new requirements; The National Accreditation Body (ARMNAB) has been an associate member of the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA) since November 2016. This was the first step towards signing bilateral and multilateral agreements with regional and international organizations, including the EA, the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF); SARM has developed new harmonized national standards to remove trade barriers and promote the export and import of products; SARM considers it beneficial to cooperate with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and ETSI. However, to gain membership to CENELEC there is a requirement to be at least a corresponding member of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Armenia is currently an affiliate country to the IEC. There is currently a lack of awareness and understanding of stakeholders on the benefits of membership of the IEC; and A national strategy on metrology has also been developed to improve metrology and to improve the international traceability of measurements. The aim of this strategy is to determine the direction for the development of the effective and internationally recognized national metrology system in Armenia. Currently, the National Institute of Metrology is a member of the Euro-Asian Cooperation of National Metrological Institutions. It also plans to become a member of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and International Organization of Legal Metrology

3.85.  Up to end-May 2018, Armenia had made a total of 92 notifications to the WTO on TBT measures (including revisions, supplements, and addenda). Between 1 January 2010 and end‑May 2018, 14 notifications were made, all were technical regulations and regular notifications, mostly with the objective of protecting human health or safety. Eleven of the notifications related to draft EAEU technical regulations, and three were national ones.[66] No specific trade concerns have been raised by other WTO Members about TBT measures taken by Armenia