WT/TPR/M/379/Add.1 8 February 2019 (19-0742) Page: 1/57 Trade Policy Review Body 20 and 22 November 2018 Original: English/Angla

WT/TPR/M/379/Add.1

8 February 2019

(19-0742) Page: 1/57

Trade Policy Review Body Original: English/anglais/inglés 20 and 22 November 2018

TRADE POLICY REVIEW

ARMENIA MINUTES OF THE MEETING Addendum Chairperson: H.E. Mr. Junichi Ihara (Japan)

This document contains the advance written questions and additional questions by WTO Members, and replies provided by Armenia.1

Organe d'examen des politiques commerciales 20 et 22 novembre 2018

EXAMEN DES POLITIQUES COMMERCIALES

ARMÉNIE COMPTE RENDU DE LA RÉUNION Addendum Président: S.E. M. Junichi Ihara (Japan)

Le présent document contient les questions écrites communiquées à l'avance par les Membres de l'OMC, leurs questions additionnelles, et les réponses fournies par l'Arménie.1

Órgano de Examen de las Políticas Comerciales 20 y 22 de noviembre de 2018

EXAMEN DE LAS POLÍTICAS COMERCIALES

ARMENIA ACTA DE LA REUNIÓN Addendum Presidente: Excmo. Sr. Junichi Ihara (Japan)

En el presente documento figuran las preguntas presentadas anticipadamente por escrito y las preguntas adicionales de los Miembros de la OMC, así como las respuestas facilitadas por Armenia.1

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1 In English only/En anglais seulement/En inglés solamente.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ICELAND ...... 3 CHINA ...... 5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ...... 8 JAPAN ...... 26 EUROPEAN UNION ...... 27 UKRAINE ...... 38 CHILE ...... 48 ARGENTINA ...... 50 THAILAND ...... 52 CANADA ...... 53 INDIA ...... 56

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ICELAND

On the occasion of the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires last December more than 120 WTO Members and observers launched a joint declaration on women and economic empowerment that aims inter alia at sharing best practices and working together at the WTO to remove barriers for women's economic empowerment and increase their participation in trade.

Report by the Secretariat – WT/TPR/S/379

The report by the Secretariat prepared for the Trade Policy Review of Armenia points out that the Armenian government aims to attract investment and improve the business climate, with the goal of raising economic growth and making it more inclusive. According to the report a large and diverse set of initiatives are underway in the business environment, public administration, financial sector and energy sector.

Iceland has the following questions:

• Could Armenia provide more information on these initiatives and whether they give particular attention to women, or gender equality considerations?

The legislation of the Republic of Armenia (RA), including the legislation regulating the business environment, does not have any provisions limiting the participation of women in the economy of Armenia or limiting the equality of men and women. Accordingly, the Government of the Republic of Armenia approves Business Environment Improvement Measures every year for the purpose of improving the business environment, which does not have gender discrimination.

Moreover, within the framework of RA Government and Central Bank support to SME programs and to increasing SME financial access in Armenia by cooperating with international financial institutions, among several SME financing programs, a targeted international lending programme, "Women entrepreneurship support", is financed by the Asian Development Bank.

• What is the participation of women in the Armenian economy?

The RA legislation regulating the business environment does not have any provisions restricting the equal participation of women in the economy.

Having said that, while the share of female population is much higher in higher education, the level of female employment and participation in the economy of Armenia is lower compared to male. The Government of Armenia gives high importance to the equal opportunities for all, to which end constantly monitors the situation and conducts assessments to find out the barriers present and possible efficient ways to remove them.

On the other hand, the female participation is higher in the public sector.

The detailed statistics of employment of women in the economy by types of economic activity can be found in the official website of the Statistical Committee of Armenia, www.armstat.am.

• Have particular barriers that limit women's participation in trade been identified?

As stated, there are no barriers to the participation of women in trade in accordance with the legislation of RA regulating the business environment. However, the participation of women in the economy is low and needs attention from the Government.

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• Has Armenia implemented any particular measures to encourage women's participation in trade and promote women's entrepreneurship, or are such measures being developed?

A number of measures have been implemented or are in development to encourage women's participation in trade and promote women's entrepreneurship.

In 2013, the RA Law "On Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women" was adopted, which sets out guarantees for equal rights and equal opportunities for men and women in political, social, economic, cultural and social life and regulates their relations.

In 2012, the Government of Armenia requested ADB's support in promoting women entrepreneurship in the country, and a Sector Development Program (SDP). The programme comprises an integrated approach to enable women entrepreneurs and micro, small, and medium- sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Armenia to play a greater role in economic development. The programme had two components: (i) a policy-based loan to help fund budget allocations to strengthen the business environment and the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center (SME DNC) of Armenia and its support for women entrepreneurs and MSMEs; and (ii) a financial intermediation loan (FIL) to enable participating financial institutions (PFIs) to provide local currency loans to MSMEs, of which at least 50% are women's MSMEs. The programme was supported by capacity development technical assistance (TA) to improve the entrepreneurial capacity of women and to increase the capacity of the SME DNC of Armenia, the project management unit of the German–Armenian Fund (PMU GAF), and PFIs to provide support for women's entrepreneurship.

The number of support actions by SME DNC of Armenia directed to Women entrepreneurs in 2017 was around 4,200.

The monitoring data on women trainees that presented business plans to FIԼ's is absent. But it should be mentioned that 25 out 79 (32%) of MSME which received financial support from SME DNC of Armenia in 2017 were Women entrepreneurs.

To encourage new investments for the improvement of business environment a number of tax incentives are in place in accordance with the Tax Code of Armenia, regardless of the gender of the business entity.

The draft Government Decree "On Approval of the 2019-2023 Action Plan of the Government of the Republic of Armenia" has been developed and will be presented to the RA Government by 10 December 2018. The promotion of women's entrepreneurship opportunities is one of the priority directions of the Action Plan.

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CHINA

Report by the Secretariat - WT/TPR/S/379

SUMMARY

Page 8，Paragraph 12

In June 2011, Armenia adopted the Law on Free Economic Zones (FEZs) and, by the end of that year, had developed several regulations to attract foreign investment into FEZs through various incentives (e.g. tax-free profit for legal entities; no income tax for sole proprietors who are residents of FEZs; no property tax on public and industrial buildings and structures owned or leased by residents within FEZs; no customs charges or non-tariff measures applied on goods released under the "Free Customs Zone" procedure). Three FEZs are currently operational.

1. Could you please introduce the implementation of the Law on Free Economic Zones (FEZs), especially the implementation of various incentives to attract foreign investment and the outcome though the implementation of incentives?

Currently there are three free economic zones in Armenia:

• "Alliance" FEZ, launched in August 2013 for a duration of is 10 years, is oriented towards the production and exports of high and innovative technologies. Currently the abovementioned FEZ is operated by 13 companies (6 of 13 operate from 2017 and 2 companies operate from 2018). The export volume in 2016 was about AMD 2.1 billion.

• "Meridian" FEZ, launched in March 2015 for duration of 10 years, is specialized in jewellery, diamond cutting and watchmaking. "Meridian" FEZ is operated by 6 companies. The export volume in 2016 was about AMD 2 billion and AMD 6.2 billion in 2017.

• "Meghri" FEZ, launched in December 2017 for duration of 50 years, operates in the industrial and logistic fields. Currently there are no operating companies.

2. Is there any differential treatment for foreign investors during the implementation of various incentives?

Both foreign investors and local investors are treated equally during the implementation of various incentives.

Page 75, Paragraph 4.4

There are about 317,346 farms, practically all of which are owned by smallholders, with an average farm size of 1.8 hectares.

Page 78, Paragraph 4.11

There are a number of strategic documents designed by the Ministry of Agriculture aiming at developing the sector, such as the Rural and Agricultural Sustainable Development Strategy (RASDS) 2010-2020, the Plans of Action for the implementation of the RASDS, and the Armenia Development Strategy for 2014-2025.

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3. Do the above-mentioned policies or other policies aiming at developing the agriculture sector include measures to expand the operation scale of agriculture and improve the economy of scale of agricultural production? If yes, please introduce the policies and provide related documents.

Considering the high importance of the sector for the economy of Armenia, as it has a large share in the employment and is the source of income of a large sector of the population, especially in disadvantaged zones, the policy implemented in the agricultural sector is aimed at improving the efficiency of the branch and its sectors, introducing modern technologies, industrializing, further developing of agriculture, creating favourable conditions for agricultural operators, increasing their real incomes, raising the level of food security of the country.

In order to achieve these goals, there are programs already launched, as well as to be launched in the coming years. Particularly, starting from 2017, the state support programme on financial leasing of agricultural machinery (approved by the RA Government Protocol Decision N11 of 16 March 2017) is launched in Armenia, which aims to supply agricultural machinery to agricultural operators with affordable terms (2% leasing interest rate) and results to creation of favourable conditions for commodity production and the efficient use of agricultural land.

Starting from 2017, the programme on subsidizing interest rate of loans provided to agriculture (approved by the RA Government Protocol Decision N39 of 14 September 2017) and the programme on subsidizing interest rate of loans provided to agro-processing sector (approved by the RA Government Protocol Decision N53 of 21 December 2017) are launched. Implementation of these programs will enhance the level of accessibility of loans by means of partial subsidization of the interest rate of loans provided to agricultural operators, will create the opportunities for introduction of modern technologies in agriculture, will ensure timely payments to farms for purchasing agricultural products, will increase the competitiveness of the processed agricultural products and transfer from self-sustaining to income generating agriculture for small farmers.

Starting from 2018, the programme on subsidizing interest rate of loans provided for installation of anti-hail networks (approved by the RA Government Protocol Decision N37 of 31 August 2017), the programme on subsidizing interest rate of loans provided for introduction of drip irrigation system (approved by the RA Government Protocol Decision N53-13 of 21 December 2017), the state support programme on intensive orchards (approved by the RA Government Protocol Decision N53-11 of 21 December 2017), the programme on financial leasing of agri-food equipment (approved by the RA Government Decision N893-L of 19 July 2018) are launched. These programs are aimed at raising the level of agriculture intensification, mitigating damages to agriculture from climate disasters, introducing modern irrigation methods, replacing low-yield gardens with high-yield orchards, as well as at increasing the volume of agricultural processing products.

In 2015, the RA Law "On Agricultural Cooperatives" was adopted in order to implement the coordinated state policy on improving the forms of management in the agrarian sector and the development of cooperatives.

In the coming years, the programs aimed at the development of seed breeding and seed supply, as well as the measures directed to plant protection, soil agro-chemical study and soil fertility improvement, farm animals' vaccination, veterinary-sanitary and phytosanitary, extension services, access to essential resources in agriculture will be continued.

Follow-up question

Report by the Secretariat - WT/TPR/S/379

Page 10，paragraph 24 in November 2017, initialled the EU-Armenia Common Aviation Agreement which is expected to improve market access for airlines, improve connectivity, and reduce fares for passengers.

Could you please provide the text for the initialled EU-Armenia Common Aviation Agreement?

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Considering that the agreement has not yet been signed and ratified by either of the parties to it, the Republic of Armenia would not be able to provide the text at this point in time. Once the agreement has been finalized, the text should be published and be available in public domain.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Report by the Secretariat - WT/TPR/S/379

2 TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES

2.4.1 WTO, page 26, paragraph 2.26

The Secretariat's report notes that Armenia ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on 20 March 2017, and that, in accordance with Articles 15 and 16 of the TFA, Armenia notified provisions for implementation under categories A, B, and C, and that it set indicative dates of 31 December 2020 for implementation of provisions designated under Category C and of 31 December 2018 for provisions designated under Category B. Article 16 of the TFA also requires that developing countries notify definitive dates for implementation of provisions designated as Category B by 22 February 2018. Armenia's definitive dates notification remains outstanding.

• When does Armenia plan to notify definitive dates for the implementation of provisions designated as Category B?

The notification on the definitive dates for the implementation of provisions designated as Category B has been submitted to the WTO Secretariat in the beginning of November for circulation among WTO Members.

2.4.2.1 Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Page 28, paragraph 2.38

The Secretariat's report notes that Armenia transferred much of its trade authority to the EEC after joining the EAEU.

• Do Armenia's trade agencies have offices or departments or officials who are responsible for communicating with or monitoring the EEC?

Each public administration authority of Armenia appoints its responsible persons for communicating with the EEC within the limits of its authority. However, the main coordinating bodies are the Deputy Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of the Republic of Armenia.

3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE

3.2.4 Export finance, insurance and promotion, page 48

The Secretariat's report states the Export Insurance Agency of Armenia Insurance CJSC (EIA) offers two insurance products for exporters: export insurance and pre-export financing insurance.

• Do any of these insurance programs cover exports of agricultural products? If so, when does Armenia intend to report to the WTO Export Competition Questionnaire?

Export Insurance Agency of Armenia ICJSC (EIAA) currently provides two kinds of insurance products: 1) Export insurance and 2) Pre-export financing insurance. Both products cover nearly all industries of the economy and exports, including also the exports of agricultural products.

Insurance services are provided by EIAA on commercial basis, which means that the insured (exporters or commercial banks) have to pay a premium which is calculated on the sum insured. The premiums have been derived to represent prevailing market risks and are in line with those, charged by other similar (including private) institutions over the world.

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The Republic of Armenia will initiate the preparation of the answers to the Export Competition Questionnaire.

3.3.2 Standards and other technical requirements, page 51, paragraph 3.77

The Secretariat's report states, "The procedure within the EEC for the adoption of technical regulations and standards is the same as that in Russia."

• Please elaborate on the adoption process. Under this process, how are technical regulations proposed, developed, and adopted? In what ways is the process for the adoption of technical regulations and standards the same as that in Russia?

The Rules of Procedure of Drafting, Adopting, Amending and Abolishing of the EAEU Technical Regulations within the EAEU are established by the Council Decision No. 48 dated 20 June 2012. While the adoption of the standards is common with Russia and all EAEU member States, as, according to the EAEU Treaty, the relevant legislation for EAEU member States is uniform, the development of the standards is not within the competence of the EAEU.

According to Council Decision No. 48 the EEC adopts the plans of development and amendment of technical regulations. The plan defines a Developer of technical regulation (member state of the EAEU or the EEC). Usually the initiator becomes a Developer.

According to the Decision 48 the member States of the EAEU define a national authority responsible for the development (Developer) and interested authorities involved in the development process (Co-developers). The EEC becomes a Developer if the initiator of the development/amendment is the EEC itself.

According to the Decision 48 a "Developer" forms a Working group of representatives of the EEC, co-developers, national authorities and other stakeholders. The "Developer" provides information about the formation of the Working group to co-developers and national authorities. Co-developers and national authorities nominate participants of the Working group within the 30 days from the date of receiving the information on formulation of the Working Group․

Stakeholders that are not part of the Working Group are allowed to submit their proposals and comments during public consultations.

After adoption of draft documents by the Working Group the Consultative Committee includes the issue in the agenda and provides all necessary documents to the members of the Consultative Committee. The Consultative Committee reviews the draft technical regulation.

The Consultative Committee is an advisory body of the EEC. It is in charge of the development of proposals, recommendations and consultations in the sphere of technical regulation and SPS measures.

The Consultative Committee considers proposals of the chairman of the Consultative Committee and of the national competent authorities. The procedure is described in the Decision of the Collegium of the EEC № 161 of 18 September 2012 (as last amended on 6 March 2018).

• How do the member States of the EAEU, including Armenia, participate in the adoption of technical regulations and standards?

Technical regulations are developed and adopted in accordance with the procedure established by the Eurasian Economic Commission (No. 48 Council Decision of the EEC of 20 June 2012).

The Consultative Committee is an advisory body of the EEC, charged for the development of proposals, recommendations and consultations in the sphere of technical regulation and SPS measures.

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The heads (deputy heads) of national competent authorities of EAEU member States, including the Republic of Armenia, are members of the Consultative Committee, and thus participate in the development and adoption of technical regulation by sending their suggestions and comments for further inclusion in the draft technical regulations.

• Do EEC standards, technical regulations have to be approved by the EEC Council or other bodies of the EAEU, including the Intergovernmental Council or Supreme Council before adoption?

EAEU Technical regulations are approved by the Council Decisions of the Eurasian Economic Commission. Standards that are included in technical regulations are approved by the Board Decisions of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Page 51, paragraph 3.77

Please provide more information about how the Eurasian Standards Committee develops interstate standards. What is the process for being listed by the EEC as supporting regulations in force in the EAEU? How are standards, such as international standards, that are not a national standard of a EAEU member state considered?

Development of the national standards is carried out by the technical committees or working groups in accordance with the Law on Standardization of the Republic of Armenia. Development, adoption and approval is carried out by the following steps:

• proposal for the development of standard to the National Standardization Body,

• development procedure of standards by technical committees or working groups,

• public discussions of final draft standard,

• adoption of standard by technical committee or working group,

• approval and publication of standard by the National Standardization Body on the conclusion of the Technical Committee on Standardization.

Interstate and national standards development activities are carried out by Interstate Technical Committees on Standardization which consist of authorized representatives of CIS countries.

Technical Committees adopt standards and present to the CIS Interstate Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification for approval.

Page 51, paragraph 3.78

The Secretariat's report indicates that the WTO Notification Agency under the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments is responsible for complying with Armenia's notification obligations under the TBT Agreement.

• How does Armenia's Notification Agency monitor EEC and EAEU technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures under development to ensure that all relevant EEC and EAEU technical regulations are notified to the WTO, in compliance with Armenia's notification obligations?

• How does Armenia ensure that EEC draft TBT and SPS measures are notified to the WTO at an early and appropriate stage before they are finalized and published on the EEC website?

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• How does Armenia ensure that comments provided by interested parties through the WTO notification process on EEC and EAEU measures are shared with the appropriate EEC and EAEU entities? How does Armenia ensure that those comments are taken into account?

The EAEU members have developed a system of cooperation to ensure the timely notifications of all relevant technical regulations, TBT and SPS measures to the WTO, as well as discussing and taking into account the comments received from WTO Members in accordance with the Recommendation No.8 of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission "On the interaction between authorized bodies of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Commission on the issues of preparation of draft notifications for submission to the World Trade Organization" of 21 March 2017. The Recommendation sets a Guide on the interaction between authorized bodies of the EAEU member States and the EEC on the issues of preparation of draft notifications for submission to the WTO, which sets the mechanisms and timeframes for information sharing and discussions necessary for ensuring the timely development of the final notification and subsequent submission to WTO by each EAEU member State. In case of comments from WTO Members, the Guide also provides for appropriate mechanisms and timeframes to ensure that the comments are duly discussed and followed up upon by the EAEU member States that are also WTO Members.

Follow-up Question

Armenia's response made reference to a Recommendation of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission on WTO notifications, which sets mechanisms and timeframes for information sharing, discussions, and a "final notification and subsequent submission to WTO by each EAEU Member state."

• Could Armenia please share a copy of Recommendation No. 8 of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission "On the interaction between authorized bodies of the member States of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Commission on the issues of preparation of draft notifications for submission to the World Trade Organization" of 21 March 2017?

• How are comments submitted through the WTO notification process considered?

• When submitting a WTO notification, how long is the comment period? Is it typically 60 days from the date of submission to the WTO for comment from interested parties?

The recommendation can be accessed via https://docs.eaeunion.org/docs/ru- ru/01413323/clcr_24032017_8 link, which is available in Russian.

In case the comments received through the WTO notification process concerns areas of EEC competence, the country (or countries) to which the comments were directed to informs the EEC regarding the comment. The consideration of the comments takes place in accordance with the provisions of the Recommendation, taking into account the time periods specified by the relevant WTO procedures for responding to comments.

The comment periods of WTO notifications are in accordance with the relevant provisions of WTO agreements for respective notifications.

Page 51, paragraph 3.79

Does Armenia develop national technical regulations that are not EAEU technical regulations? Are there areas where technical regulations are developed that are outside the competence of the EAEU? What is the national process for developing technical regulations?

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While the responsibility for development of technical regulations is delegated to the EAEU institutions, the Republic of Armenia, as any other EAEU member state, has the right to develop national technical regulations for products that are included in the single list (the list of products that are subject to mandatory requirements within the framework of the EAEU - Nо. 526 Customs Union Commission Decision of 28 January 2012), but for which technical regulations of the EAEU has not entered into force yet. In conformity with EAEU Treaty products that are not included in the single list, cannot be a subject for technical regulation, and RA does not have the right to develop technical regulations for them. The procedure for the development of national technical regulations is established by the Law "On Technical Regulation" of the Republic of Armenia.

Page 51, paragraph 3.80

The Secretariat's report notes that the preparation of EAEU technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, and SPS measures involve an appointed "developer" to lead discussion on a draft. The developer is a member state or the EEC, and the discussion takes place within a working group of representatives from member States with specific technical and administrative expertise.

• Please describe the process by which a "developer" is appointed. Who appoints a developer? In which situations is a member state appointed to be a developer? In which situations is the EEC a developer?

• How does a developer "lead discussion" on a draft regulation within a working group?

• How are the composition of working groups decided? Are private parties and industry representatives included in working groups?

The issues of appointing a developer and the composition of working groups of technical regulations are regulated in accordance with the procedure, established by the EEC, approved by the Decision of the EEC Council of 20 June 2012 No. 48.

The Commission approves the plan for the development of draft technical regulations and draft amendments to technical regulations, which is formed in coordination with the EAEU member States on the basis of their proposals.

Member States in the period not exceeding 30 calendar days from the date of entry into force of the decision of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission on the approval of the plan, determine the state authorities responsible for the development of draft technical regulations provided for by the plan, and the bodies involved in their development submit this information to the Eurasian Economic Commission. If the Commission is indicated in the plan as the responsible for the development of the draft technical regulation, the developer is the Eurasian Economic Commission.

The developer forms a working group to develop a draft technical regulation from representatives of the Eurasian Economic Commission, co-developers, interested state authorities of member States, including bodies authorized in the field of technical regulation, standardization, sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population, specialized technical committees on standardization member States, interested private parties, industries and the business community of the EAEU members.

If the developer is a state authority of a member State, information on the formation of a working group is sent by the developer to the state authorities of the member States and the Eurasian Economic Commission.

If the developer is the Eurasian Economic Commission, information on the formation of a working group is sent by the Eurasian Economic Commission to the co-developers and to the state authorities of the member States.

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Page 51, paragraph 3.80

The Secretariat's report notes that EAEU technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, and SPS measures are based on "Public consultations on draft technical regulations."

• The report only refers to "Public consultations on draft technical regulations." Does Armenia and/or the EEC conduct public consultations on draft conformity assessment procedures and SPS measures? Is the process the same as for technical regulations?

• Please provide more detail on the public consultations process. Do these public consultations refer to consultations with industry within EAEU countries? Are interested parties from outside the EAEU able to consult?

• Does the WTO notification take place at the same time as this public consultation?

The process of public consultations and drafting of conformity assessment procedures and SPS measures is the same as for technical regulations. The EAEU industries and the interested parties from outside have similar rights for participation in public consultations.

For public discussions of draft technical regulations, the Commission places the notification about the draft on the development of technical regulation on the official website of the EAEU.

The public discussion of the draft technical regulation is held in 60 calendar days, with the announcement on the official website of the EAEU.

The Commission, within five calendar days of the placement of the EAEU notification, informs about publication of the draft and the location of the project of the technical regulation on the official website of the EAEU to:

a) Governments of the EAEU member-states; b) Coordinators of the business community in each Member State; c) Representatives of business community, scientific and public organizations, non- professional experts included in the Advisory Committee; d) Interested persons in development of the draft of technical regulation.

Therefore, with receiving information on the beginning of discussion of the draft, the Republic of Armenia informs the WTO Secretariat about the date of the public discussion and the reference to the place of the draft of the technical regulation or SPS measure on the official website of the EAEU, in accordance with the WTO rules.

Follow-up Question

Armenia indicated that at the beginning of discussion of a draft measure, Armenia "informs the WTO Secretariat about the date of the public discussion and the reference to the place of the draft technical regulation or SPS measure on the official website of the EAEU, in accordance with the WTO rules." Armenia also noted that the public discussion of the draft technical regulation is held in 60 calendar days, with the announcement on the official website of the EAEU.

• Please clarify what is meant by "informs the WTO Secretariat". Is this a notification? Is it separate from the notification of the draft technical regulation?

The phrase "informs the WTO Secretariat" refers to a notification to the WTO, and when referring to technical regulations, it is the same as the notification of the draft technical regulation.

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Page 51, paragraph 3.80

The Secretariat's report indicates that "in general" relevant national authorities are required to review and approve technical regulations and standards.

• Who is Armenia's relevant national authority, in this context?

• At what stage in development of a technical regulation does Armenia's relevant national authority conduct this review?

• If Armenia's relevant national authority does not agree with the content of an EAEU technical regulation, is there an opportunity to amend the technical regulation to address Armenia's concerns? If so, please describe that process.

Coordinating Body of technical regulations in the Republic of Armenia is the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of the Republic of Armenia.

Regulating bodies in the field of technical regulation in the Republic of Armenia are the relevant state bodies, per the Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia from 7 June 2012 No. 753-N.

The coordinating body, regulatory bodies, national institutes of standards and metrology, body on accreditation, as well as representatives of the business community participate in the development process of technical regulations.

The Coordinating Body and Regulatory Bodies participate in the development of the technical regulation in all stages of the development of technical regulations and their concerns are considered before adoption of the regulation.

In case of disagreement about the content of technical regulation, Coordinating Body has the right to apply its own proposals of the technical regulation.

The process of sending proposals of the EAEU member States is established by the decision of EEC Council of 20 June 2012, No. 48.

Page 52, Box 3.1 (Standards)

Standards notes that SARM maintains the national library of standards, which includes international (ISO), CIS (GOST), EU (EN), Armenian (AST), and other standards.

• Please clarify which standards are considered international. How does Armenia define international standard? How has Armenia implemented the WTO TBT Committee Decision on International Standards?

• What are the "other" standards noted in Box 3.1?

According to the EAEU Treaty an international standard is a standard adopted by international organization on standardization. According to the Law on Standardization of the Republic of Armenia International Standards are considered the standards which are developed by the international organizations and are publicly available. National standards are elaborated to ensure transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus, effectiveness and coherence.

The "other" standards are standards of non-EAEU countries.

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Follow-up Question

Armenia indicated that the EAEU Treaty defines international standards as those standards adopted by international organization on standardization.

• In the WTO TBT Committee Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations with Relation to Article 2, 5 and Annex 3 of the Agreement (TBT Committee Decision) identifies the principles – transparency, openness, impartiality and consensus, effectiveness and relevance, coherence, and development – by which international standards are elaborated. The TBT Committee Decision defines international standards according to the process by which they were developed and not by which organization conducted their development. How has Armenia implemented the TBT Committee Decision and ensured that all standards that meet the principles are considered international, including in the technical regulations developed by the EEC?

International standards are applied on the basis of agreements (contracts) concluded as a result of the cooperation between the relevant international organizations/standardization bodies and the national standardization body. As adopted in the Law on Standardization of the Republic of Armenia, the requirements set out in standardization documents should be based on achievements in science and technology, rules and norms of international standards and should not be contrary to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.

In this scope, taking into account the fact, that the ISO is the largest organization of standards in the world and the leading developer of international standards, also the fact that all standards which are produced by ISO are developed according to international norms and standards and are based on the principles of WTO TBT, the Republic of Armenia considers ISO standards as international and has applied ISO standards since 1997. Additionally, Armenia cooperates with IEC in the framework of IEC Affiliate Country Programme.

As regards the EAEU, in accordance with paragraph 3 of the Annex No. 9 to the EAEU Treaty relevant international standards shall be used as the basis for development of the EAEU technical regulations, except for the cases when relevant documents are absent or they do not comply with the purposes of adoption of the EAEU technical regulations.

In addition, According to paragraph 12 of the Regulation on drafting, adoption, amendment and cancellation of the EAEU technical regulations (adopted by the Council Decision of the EEC No. 48 of 20 June 2012), the package of the documents to the draft of technical regulation encloses the list of international standards (including regulations, directives, recommendations and other documents adopted by international organizations on standardization) and explanation to this list along with other documents.

Тhe EAEU recognizes standards developed by international organizations on standardization that comply with the principles established in the TBT Committee Decision as international standards.

Page 52, Box 3.1 (Standards)

This section also refers to goods subject to EAEU technical regulations as needing to pass conformity assessment procedures. ("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.")

• Where can one find information on the conformity assessment procedures required for each of the 46 EAEU technical regulations?

Currently, 46 technical regulations of the EAEU have been adopted and 39 technical regulations of the EAEU have entered into force, two of which (Technical Regulation of the EAEU on "Road Safety for Automobile Roads" (CU 014/2011) adopted by the Customs Union Commission Decision No. 827 of 18 October, and Technical Regulation of the EAEU on the Safety of Wheeled Vehicles (EAEU TR

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018/2011) adopted by the EEC Decision No. 877 of 9 December 2011) are still in transition period for Armenia.

Conformity assessment procedures are described in each technical regulation, which can be accessed via http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/texnreg/deptexreg/tr/Pages/%d0%a2%d0%b5%d1% 85%d0%bd%d0%b8%d1%87%d0%b5%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b8%d0%b5%20%d1%80%d0%b 5%d0%b3%d0%bb%d0%b0%d0%bc%d0%b5%d0%bd%d1%82%d1%8b%20%d0%a2%d0%b0 %d0%bc%d0%be%d0%b6%d0%b5%d0%bd%d0%bd%d0%be%d0%b3%d0%be%20%d1%81% d0%be%d1%8e%d0%b7%d0%b0.aspx and http://www.eurasiancommission.org/ru/act/texnreg/deptexreg/tr/Pages/TRVsily.aspx links.

Page 52, paragraph 3.81

The Secretariat's report indicates that the Consultative Committee develops proposals for technical regulations and SPS measures on the basis of agreed positions of EAEU member states' authorized bodies.

• Who participates in Consultative Committees, and how are they selected?

• Please describe the process by which the Consultative Committee decides to develop proposals on technical regulations and SPS measures.

• Do interested parties, including private sector stakeholders, take part in recommending which proposals should be developed?

Regulation for the activity of the Consultative Committee is approved by the EEC Board Decision No. 37 of 24 April 2017. The list of the members for Consultative Committee is approved by the EEC Board Decision No. 161 of 18 September 2012.

The Consultative Committee is an advisory body of the EEC, charged for the development of proposals, recommendations and consultations in the sphere of technical regulation and SPS measures. Its staff is formed from the Authorized Bodies of member states of the EAEU on the basis of the proposals of member-states. The heads (deputy heads) of national competent authorities are members of the Consultative Committee.

The Consultative Committee decides to develop proposals on technical regulations and SPS measures based on the proposals of the EAEU Member states.

By the recommendation of the member-states, the staff of the Committee may include representatives of the business community, scientific and public organizations, and non-exclusive experts (not more than three members from each member-state).

Stakeholders that are not part of the Working Group are allowed to submit their proposals and comments during the public consultations.

Page 52, paragraph 3.82

We appreciate that "Armenian companies will have had up to five years to comply with technical regulations of the EAEU." Does this transition also apply to foreign companies? We ask because the report also notes that "the Government recommends that exporters and importers begin using EAEU technical regulations as soon as possible," which raises questions about whether there is a difference in treatment.

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The transitional period of entry into force of technical regulations of the EAEU applies equally to the local and foreign companies. The principle of national treatment is maintained. The recommendation of the Government applies to all importers and exporters, Armenian and foreign alike, for the purpose of ensuring smooth transition without causing any damage to trade.

Page 53, Paragraph 3.84 bullet 4

What is the status of the National Accreditation Body (ARMNAB) in ILAC and IAF?

The National Accreditation Body (ARMNAB) is an associate member of the European Co-operation for Accreditation (EA). ARMNAB is an affiliated member for ILAC and IAF.

Page 53, paragraph 3.84 bullet 5

Please clarify what is meant by harmonized national standards.

Harmonized national standards are nationally adopted (identical, modified or not equivalent) international, regional standards and standards of other countries (e.g. HST ISO…, HST EN…, HST GOST…, HST GOSTR…).

Page 53, Paragraph 3.85

The Secretariat's report notes that Armenia has notified eleven draft EAEU technical regulations between January 2010 and May 2018, though Paragraph 3.77 notes that "about" 46 technical regulations have been adopted in the EAEU.

• Please explain the discrepancy between the number of notifications from Armenia and the number of EAEU technical regulations that have been adopted.

On 2 January 2015, the Treaty on Armenia's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) came into force. Armenia became the fourth full-fledged Member-State of the Eurasian Economic Union together with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. By this Treaty Armenia has become a part of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, signed on 29 May 2014 in Astana. The appropriate Notification of the Accession of Armenia to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) (S/C/N/790; WT/REG363/N/1) was circulated to the WTO Members. At that time, there were already 34 technical regulations in force in the EAEU, which became part of Armenia's regulations. Currently there are 46 adopted technical regulations of EAEU, therefore, since January 2015 to May 2018 RA notified 12 drafts of technical regulations of EAEU.

• Are all 46 technical regulations in force in Armenia?

At present, 39 technical regulations operate in the EAEU (although there are 46 adopted technical regulations).

After Armenia's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union 34 technical regulations of EAEU were implemented in RA with transitional periods.

Currently transition periods of 37 technical regulations of EAEU have ended in Armenia (transitional periods still operate for 2 technical regulations of the EAEU).

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3.3.4 Competition policy and price control, page 57, paragraph 3.107

The Secretariat's report states that: "the recent amendments to the Competition Law have extended the Commission's powers in order to make it more effective. The Law has been subject to several changes including assigning the Commission the status of "autonomous body" in line with constitutional amendments adopted on 6 December 2015. Members of the Commission are now appointed by a majority vote of the members of the National Assembly.

• How are Commissioners selected?

• Do Commissioners need to meet certain qualifications (for example: do they have expertise in economics or the legal field)?

• If any of Commissioners are business owners, are there measures in place to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest applicable to those business owners before hearing cases or making judgements?

The Chairperson and other members of the Commission are appointed by the National Assembly, upon the proposal of the Prime Minister, as prescribed by the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Armenia "Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly", by the majority of the total number of votes of Deputies, for a term of office of five years, except for cases provided for by this Law. In case a vacant position of a member of the Commission emerges, the Chairperson of the Commission and, in case of his or her absence or impossibility to perform the official duties thereof, the person provided for by part 2 of Article 23 of this Law, shall apply to the Prime Minister, presenting the requirements prescribed by this Article for the candidate for the given position. The same person may not be appointed as a member of the Commission established as prescribed by this Law more than two consecutive times, for the full term of office of five years.

Every person that is a citizen only of the Republic of Armenia, having completed higher education, having at least five years of work experience (of which at least three vested with functions of coordination of subdivisions or in the position of the head of a subdivision) and with knowledge of Armenian may be appointed as a member of the Commission. At least one of the members of the Commission must have higher legal, and at least one — higher economic education.

Members of the Commission may not engage in entrepreneurial activities, hold a position not conditioned by their status in state or local self-government bodies, any position in commercial organizations, or perform other paid work, except for scientific, creative or pedagogical activities. A member of the Commission shall show political neutrality in his or her public speeches.

Page 58, paragraph 3.109

The Secretariat's report notes that according to the Competition Law, international treaties prevail over national laws. In addition, the EAEU Treaty provides for the harmonization of member States' national legislation.

• Are there any examples where the EAEU Treaty has been used in place of the national competition law? If so, how did it work?

• Armenia notes that the EAEU Treaty provides for harmonization of member States' national legislation. Do you consider the current Competition Law to be harmonized with other EAEU member States? Or do you anticipate additional changes? If so, when?

There is no overlap in the RA national and EAEU competition legislations. The RA competition law covers national sphere, while the EAEU legislation applies in the case of cross-border issues. EAEU Treaty cannot be applied in place of national competition law, therefore, the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition is carrying out its functions in accordance with the RA Law "On Protection of Economic Competition".

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The amendments from March 2018 modernized the Law in line with the requirements of the new Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, and international standards, including the rules and principles of the EAEU and the EU-RA Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. At the same time, it should be mentioned that EAEU member states harmonize their national competition laws to the related provisions of EAEU Treaty, which provide the general principles and rules of competition.

3.3.7 Government procurement, page 64, Table 3.9

The Secretariat's report presents a table with statistics for above-threshold procurement in Armenia for the years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2016, the number of contracts above threshold awarded was 107 for goods, services, and construction (104 in 2015 and 96 in 2014); in 2017, the number was just 26. The total number and total value of contracts awarded in 2016 and 2017 are similar.

• Does Armenia have an explanation for this decrease in the number and value of procurement above threshold?

In 2017 the information on contracts signed above and below the thresholds set out in the WTO Public Procurement Agreement has not been fully summarized at that time that report was being formed. Currently, this information is summarized; according to which in 2017 the number of contracts signed above the threshold is 108 instead of the previous 26 (please see the revised version of Table 3.9 below).

Additionally, it should be noted that the RA Law "On Procurement" allows equal participation for resident and non-resident companies for procurements both above and below GPA thresholds.

Table 3.9 Total number and value of procedures under/above the GPA thresholds

Year Procurement of Total number of above-threshold contracts Total value of above-threshold Contracts (AMD million) 2014 Goods 80 42,409.3 Services 13 7,594.2 Works 3 11,277.6 2015 Goods 85 42,648.8 Services 19 7,822.1 Works - - 2016 Goods 96 32,510.8 Services 11 19,685.8 Works - - 2017 Goods 87 26,634.9 Services 21 10,559.8 Works -

Page 66, Paragraph 3.143

The Secretariat's report notes that Armenia updated its provisions on blacklisting to align with EAEU members and that blacklisted bidders are automatically excluded from participating in procurements for two years.

• Please describe the administrative or legal process by which a company becomes blacklisted for this automatic exclusion.

According to the Article 6, part 1, point 6 of the RA Law "On Procurement" (hereinafter Law) the participant has been included in the list of bidders' ineligible to participate in the procurement process, if the latter:

a) has violated the obligation provided for by a contract or assumed within the procurement process, which resulted in unilateral rescission of the contract by the

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contracting authority or termination of further participation of the bidder concerned in the procurement process; b) has refused to conclude a contract as a selected bidder; c) has refused further participation in the procurement process after the opening of bids.

According to the requirements of this article of the Law the authorized body shall initiate a procedure with the person examining procurement-related appeals based on the information available on a bidder having been deprived of the right to participate in the procurement process. Upon hearing the opinion of the given bidder, the person examining procurement-related appeals shall within the time limit prescribed by part 6 of Article 50 of this Law deliver a decision on including the bidder in the list provided for by this Article. A person shall be included in the indicated list for a time limit of two years.

At the same time according to the article 50, part 6 of the Law was defined that the decision of the person examining procurement-related appeals shall be legally binding, which may be amended or abolished, including partially, only by the court.

3.3.8 Intellectual property rights, 3.3.8.1 Overview and institutional framework, page 71, paragraph 3.171

The Secretariat's report indicates that the collective management organization, ARMAUTHOR, manages authors' economic rights.

• Please provide more detail on which rights ARMAUTHOR administers, and provide a summary of the annual amounts collected and distributed by ARMAUTHOR.

Armauthor administers the public performance and communication to the public rights (online use) with respect to musical, dramatic and dramatic-musical, choreographic works, scenarios, other works created for staging.

The amount of annual remuneration collected in the territory of Armenia for 2017 was AMD 105 million out of which AMD 20 million was received from the foreign similar organizations within the scope of reciprocal agreements. AMD 76.8 million distributed among the Armenian authors and AMD 7.585 million among the foreign authors. In comparison with 2016, the amount of collected remuneration was increased by AMD 4.297 million.

Page 71, paragraph 3.173

The Secretariat's report indicates that "the onus for IPR complaints remains with the offended party." Please provide a summary of the amount of annual civil litigation in the copyright (and other IP) space.

• The Secretariat's report notes that most cases are settled out of court; is there information on how many cases (civil and criminal) were filed and their ultimate dispositions?

During the review period 92 crimes have been registered in the Police of the RA according to the Article 158 (Violation of copyrights and related rights) of Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia.

Total of 108 IP related cases have been filed in civil courts during 2011 - 1st half of 2018 period, 34 of which on copyright and related rights, 66 on trademark, 2 on brand mark, and 6 other IP disputes.

Only 5 cases have been submitted to the criminal court during 2011 - 1st half of 2018 period, 3 of which under Article 158 (Violation of the Copyright and Related Rights) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, and 2 under Article 159 (Violation of the Patent Law) of the Criminal Code. One case was completed by decision to terminate the criminal case, 3 were completed by substantive judicial act and one is in process. Four cases for the illegal use of musical works were submitted to the courts by the CMO "Armauthor".

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3.3.8.2 IP regime, page 71, paragraph 3.175

The Secretariat's report mentions that "Patents are registered by the IPA." Further, in the same paragraph, it's mentioned that patent infringement can carry criminal penalties.

• Does the IPA conduct full examination of patent applications?

AIPA does not conduct a full examination of patent applications. In carrying out the process of granting patent, the Agency examines:

1. Whether the claimed invention meets the requirements of patentability, under Article 10 of the RA "Law on inventions, utility models and industrial designs".

2. Whether the claimed invention meets, at first sight, the requirements of patentability under Articles 11, 13 and 14 of the above-mentioned Law, the state of the art being defined only based on the materials in the examiner's disposal.

• Have there been any criminal patent infringement cases in Armenia?

During the review period 8 crimes have been registered in the Police of the RA according to the Article 159 (Violation of patent rights) of Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia and 2 cases have been submitted to the criminal court during 2011 - 1st half of 2018 period.

• Is there a concern that imposing criminal penalties for patent infringement could impede innovation?

Armenia believes that, on the contrary, the criminal penalties serve as a matter of protecting innovators and send a clear message to infringers that their behaviour is unacceptable.

Page 71, paragraph 3.175

The Secretariat's report does not mention whether or not the government of Armenia protects pharmaceutical data submitted for regulatory approval against disclosure and reliance by third parties.

• Is pharmaceutical data protected in Armenia? If so, for how long?

According to Article 16, part 14 of the Law on Medicinal Products (Adopted in 2016) the Authorized Body shall ensure the confidentiality of such data in the documents submitted for registration, which comprises information protected by laws of the Republic of Armenia and is not subject to disclosure. The expert performing the expertise for the purpose of registration shall sign a statement in the form approved by the Authorized Body on the absence of conflicts of interest and on confidentiality.

According to Article 16, part 15 of the Law on Medicinal Products, for the registration of generics, the applicant shall not be required to present preclinical research and/or clinical trials data, if the applicant submits documents proving that the medicinal product is reproduced from the original medicinal product that has been registered in the Republic of Armenia or a country that is a member of the international professional organization defined by a decree of the Republic of Armenia Government for at least eight years.

Such reproduced medicinal product may circulate in the Republic of Armenia for 10 years after the registration of the original medicinal product. If the registration certificate holder registers one or

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• What agency is responsible for granting regulatory approvals?

According to part 2 of Article 16 of the Law on Medicinal Products the Ministry of Health of Armenia is responsible for granting regulatory approval (state registration) based on expert conclusion of the Scientific Centre of Drug and Medical Technology Expertise.

Quotation from the Law: " The registration of medicinal product, refusal to register, and suspension and voiding of the registration of medicinal product shall, on the basis of an expert conclusion, be performed by the Authorized Body in accordance with the procedure established by the Republic of Armenia Government, save for veterinary vaccines, plasmas, and diagnostic materials, for which state registration, refusal to register, suspension, and voiding shall be reserved for the authorized state body in the field of agriculture under the procedure established by the Republic of Armenia Government."

• Is there a patent linkage or a similar system in Armenia that would prevent marketing authorizations to be issued for generic drugs that are still covered by a patent?

There does not exist a patent linkage or a similar system in Armenia that would prevent marketing authorizations to be issued for generic drugs that are still covered by a patent.

• Is there a notification system that would allow an innovator to know when an application for marketing approval has been filed by a generic company?

In case if the innovator applicant submits patent along with registration dossier, the Scientific Centre of Drug and Medical Technology Expertise, accordingly, provides the applicant with an information letter on generic application submission. At the same time the generic applicant is also notified of the existence of a patent by the Scientific Centre of Drug and Medical Technology Expertise. Furthermore, the relevant information is available on the official website of the Scientific Centre of Drug and Medical Technology Expertise, www.pharm.am.

Page 72, paragraph 3.179

The Secretariat's report indicates that Armenia is updating its Law of 15 June 2006, on Copyright and Related Rights (as amended on 30 September 2013), as well as proposing changes to the Civil Code and the Criminal Code, in the third quarter of 2018.

• Please provide an update on the status of this legislation.

The draft law on Copyright and Related Rights will be submitted to the Government of Armenia on 20 November 2018.

The RA "Law on the Amendments and Supplements to the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia" has been submitted to the Government for approval in December 2017 and has been returned back for making changes on it. Now the draft is in the process of inter-agency discussions. It is envisaged to be submitted to the National Assembly after summarizing all relevant suggestions and making respective changes.

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• Is there one comprehensive bill or several separate bills?

The field of intellectual property in Armenia is regulated by several separate laws, particularly:

 The Law of the Republic of Armenia on Copyright and Related Rights;  The Law of the Republic of Armenia on Trademarks;  The Law of the Republic of Armenia on Geographical Indications;  The Law of the Republic of Armenia on Inventions, Utility Models and Industrial designs (a new draft law on Patents has been put into circulation);  A new draft law on Industrial designs has been put into circulation;  The Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Legal Protection of Topographies of Integrated Circuits; and  The Law of the Republic of Armenia on Protection of Economic Competition.

• Has the legislation already been presented to the Parliament?

The draft law on Copyright and Related Rights will be presented to the National Assembly after the approval of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.

• What is the anticipated legislative process and timing?

It is expected that the draft laws will be adopted during the next year.

• Is there any additional summary information on the scope of proposed provisions?

The RA "Law on Amendments and supplements to the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia" provides for amendments and additions to the provisions regulating relations in the field of intellectual property. The subject of project regulation is the elimination of the repetition of the same regulatory provisions in various areas of intellectual property laws.

It should be noted that the concept of "commercial secrecy" is also introduced in the civil legislation of the Republic of Armenia and the provisions are harmonized with the international best practices and EU directives.

3.3.8.3.3 Geographical indications, page 73, paragraph 3.188

The Secretariat's report notes that GIs will be protected in the member state if such protection is provided under its legislation. According to the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Geographical Indications, Article 16 (Termination of protection and revocation of right), does not list genericness as grounds for cancellation.

• If the term becomes generic in Armenia, is cancellation of the GI available?

If the term becomes generic, it is not a ground for cancellation of the GI.

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• Similarly, Article 18 of Armenia's GI law refers to application requirements. If a GI is a compound term where one of the terms is generic, is generic nature of the term indicated either in the application, at publication, or at registration?

According to the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Geographical Indications generic nature of the term is not indicated in the application, at publication, or at registration.

• Finally, Article 9 of The Law of the Republic of Armenia on Geographical Indications, point 6 indicates that "the name of the guaranteed traditional product should not damage the trademark right or other intellectual property rights." Could Armenia provide more information on what would be considered damage to a trademark or other IP right?

If a registered guaranteed traditional product contains any trademark (as non-protected element) it cannot serve as a ground for invalidation of the trademark.

3.3.8.3.6 Trade secrets, page 74, paragraph 3.191

According to the Secretariat's report, "trade secrets shall be understood as data of any character (industrial, technical, economic, organizational, etc.), including the results of intellectual activity in the scientific-research sphere, as well as data on methods of professional activity that have valid or potential commercial value (Annex 26, Section XII). Legal protection for trade secrets (know-how) is provided according to the legislation of member States." This reference essentially identifies the nature of a trade secret, but is incomplete with respect to the requirements of TRIPS Article 39.2.

• Please specify where the remaining components are located: (1) the subject information must have commercial value by virtue of its secret nature and (2) the trade secret owner has taken reasonable steps to protect its secrecy.

• Additionally, please clarify if this provision is intended to include the requirement that a trade secret owner has the possibility of protecting its trade secret (as stated in TRIPS) or whether that requirement is addressed in national law.

Article 141 of the Civil Code of RA defines the regulations on commercial secret; in particular: "Information constitutes a commercial secret in case when the information has an actual or potential commercial value by virtue of its being unknown to third persons, there is no free access to it on a legal basis, and the holder of the information takes measures for the defence of its confidentiality.

All the provisions on commercial secrets are regulated in the new draft "Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia".

Persons who by illegal means have received information that constitutes a commercial secret are obligated to compensate for losses caused. The same obligation is imposed on contract partners who have divulged a commercial secret in violation of a civil-law contract or a labour contract."

3.3.8.3.7 Enforcement, page 74, paragraph 3.192

Section XIII of Annex 26 of the Secretariat's report states that enforcement of IPRs within the EAEU will be carried out in accordance with international treaties concluded within the EAEU, namely the EAEU Agreement on the Procedure for Collective Management of Copyright and Related Rights and the EAEU Agreement on Unified Customs Registry of Intellectual Property Objects of Member States of the Customs Union.

• Will enforcement of other IPRs be carried out within the EAEU or will the enforcement be limited to Collective Management and the Unified Customs Registry?

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The protection of intellectual property rights by customs authorities is carried out as prescribed by the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On customs regulation".

According to the second part of Article 239 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On customs regulation", the measures taken by the customs authorities to protect the exclusive right of intellectual property rightholder refer to the goods containing objects of intellectual property and are included in the customs registers of intellectual property objects based on the application of the rightholder.

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JAPAN

Report by the Secretariat - WT/TPR/S/379

3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE

3.3 Measures Affecting Production and Trade, 3.3.8 Intellectual property rights, page 71, paragraph 3.171

According to the report by the Secretariat, it is stated that "There is no special trade secret law in Armenia". We would like to know if "undisclosed information" which is mentioned in TRIPS Agreement 39 can be protected by domestic law in Armenia and, if so, how to protect it.

Article 141 of the Civil Code of RA envisages provisions related to the protection of undisclosed information. Thus, in accordance with the abovementioned Article "Information constitutes a commercial secret in case when the information has an actual or potential commercial value by virtue of its being unknown to third persons, there is not free access to it on a legal basis, and the holder of the information takes measures for the defence of its confidentiality. Information constituting a commercial secret is protected by the means provided by the Civil Code and other means envisaged by other laws.

Amendments were made to the Civil Code of RA which envisage the introduction of the term of "commercial secrecy". In accordance with proposed amendments, taking into consideration the international experience in this field, the concept of "undisclosed information" has been replaced by the term of "commercial secret". The concept of commercial secrecy has also been clarified within its protection methods and transfer-related provisions. The law is now in the process of inter-agency discussions and will be submitted to the Parliament after summarizing all relevant suggestions and making respective changes.

Page 72, paragraph 3.177

According to the report by the Secretariat, infringement of designs can result in "civil responsibility imposed by a competent court". We would like to know if infringement of designs also can result in criminal responsibilities or not.

Infringements of designs cannot result in criminal responsibilities. There is no provision on industrial designs infringement defined by the Criminal Code of RA.

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EUROPEAN UNION

Report by the Secretariat – WT/TPR/S/379

1. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

1.2. Main Macroeconomic Policy Developments, 1.2.1 Monetary and exchange rate policies, page 13-14, paragraph 1.8 to 1.11

The Secretariat Report sets out the monetary and exchange rate policies. Paragraph 1.10 states that "According to the authorities, the CBA's interventions in the foreign exchange market are carried out only to smooth fluctuations or to offset transitory pressure during periods of excessive volatility, while it also views exchange rate flexibility as a means to maintain competitiveness.", and Paragraph 1.11 notes that "Following the monetary policy tightening in 2014, which helped contain inflation and anchor inflation expectations, the foreign exchange market has been more stable and the CBA has reduced foreign exchange interventions."

1. Could Armenia provide us more information on the central bank's foreign exchange market interventions since the start of 2018. How do these compare to the interventions in 2017? In Armenia's view, what could explain the stability of the Armenian currency in 2018, which is in contrast with the sharp weakening of the currency of one of Armenia's key export markets – Russia, and the weakening of the currencies of most emerging markets globally?

Starting from January 2018 to October 2018 net purchase of foreign exchange by Central bank of Armenia amounted to USD 44 million and were mostly conducted in the first quarter of 2018, whereas in 2017 net purchase of foreign exchange amounted to USD 100 million. As it is stated in the paragraph 1.8 to 1.11 foreign exchange market interventions of Central bank are episodic and are conducted only to smooth excessive exchange rate volatilities. Even during the political unstable period in Armenia in April-May 2018 the Central bank's involvement in the foreign exchange market was very limited, with temporary injection of foreign exchange liquidity using short-term swap contract, which was already repaid as of August 2018.

As Armenia conducts free floating exchange rate regime, the exchange rate of Armenian dram is determined in the market given the demand and supply forces. Depreciation pressures in emerging markets were counterbalanced by the increase in monetary policy credibility in recent years and asset substitution effects in domestic market, which is reflected in decrease of financial dollarization in Armenia.

1.5 Developments in Trade and Investment, 1.5.1 Trends and patterns in merchandise trade and 1.5.2 Services trade, page 18, paragraph 1.26-1.30, and page 20, paragraph 1.31,

These first sets of paragraphs set out the trends and patterns in merchandise trade of Armenia. On the export side, paragraph 1.26 notes that "Armenia's exports continue to be concentrated in the mining sector", and paragraph 1.27 points out that "In 2010, the manufacturing sector was the second largest contributor to merchandise trade exports. However, in 2017, the sector was overtaken by agriculture". Paragraph 1.31, meanwhile, refers to services trade.

2. Could Armenia elaborate on actions it is taking to further increase and diversify its exports of goods and services?

The RA Government has approved the RA Export-Led Industrial Policy Strategy for the purpose of diversifying the list of export products. The strategy is based on the idea to increase the competitiveness of the industrial products from the viewpoint of diversifying the export products list and increasing the volumes.

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To implement the mentioned strategy development strategies and three-year action plans for manufacturing industrial areas with export potential have been developed which are being implemented now. As a result, exports of industrial products from Armenia have increased by 39% to CIS countries and by 18.2% to other countries.

2. TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIMES

2.3 Policy Objectives, page 25-26, paragraph 2.22

As part of Armenia's Development Strategy, the Secretariat Report mentions that "Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are to be assisted through several programmes including: the continuation and expansion of the system of state guarantees for loans for SMEs with the potential to export, substitute for imports, or create knowledge; direct support to start-up SMEs; and access to state procurement for SMEs."

3. Could Armenia provide more precise information on the steps that it is taking to further develop the SME sector?

Currently SME development strategy is being developed with the support of the European Union, which will enable to define the subsequent policy vector in the sector, improve monitoring and evaluation of supporting programs, and promote co-operation among different stakeholders to address existing problems and ensure continuity of annual SME state support programs.

3. TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE

3.1 Measures directly affecting imports, 3.1.7 Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures, page 46, paragraph 3.51 and page 47, paragraph 3.54

The Secretariat's report states that "The authority for trade defence investigations in the EAEU is the EEC and its Department for Internal Market Defence, which make recommendations on trade defence measures…", and that "All definitions of terms, procedural requirements and time-limits that apply pursuant to the Protocol and that are actually applied by the EEC in trade-defence investigations (TDI) aim to follow the respective WTO rules on TDIs."

4. The EU notes that so far, Armenia has opposed the proposal within the EAEU institutions to impose Anti-Dumping duties on herbicides. In the view of the EU, the WTO criteria to impose measures are indeed not met. Can Armenia confirm that it will continue to oppose the proposed Anti-Dumping duties on herbicides within the EAEU institutions?

Having in mind that in accordance with paragraph A of the WTO Trade Policy Review Mechanism the trade policy review is not intended to serve as a basis for the enforcement of specific obligations under the WTO Agreements or for dispute settlement procedures, or to impose new policy commitments on WTO Members, we would like to inform that the negotiations in the EAEU framework on the above-mentioned direction are under way. Armenia will continue to take part in the relevant discussions having in mind its economic interests.

3.3 Measures Affecting Production and Trade, 3.3.4 Competition policy and price controls, page 56, paragraph 3.101

The Secretariat Report notes that "The State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition (the Commission), established in 2001, is responsible for the protection of economic competition. Its main functions, as stipulated by the Competition Law, are the following: Detection/disclosure of abuses of monopolistic or dominant positions; Detection/disclosure of anti-competitive agreements; Control of mergers and acquisitions; Detection/disclosure of unfair competition practices; and Control/prohibition of state aid."

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5. As regards antitrust and merger control, we appreciate the information on the activities of the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition and on the updates of the competition law, which are broadly in line with the EU acquis and the DCFTA. We note that the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition is also responsible for state aid control. Would we be able to receive more information on potential legislative action or case practice in this regard?

Reply Protection of economic competition is a key priority of the RA Government. The Government constantly monitors and evaluates the ongoing developments in this area to identify existing problems and implement measures to improve the competitive environment. As regards the state aid control, it should be mentioned, that the Government and the body carrying out the economic competition protection policy, namely the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition, has less practice on the cases of state aid control in comparison with other Commission functions. To that end, the Government is currently working to increase the capacities of the Commission related to state aid cases.

3.3.7 Government Procurement, page 63, paragraph 3.133

This paragraph states i.a. that "Public procurement constitutes a significant part of economic activity in Armenia, amounting to around 4-7% of GDP and around 30% of government spending in recent years. (Table 3.8)."

6. The EU values very positively the efforts undertaken by Armenia in order to improve transparency in the public procurement market. However, we noted that Armenia has lately carried out a revision of the tender processes of projects that were already implemented. The information provided by different institutions to the auditing authorities is under review. Could Armenia clarify the reasons for the delay in the revision of the tender processes of projects already implemented, and would it be possible for Armenia to speed up this process?

Armenia would like to request further clarifications to be able to answer the question, as the raised issues (the revision of the tender processes and the delay of the revision) are not clear.

Follow-up clarification

The EU thanks Armenia for its request for clarification of the EU initial question. Our question relates to the time taken by auditors to analyse the documentation requested for public procurement contracts. The time needed to analyse these documents seems to exceed the average auditing time, causing financial challenges for companies that were rewarded the contracts. We would like to ask if the Armenian authorities plan to provide more support in order to speed up the process?

The problem essentially refers to the calculation of procurement by the authorized body (RA Ministry of Finance).

In this regard, pursuant to the Decree No. 549-N of the RA Minister of Finance, dated 31 October 2018, amendments have been made to the order of calculations of transactions endorsed by the RA Minister of Finance Decree No. 345-N, dated 11 July 2018 based on the report submitted to the authorized body according to which the procurement transaction calculation system has been automated and the authorized body no longer carries out a preliminary control (auditing) function on the procurement process.

Armenia is committed to further developing its public procurement regulations. In this regard, we are ready to answer any additional questions that the EU may have.

Page 64, paragraph 3.136, Table 3.9 and 3.10

Table 3.9 shows the total number and value of procedures under/above the GPA thresholds in Armenia during the period 2014-2017. Table 3.10 shows the total number and value of procedures above the GPA thresholds by type of procuring entity in Armenia during the same period.

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7. The figures in the Tables 3.9 and 3.10 for the year 2010 are significantly lower than for previous years. We would like to ask Armenia if this is due to incomplete data which is not indicated, or if not, what the factors are which explain these lower numbers?

In 2017 the information on contracts signed above and below the thresholds set out in the WTO Public Procurement Agreement has not been fully summarized at that time that report was being formed. Currently, this information is summarized; according to which in 2017 the number of contracts signed above the threshold is 108 instead of the previous 26 (the revised versions of the Tables 3.9, 3.10 and 3.11 are below).

Table 3.9 Total number and value of procedures under/above the GPA thresholds

Table 3.10 Total number and value of procedures above the GPA thresholds by type of procuring entity

Year Procurement Total number Total value of Share of total no. Share of total value of of of contracts contracts above of contracts by procurement by above threshold relevant entities relevant entities (%) threshold (AMR million) (%)

2014 Central 87 52,249.8 1.4 22.5 government entities Sub-central 2 1,407.3 0.06 3.7 government entities Other entities 7 7,624 0.04 10.1 2015 Central 102 49,081.5 1,7 18.5 government entities Sub-central - - - - government entities Other entities 2 1,389.4 0.02 1.9

2016 Central 102 28,299.6 government entities Sub-central 4 913.4 government entities Other entities 15 24,563.8 2017 Central 103 32,546.6 government entities Sub-central government entities Other entities 5 4,648.1

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Table 3.11 Types of procedures used for procurement above the GPA thresholds

Type of procedure Year Number of % Contracted value (in % contracts million AMD) Open procedure 2015 8 7.7 6,860.5 13.6 2016 1 0.9 885,9 1.7

2017 21 19.4 7,081.2 19 Framework agreements 2015 82 78.8 39,347.7 78 2016 87 81.3 21.836,3 41.8 2017 75 69.4 20,334.4 54.7 Negotiation procedures 2015 4 3.8 1,193.8 2.4 without announcing 2016 9 8.4 5.204,2 9.9 2017 11 10.2 9,666.2 26 Announcing negotiation 2015 7 6.7 2,245.6 4.4 procedures 2016 3 2.8 467,8 0.9 2017 1 0.9 112.8 0.3 Competitive dialogue 2015 1 0.9 612.3 1.2 2016 3 2.8 818,8 1.5 2017 - - - -

Page 66, paragraph 3.143

The Secretariat Report mentions that "Furthermore, blacklisting provisions are enhanced in order to harmonize blacklisting among EAEU members, and now also include blacklisting of bidders that have shown deficiencies in performance or refused to sign/execute contracts. Blacklisted bidders are now automatically excluded from all procurements for a period of two years."

8. We would like to ask Armenia how the compatibility of these blacklisting provisions with Art. VIII 4. c. of the Government Procurement Agreement is ensured?

According to the Article 8, part 4, point c, of the WTO Public Procurement Agreement it is defined that where there is supporting evidence, a Party, including its procuring entities, may exclude a supplier on grounds such as significant or persistent deficiencies in performance of any substantive requirement or obligation under a prior contract or contracts.

In this regard the inclusion of a participant in the list of participants ineligible to participate in the procurement process is in conformity with the requirements of mentioned norm set out in the WTO public procurement agreement, which is envisaged by Law, as in this case there is violation of the essential requirements of the RA legislation "On procurement" as well as the contractual obligations which is presented by the customer.

At the same time, after having been elaborated by the RA Ministry of Finance the draft Law was discussed with the Secretariat of the WTO Public Procurement Agreement, the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the EU SIGMA project experts.

Page 66, paragraph 3.145

The Secretariat Report mentions changes concerning government procurement review procedures. It states that "In light of constitutional changes, the Procurement Review Board was dissolved and replaced with individual "persons to review complaints". While certain general guarantees regarding the independence of the person examining procurement, complaints are provided under the Constitution and the Law on Bodies of Public Administration, the Public Procurement Law (PPL) provisions designed to guarantee their independence, such as selection, remuneration, etc., were removed from the Law itself."

9. The 2018 changes to the legal framework on government procurement seem to have weakened the independence, and possibly the effectiveness, of the review procedures. Could you please explain why these changes were necessary, and how will the new review system work in practice?"

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The RA Law "On Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Law on Procurement" (entered into force on 9 April 2018) was adopted on 23 March 2018, in view of complying the acting law with the amended Constitution. Under the above-mentioned law, the Procurement Appeals Board has been replaced by the persons who are considering procurement complaints. Thus, instead of the former procurement appeal board, procurement related complaints will be examined by the persons who are considering procurement complaints, which according to the RA Law "On Public Administrative Bodies" have the status of the body subordinated to the Ministry. At the same time, in accordance with Article 159 of the Constitution, the body subordinated to the Ministry is included in the list of bodies of public administration. In accordance with the RA Government Decision No. 580-A, dated 22 May 2018, the persons who are considering procurement complaints are the subordinate body of the RA Ministry of Finance.

According to the Article 146, part 3 of the Constitution, the RA Government implements the general management of the state governance bodies meaning that the person considering procurement complaints as a public administration body is an executive authority body, in accordance with the article 7, part 6 of the RA Law "On Public Administrative Bodies" who is appointed and dismissed by the RA Prime Minister according to the Minister's proposal.

The independence of the persons who are considering procurement complaints is guaranteed by the Law. Particularly, according to the article 47, part 2 of the Law it is defined that the person examining procurement-related appeals shall be a body carrying out unbiased and independent investigation, which is not interested in the outcome of a certain procurement process and is protected from external influences while performing its obligations and exercising its rights. The person examining procurement-related appeals shall examine the appeals thoroughly and impartially. While exercising the powers provided for by this Law, the person examining procurement-related appeals shall be independent from the bidders of the procurement process, including the contracting authorities, as well as state and local self-government bodies and officials and shall be obliged to be guided solely by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia on procurement and apply it.

The requirements of investigating complaints, conditions relating to conflict of interest, the requirements for the content of the complaint are defined by the Law. During each appeal examination the person signs a statement on the absence of a conflict of interest which is published in the bulletin. At the same time, according to the article 50, part 6 of the Law that the decision of the person examining procurement-related appeals shall be legally binding, which may be amended or abolished, including partially, only by the court.

Page 66, paragraph 3.146

The Secretariat Report states that "Decision No. 526-N of 4 May 2017 introduces a requirement for suppliers to provide evidence of having properly performed at least one similar contract "within the year of submission of the bid and three years prior to it"."

10. The Decision No. 526-N of 4 May 2017 referred to restricts market access, locking in it for those actors already involved in public procurement. Could Armenia comment on the compatibility of this measure with the GPA Commitments?

According to the article 8, part 2, point b, of the WTO Public Procurement Agreement it is defined that in establishing the conditions for participation, a procuring entity may require relevant prior experience where essential to meet the requirements of the procurement.

In this regard in accordance with Clause 61 of the Procedure approved by the Decision No. 526-N, dated 4 May 2017 the requirements to the participant to assess the "professional experience" qualifications criteria is in line with the obligations under the WTO Public Procurement Agreement, considering the fact that these requirements have been set to minimize the potential risks of the buyer as a state as well as to ensure the proper execution of the contract. In addition, this requirement is set out for the procurement procedures for procurement of goods with a cost estimate of more than 5 million.

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Page 70, paragraph 3.165

This paragraph states that "Furthermore, a Policy Statement on PPPs was adopted in November 2017, with a view to creating and developing a coherent and systematic approach to PPPs in the future. In that regard, it remains to be seen whether adequate and desirable synergies between PPPs and the overall procurement system can be strengthened through relevant legislation in order to maintain the highest transparency and competition standards."

11. With a view to assessing improvements regarding transparency and competition standards in managing PPP (public-private partnerships) projects, what specific information could Armenia provide on the latest developments regarding the review of the PPP regiment and policy, including the drafting of the new law and the work of relevant governmental bodies (e.g., the Centre for Strategic Initiatives)?

The draft law on "Public Private Partnership" which was drafted with the support of World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and was approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia on 6 September 2018 and submitted to the National Assembly. Appropriate sub-legislative acts will be approved after the National Assembly adopts the draft law on "Public Private Partnership". In this regard, we are open for discussions about the improvement of PPP regulations in Armenia.

This law establishes the legal framework for the regulation of public-private partnership (PPP), including rules and procedures related to the development and implementation of public-private partnership projects (PPP projects), the institutional framework governing PPP, the applicable principles, and various other matters related to PPPs.

The goal of the Armenian Government is to mobilize the strengths and resources of the private sector in the most favourable ways, consistent with best international practice where possible, to contribute to the economic and social development of Armenia thus encouraging innovations in PPP projects, and advancing transparency and accountability in terms of risk and outcome.

3.3.8 Intellectual Property rights, page 71, paragraph 3.173

According to the Secretariat Report "While the Government has made some progress on IPR issues, strengthening enforcement mechanisms remains necessary"

12. Could Armenia please explain what actions it plans, or what legislation or regulations it intends to adopt, with a view to strengthening IPR enforcement in Armenia? Could Armenia tell us if it is planning to introduce a strategy that would aim at raising public awareness about the importance of intellectual property rights-protection?

IPR enforcement provisions are regulated by separate Codes, particularly by Civil Code of RA, Civil Procedure Code of RA, Criminal Code by RA and by the RA Law on Protection of Economic Competition.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia is taking steps towards drafting a new Strategy on the protection of the Intellectual Property Rights, which will prescribe particular actions towards the development of innovative environment and actions to ensure proper functioning of the enforcement bodies, making the intellectual property mechanisms more effective and reliable.

Activities for public awareness in the field of IPR are provided as a primary objective to be implemented. Seminars for raising awareness regarding counterfeits and piracy in the field of IPR are organized as well as trainings are conducted for the officials of police, customs.

Taking into account the importance of the area for Armenia, as one of its priority target directions, the Government welcomes international donors to assist Armenia in the capacity building and strengthening of the IPR protection area.

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Page 71, Box 3.2 and 3.3.8.3.3 Geographical indications, page 73, paragraph 3.188

This paragraph states that "Geographical indications (GIs) are protected in the territory of a member State if such protection is provided under its legislation or international treaties of which it is a member (Annex 26, Section VI). Provisions on the appellation of origin of goods define the denomination which is recognized as the appellation of origin, legal means for interested parties to prevent the misuse of the denomination, or acts of unfair competition in individual member States (Annex 26, Section VII). Once the Draft Agreement on EAEU Trademarks is in force, the appellation of origin of EAEU goods will be protected in the territory of all member States in accordance with the provisions of that Agreement (Annex 26, Section VIII)."

13. Could Armenia provide specific information on the measures taken to guarantee the enforcement of the provisions regarding the protection of Geographical Indications, within the scope of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the different bilateral agreements signed by Armenia?

The legislation on IP provides the same legal-civilian mechanisms for the protection of the rights in the registered Geographical Indications, which are available for the other subject matters of intellectual property, i.e., the protection of interests in courts.

According to the Article 1183 of the Civil Code of RA the person having the right to use geographical indication, appellation of origin and the name of the guaranteed traditional product, as well as any natural and legal person, may require from the person illegally using that geographical indication, appellation of origin and the name of the guaranteed traditional product to terminate the use thereof, or of indication or name confusingly similar thereto, remove them from the product, the packaging thereof, advertisements, prospectuses, bills and other accompanying documents, whereas in case of impossibility thereof — to require confiscation and destruction of the packaging or the product as prescribed by law.

4. TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR

4.1 Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, 4.1.2 Policy and institutional developments, page 78, paragraph 4.11-4.13, and Report by Armenia - WT/TPR/G/379, page 6, paragraph 3.3

These paragraphs i.a. set out recent relevant strategic documents, strategy and action plans related to the agricultural sector. The Government Report by Armenia (at paragraph 3.3, page 6) also refers in this regard to "The Concept on Ensuring Food Security in the Republic of Armenia", for which the government, in 2016, adopted the relevant Action Plan for 2017-2021

14. Could Armenia further elaborate on the major principles of the Action Plan for 2017 – 2021?

Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the economy of the Republic of Armenia, which is of exceptional importance to the country's food security. At present, based on the Economic Policy Concept, the Government elaborates the document on the main directions for the economic development of the agricultural sector up to 2030, aimed at raising the level of food security in the country, creating favourable conditions for the activities of agricultural operators, and increasing product competitiveness.

4.1.3.4 Cigarettes, page 82, paragraph 4.30

The Secretariat Report states that "The manufacture of cigarettes and other tobacco products is becoming an increasing source of revenue for Armenia. In 2016, USD 281 million of cigarettes were manufactured, up 23.5% from the previous year. Cigarettes are the largest export in the agriculture sector, and exports of them increased during the review period from 0.8% of total exports in 2010 to 11.9% in 2017."

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15. The EU is happy to see that since the signature of the CEPA, the export of goods between Armenia and the EU has increased. We note that when it comes to the rise in exports within the agricultural sector, the rise in cigarette exports is particularly large. How could the implementation of mechanisms for the control of and fight against illicit trade of tobacco products be improved?

Tobacco products in Armenia (including tobacco substitutes, cigars, cigarillos) are subject to excise taxation. Each box of tobacco products is labelled with a numbered and protected excise stamp that minimizes the possibility of illicit trade of tobacco products.

Further, the discussions on joining of the "WHO FCTC Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products" are currently in process in Armenia, the Government has planned to hold discussions on joining the Protocol with relevant stakeholder agencies, and the translation of the Protocol is in progress to facilitate the process.

4.2.2 Energy, 4.2.2.1 Electricity, page 91, paragraph 4.68, and the Report by Armenia, page 8, paragraph 3.18

This paragraph refers to renewable energy. It states that "The generation of electricity from renewable sources has increased considerably over the past few years, with more investments planned, including in geothermal as well as solar, wind and hydropower."

16. Our question relates to support for private projects in the construction of geothermal power plants, which is also mentioned by Armenia in its Government Report (paragraph 3.18). Could Armenia clarify which concrete steps it is going to take to support private projects for construction of geothermal power plants, and what new legal incentives Armenia is planning to introduce in this area?

According to the Energy Law of the Republic of Armenia, electricity produced in small geothermal power plants is subject to 20 years of purchase in compliance with the market rules. Moreover, the tariff set by the Public Services Regulatory Commission is an investment repurchase guarantee. Other types of support from the Government of the Republic of Armenia for private projects in the construction of geothermal power plants directly depends on the suggested projects (including finance scheme), as well as requests coming from potential investors.

Page 91, paragraph 4.70, and the Report by Armenia, page 7, paragraph 3.13

The Secretariat Report notes that "Under the 2017 Action Plan, approved by the Government, and the Law on Making Amendments to the Law on Energy of 2018 (which entered into force on 1 July), Armenia will pass from the single-buyer model to a more liberal model with independent suppliers, traders and large users of electricity having opportunities to access the electricity market"

17. Could Armenia provide more details on concrete liberalization measures and the adoption of necessary legal acts within the Action plan, aiming at, among others, attracting foreign investment in the energy sector?

On 27 July 2017, Electricity market liberalization and cross-border trade development programme and the action plan of its implementation was adopted. Armenia's legislation regulating the energy sector provides favourable conditions for attracting investments. The new Model will ensure electricity market access for the large consumers, electricity suppliers and traders, which will create a basis for development of competitive environment. In addition to this, the new Model will create a wide opportunity for cross-border trade development.

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4.4 Transport, 4.4.1 Features, page 104, Table 4.14

Table 4.14 of the Secretariat Report gives an overview of overland transport in Armenia for the period 2012-2017, based on data from the Statistical Yearbook of Armenia 2017.

18. How does Armenia explain the over 300% growth in tonnes carried by road between 2014 and 2017, and in particular the over 200% growth between 2015 and 2016?

The over 300% growth in tonnes carried by road between 2014 and 2017, and in particular the over 200% growth between 2015 and 2016 is conditioned by a few factors. The increase is generally associated with the development of the mining industry and the change of the operating model. Further factors are the increase in cargo transportation between Armenia and Russia, a significant part of which falls on the share of imports of wheat from Russia, as well as the fact that cargo transportation showed a tendency of shifting from rail transport to road transport, as the road transport allows for shorter transit through Georgia.

4.4.2 Roads, page 105

This part of the Secretariat Report gives an overview of road transport in Armenia, and also sets out the main legislation on road transport (particularly in paragraph 4.144-4.145)

19. Could Armenia indicate if it will sign up to the Quality Charter of the ECMT (European Minister of Transport) multilateral quota system? The Quality Charter extends EU rules on access to the profession (Reg. 1071/2009) and qualification and training of drivers (Dir. 2003/59) to non-EU countries participating in the system. Currently, several countries have signed up.

Quality Charter for International Road Haulage Operations under the ECMT Multilateral Quota System was approved during Transport Ministers' Conference on 28 May 2015 in Leipzig and entered into force on 1 January 2016. Currently the works are being carried out to localize and implement the Quality Charter in the Republic of Armenia.

4.5 Tourism, 4.5.2 Policy, institutions and regulatory framework, page 110, paragraph 4.175, page 110

The Secretariat Report mentions that "At present, the activity of tourist guides is not licensed (Government Decree No. 945-N of 10 June 2004 on Tour Guide Licensing was declared invalid according to Government Decree No. 245-N of 18 March 2011). However, the new draft Law on Tourism includes provisions for tour guide licensing."

20. Could Armenia provide us with more information on the proposed provisions for tour guide licencing? Will the same provisions apply to both national and foreign tour guides?

The current draft of the RA Tourism Law envisages mandatory tour guide licensing to be exercised by the Tourism Committee of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of the RA (Committee).

The law will be referring to a legal act – Regulation on Guides Licensing – which will be defining the specifics of the procedure.

Both documents are currently being elaborated by the Committee in consultation with relevant stakeholders including related public-sector bodies, education institutions, private sector and NGOs.

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The new Tourism Law and the relevant legal act will also address the mandatory regulation for foreign tour guides' activity in Armenia. At least national treatment will be applied in relation to foreign tour guides.

The Committee plans to circulate the final draft among relevant ministries and other government institutions by April-May 2019.

Page 111, paragraph 4.176

This paragraph refers to certifications for accommodation establishments, stating that "Accommodation establishments are certified, on a voluntary basis, by the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments. Certificates are valid for five years, renewable, and are granted upon a site visit by the Classification Commission, which is composed of inspectors from the State and the private sector."

21. Which are the criteria for granting a certificate? Since accommodation establishments are certified on a voluntary basis, are there consequences for those that are not certified?

Clarifications:

Despite the final document provided to the accommodation establishment as a result of the process is certificate, the service provided is rather classification as the possession of the certificate not only implies that the accommodation establishment is qualified (certified), but also states its type and class.

Secondly, the goal of the site visit by the Classification Commission is not inspection and possible issuing of a penalty, but only assessment of the accommodation establishment against the compliance criteria and compilation of conclusions.

Answers:

The criteria for classification (defined in the Government Decree No. 946-N of 10 June 2004) have three main directions: service criteria, equipment assessment and compliance with given construction norms (the detailed description of these criteria is provided in the above-mentioned Decree which can be translated in English and sent upon request).

It should be mentioned that the Decree needs to be amended, including improvement of the assessment methodology (grading system introduction is recommended).

Despite classification of accommodation establishments is voluntary, the requirements for the type of the accommodation establishment are imperative and presentation of non-classified accommodation establishments in any public appearance non-compliant with the requirements as well as in mentioning of a class (defined by the law) are object to penalty in a sum of AMD 200,000.

In terms of positive incentives, the list of classified accommodation establishments is posted on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments of the RA to guide the tour operators and other relevant stakeholders.

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UKRAINE

Report by the Secretariat – WT/TPR/S/379

2 TRADE AND INVESTMENT REGIME

2.3 Policy Objectives, Pages 25–26, paragraph 2.22

According to the Report, Armenia's Development Strategy 2014-2025 includes direct policies aimed at Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are to be assisted through several programmes including: the continuation and expansion of the system of state guarantees for loans for SMEs with the potential to export, substitute for imports, or create knowledge; direct support to start-up SMEs; and access to state procurement for SMEs.

1. In the context of the Nairobi Decision on export competition (Ministerial Decision of 19 December 2015: WT/MIN(15)/45 − WT/L/980) could Armenia kindly give more details on state guarantees for loans for SMEs exporting agricultural products, if any, including description of programmes, annual average premium rates/fees per programme, maximum repayment terms per programme, annual average repayment periods per programme, export destinations per programme, programme use by product or product group?

Considering the low level of economic activity in the areas close to the border, countryside settlements and disaster zones and the fact that the rural households encounter significant challenges in generating income, the purpose of the state guarantees for loans to SMEs without exclusion of agricultural ones is to support the development of business in the aforementioned areas, assist the rural households in transferring from self-sufficient businesses to income generating ones, create new jobs and ensure access to economic opportunities for all.

The Loan Guarantees Provision programme allows the solvent entrepreneurs to get loans in terms of insufficient pledge amount and low liquidity, which is particularly specific for the SMEs operating in distant and close to the border regions of Armenia. The programme allows entrepreneurs to qualify for loans by guaranteeing up to 70% of the principal of the loan and the interest rates for up to 5 years. The maximum amount guaranteed cannot exceed 15 million drams. The annual interest rates for the loans provided by the Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center of Armenia partner banks through Loan Guarantees Provision programme are lower than those practiced in the market.

The Loan Guarantees are provided in accordance with following priorities:

• SMEs operating in manufacturing, services provision and trade sectors (in the regions with low level of economic activity)

• SMEs operating in the regions with low level of economic activity (close to the border and countryside settlements, disaster zone, former industrial and scientific sites)

• Import substituting, exporting SMEs and those with export potential

• SMEs introducing and using new technologies and innovations

The Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center of Armenia (SME DNC) is implementing the "Start-up Business Entrepreneurship Support" programme, which has the priorities, goals and procedures set out in its regulations.

The programme includes training, professional counselling and information as well as financial support components. Start-up businesses receive business, staff and financial management, planning, marketing knowledge and appropriate business skills.

Loan guarantees provided under the programme are implemented under the following conditions:

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• Amount up to AMD 5.0 million,

• Annual interest rate: 10%

• Term up to 5 years.

3 TRADE POLICIES AND PRACTICES BY MEASURE

3.1 Measures Directly Affecting Imports, 3.1.4 Tariffs, page 38, paragraphs 3.25–3.26

Under the Report, "Within the EAEU legal framework, the Treaty on the Multilateral System authorizes temporary exceptions to the CET (Article 1:4). However, it also states that "the Parties concerned shall consult each other and enter into negotiations with interested WTO Members expeditiously with a view to harmonize import tariffs. The Parties shall coordinate their positions and express the intention to follow the respective provisions of the WTO Agreement that are applied in case of tariff harmonization by the CU".

According to Para 3.26 of the Report "A fully harmonized CET is the ultimate aim; renegotiations in case of a breach of bindings under GATT Article XXIV:6 are to be carried out by the Party concerned in a coordinated manner with other EAEU member States. Under G/SECRET/37 of 4 November 2014, Armenia has initiated procedures under GATT Articles XXIV:6 and XXVIII, to take account of its accession to the EAEU. There are 6,536 tariff lines to be renegotiated".

2. In the context of the renegotiations held by Armenia within its EAEU accession, Ukraine is interested in the relevant consultations with Armenia with the aim of preserving the standstill regime concerning the current bilateral FTA between Ukraine and Armenia.

Taking into account above-mentioned, Ukraine is seeking more detailed explanation concerning:

• the procedure for the territorial application of the EAEU trade regime, in particular, the application of the EAEU Common Customs Tariff in relations with the parties of Free trade agreements;

• implementation in the EAEU Common Customs Tariff of Armenia's tariff commitments under the Free trade agreements.

In its response to the claim of interest to reserve its right to negotiate with Armenia regarding the renegotiation of tariffs by Armenia pursuant its accession to the EAEU, as well as during subsequent discussions, the Republic of Armenia has stated that the mutual trade between the Republic of Armenia and Ukraine is carried out on FTA basis, as, in accordance with the Treaty on the Accession of the Republic of Armenia to the Treaty on Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia respects its customs tariff obligations as part of international trade agreements signed before 1 January 2015.

We would like to reassert our statement that Armenia applies its customs tariff obligations as part of international trade agreements signed before 1 January 2015.

3.1.7 Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures, page 46, paragraph 3.49

Under the Report the principal legal basis for trade defence instruments (anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguards) is Annex 8 of the EAEU Treaty and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is responsible for trade defence investigations with final decisions made by the Board of the EEC which consists of ministers representing member States.

On 7 August 2018, the Eurasian Economic Commission initiated a safeguard investigation on imports of certain flat-rolled steel products imported into the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter Union). The investigation was initiated on the basis of results of consideration of the application filed by the Union producers of certain flat-rolled steel products.

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Having studied the application, Ukraine believes that there is no sufficient evidence showing that the volume and the prices of imports of certain flat-rolled steel products are threatening to cause significant overall impairment of the position of the Union industry.

3. Could Armenia please clarify the compliance of such investigation with the relevant provisions (Articles 2 and 4) of the Agreement on Safeguards?

The Republic of Armenia believes that the investigation was initiated in compliance with the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, based on the reasons for the initiation of investigation as detailed in the Notification under Article 12.1(A) of the Agreement on Safeguards on Initiation of an Investigation and the Reasons for it (G/SG/N/6/ARM/3) and the relevant public notice published on 7 August 2018 on the official website of the Eurasian Economic Union (http://eec.eaeunion.org/ru/act/trade/podm/investigations/PublicDocuments/SG10_notice_initiatio n.pdf). Furthermore, the investigation is in compliance with Articles 2 and 4 of the Agreement on Safeguards as the safeguard investigation concerning imports of certain flat-rolled steel products has not been concluded yet. The notice of initiation of 7 August 2018 contains the analysis of the application that indicates the existence of sufficient evidence necessary for the initiation of an investigation.

4. Could Armenia also clarify the reasons for delaying of "immediate" notification on initiation of safeguard investigation as required by the Article 12(1)(a) of the Agreement on Safeguards?

Armenia does not consider the immediate notification in the meaning of Article 12.1(a) as delayed. In addition, Armenia notes that the notice of initiation of the safeguard investigation was published on the official website of the Eurasian Economic Union on 7 August 2018. Information concerning the notice of initiation was directly transmitted to Ukrainian competent authorities via the letter of the Department of Internal Market Defence of the Eurasian Economic Commission (DIMD) dated 9 August 2018. The DIMD also notified other known interested parties from Ukraine.

Page 47, paragraph 3.55

Armenia as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union took part in eight anti-dumping investigations on imports of certain products from Ukraine; as a result, eight appropriate duties were introduced. At the same time, Ukraine and Armenia have the bilateral Free Trade Agreement whereunder using of such trade policy instruments allowed only in exceptional cases.

5. Ukraine would appreciate if Armenia could explain how the introduction of anti-dumping duties by Armenia as a member of the Eurasian Economic Union is in conformity with the provisions of the FTA.

According to the Article 49 (Principles of Application of Safeguard, Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures) of the Treaty on the EAEU, an anti-dumping measure may be applied to the product that is considered to be dumped if, pursuant to an investigation, the investigating authority determines that imports of such product into the customs territory of the Union cause or threaten to cause material injury to a domestic industry of the Member States or materially hinder the establishment of a domestic industry of the Member States.

As regards the FTA, the bilateral free trade agreement between Armenia and Ukraine of 1994 does not contain provisions restricting the imposition with respect to anti-dumping measures in accordance with WTO rules.

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3.3 Measures Affecting Production and Trade, 3.3.8 Intellectual property rights, 3.3.8.1 Overview and institutional framework, page 71, paragraph 3.174

It is mentioned in the Report that "according to legislation, customs authorities only suspend the importation of counterfeit goods, but do not seize them".

At the time of the previous Armenia's trade policy review in 2010 Armenia attributed its major concerns related to strengthening IPRs enforcement to problematic implementation and week enforcement.

6. Could Armenia kindly elaborate on its main developments in providing strengthening of IPRs enforcement during the review period?

In 2011 the RA Government adopted the National Strategy on IPR Protection. It was aimed at improving the economic, creative and investment environment in Armenia.

Within the framework of the Strategy, an Action Plan for increasing effectiveness of fighting against IP violations has been drafted, which provided for improvement of the field.

It provided three directions for the reformation of the Armenia's IPR system:

1. Legislative reform

2. Institutional Reform in the enforcement bodies

3. IPR awareness-raising activities, particularly trainings for judges, police, and customs officials, public attorneys.

From 2012 to 2014 the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments carried out the Twinning Project on Strengthening the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Armenia. The main purpose of the twinning project was to introduce measures for strengthening the overall IPR enforcement capacity of the Armenian society  public institutions, private entities and the general public  to increase awareness of and stronger involvement in the protection of IPRs in line with the EU development directions and as part of executing the Armenia's policy and reform strategy in IPR enforcement.

7. Would Armenia, please, describe how the exclusive right of the owners of intellectual property rights can be enforced to prevent all third parties not having the owner`s consent from the importation of counterfeit goods, considering that customs authorities do not seize them?

According to the second part of Article 239 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On customs regulation", the measures taken by the customs authorities to protect the exclusive right of intellectual property rightholder refer to the goods containing subject matters of intellectual property and are included in the customs registry of intellectual property subject matters based on the application of the rightholder.

The customs authorities also have the right to implement intellectual property protection measures without the rightholder's application (ex officio).

Due to persistent works undertaken, applications have been registered by Customs authorities in the Registry of intellectual property subject matters since 2011. Currently there are more than 400 registrations in the Customs IPR registry.

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8. What actions do customs authorities take after suspending the importation of counterfeit goods?

The customs authorities suspend the release of the goods containing intellectual property objects registered in the register by 10 working days and inform the rightholder, as well as to the persons transporting goods about the cessation according to the provisions defined by law. Such goods are subject to transportation to the warehouse of temporary holding.

9. What are further plans of Armenia in preventing breaches of IPRs?

Increasing the efficiency of the enforcement bodies (police, courts, customs etc.) and raising IPR awareness among the state authorities responsible for IPR policies and enforcement and the public at large.

4 TRADE POLICIES BY SECTOR

4.3 Services, 4.3.2 Financial Services, 4.3.2.1 Features, pages 96-97, paragraph 4.98

The Report describes the structure of the financial market of Armenia. In 2017 it comprised: 17 banks with 525 branch offices; 35 credit organizations with 205 branch offices; 7 insurance companies and 3 insurance brokers; Securities market participants, which included 9 investment companies, 3 investment fund managers, the Central Depositary of Armenia, the NASDAQ OMX Armenia, 17 commercial banks, 35 credit organizations and 21 reporting issuers; 132 pawnshops; 183 exchange offices; 6 money transfer companies; 5 companies dealing with the processing and clearing of payment instruments and payment documents; and 21 reporting issuers.

10. Would Armenia, please, provide information on authorization/licensing of non-banking financial institutions in Armenia: types of activities subject to authorization/licensing, key requirements to applicants, approval procedure, including verification of sources of funds used for capital formation, assessment of financial standing, business reputation and transparency of applicants' ownership structure?

Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) is the mega-regulator and sole supervisor of the financial system of Armenia. Besides banks, the Central Bank grants licenses to other financial organizations. The non- banking financial institutions subject to licensing are the following, with the relevant legislation link provided:

• insurance (and reinsurance) companies (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/Law_on_insurance_and_insurance_activities.pdf),

• credit organizations (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/credit.pdf),

• investment companies (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/securities__market.pdf),

• stock exchange (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/securities__market.pdf),

• central depositary (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/securities__market.pdf)

• investment funds and investment fund managers (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/Investment_funds.pdf),

• payment and settlement organizations (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/Payment_systems.pdf),

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• pawnshops (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/Law_on_pawnshops_and_pawnbrokerage.pdf),

• foreign exchange brokers/dealers (https://www.cba.am/EN/lalaws/Law_on_currency_regulation_and_currency_control.pdf

All these institutions are subject to licensing requirements in accordance with the corresponding law. The key requirements to licensing differ from one type to another. Mainly there are normative requirements for capital adequacy, qualification of the higher-ranking officials within the institution, AML/CFT compliance requirements, IT and cyber security requirements, requirements as for the premises of the institution, viable business plan etc.

The list of the documents, submitted to the Central Bank for obtaining the license, include the charter of the applying organization, financial statements with audit opinion for the last 3 years, information on related entities and natural persons, respective documentation of the parties that will become an indirect significant shareholder, the documentation, ensuring the satisfaction with fit-and-proper requirements, etc.

Based on this documentation and also using other sources of information CBA assesses mainly the following:

• The final beneficiary/owner of the shareholding,

• The economic strength of the applicant-organization and the final beneficiary/owner: whether it is financially strong and stable, whether its activities are profitable or loss- making, in case it is needed whether it can provide additional financial support.

• The origin of funds.

• The management structure and characteristics of the organization.

For the verification of the funds the Central Bank demands and verifies documents proving the origination of funds. For financial standing the Central Bank of Armenia demands the financial audited statements for the last three years of the shareholder/founder of the financial non-bank institution. The CBA also demands the ownership structure of the applicant and the disclosure of beneficial owners. The licensing department closely cooperates with the Financial Intelligence Unit for the profile check of applicants.

The Central Bank has adopted a number of Regulations, regulating the licensing process of the financial organizations. The documents may be found on the official webpage of the Central Bank at: http://www.cba.am (most of documents are available in English).

4.3.2.2 Banking sector, 4.3.2.2.1 Policy, institutions and regulatory framework, page 99, paragraph 4.108

The Report mentions several departments within the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA), which are responsible for methodological and development aspects of the financial sector.

11. Could Armenia, please, clarify if there is some separate department (or other structural unit) within the CBA focused solely on regulation of non-banking institutions, such as insurance companies, credit organizations, etc., or this function is divided between several departments of the CBA?

There is a Financial System Regulation Department within the Central Bank of Armenia, which is responsible for adopting financial system regulation policy and drafting the respective regulations and other normative acts. The Department has an institutional structure, which means that the Divisions within the Department are responsible for the separate types of financial institutions. Thus, there are 4 divisions within the Department (Banking System Regulation Division (responsible also for non-bank credit organizations, pawnshops, FX bureaus), Insurance System Regulation Division,

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Securities Market Regulation Division and Payment and Settlement System Regulation Division). Of course, the regulations and other normative acts are being drafted in cooperation with other Departments of the Central Bank, such as Financial Supervision Department, Financial System Stability and Development Department, Legal Department, etc.

12. If so, does Armenia consider such structure efficient?

Yes, Armenia considers the structure to be efficient.

13. Ukraine would appreciate if Armenia could also kindly share its experience in arranging a sound system of supervision over banks and non-banking financial institutions.

The Central Bank of Armenia is the sole supervisor of the financial system of Armenia. It supervises both banks and non-banking financial institutions. Starting from 2018, the Central Bank has adopted risk-based supervision in the area of banking supervision. This means that the banking supervisors will pay greater attention and spend more resources on the areas of banking activities, which has more risks and more impact on the stability and normal operation of the banks.

The Financial Supervision Department of the Central Bank is the unit of the Central Bank, responsible for supervision in financial organizations. Mainly, it consists of institutional divisions (Banking Supervision Division, Insurance Organizations Supervision Division, Credit Organizations and Pawnshops Supervision Division, etc). The IT Supervision Division and Corporate Finance Division are functional divisions, which means that they service the whole financial system. Besides, functional groups (so-called "risk groups") for separate types of risks have been established within the Financial Supervision Department.

In case of necessity or request by Ukraine, Armenia is ready to engage in experience sharing exercises or further discussions.

Page 100, paragraph 4.113

The Report notes changes and supplements to the Law on Central Bank of Armenia and states that "the laws were amended to simplify the procedure of information exchange among supervisory authorities, to exchange information in the absence of international treaties while protecting the confidentiality of information".

14. Could Armenia, please, describe the procedure for the information exchange among supervisory authorities in Armenia: for obtaining the information by the CBA from the other Armenian and foreign supervisory authorities for purposes of prudential supervision?

Recent amendments have been made to the RA Law "On the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia", according to which the order of cooperation between Central Bank and financial supervision bodies of foreign countries has been simplified. Particularly, Article 8 of the new law stipulates that the Central Bank shall have the right to receive and share supervisory information from the financial supervisory authorities of other countries without concluding an international treaty or other memorandum, even if it is a legally protected secret, if the information is necessary for that body in order to fulfil its obligations under the law, as well as that body has the equivalent protection regime for supervisory information.

According to the article 33 of the RA Law "On the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia", the bodies authorized by the Government, as well as the National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia exchange information with Central Bank of Armenia in the manner agreed with the Central Bank. At the meantime, according to Article 7.1 the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition of the Republic of Armenia performs its economic competition-related functions with regard to entities regulated or supervised by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia, based on

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15. Would Armenia kindly provide more information on assessment of transparency of banks' ownership structures by the CBA: indicators of a non-transparent ownership structure and approaches to revealing banks' beneficial owners?

According to the RA LAW "On Banks and Banking" to receive the preliminary consent of CBA for acquiring participation in the bank capital, shareholders should provide information about all direct and indirect participants, including ultimate beneficial owners (both financial and non-financial).

As already mentioned, for the verification of the funds the Central Bank demands and verifies documents proving the origination of funds. For financial standing the Central Bank of Armenia demands the financial audited statements for the last three years of the shareholder/founder of the financial non-bank institution. The CBA also demands the ownership structure of the applicant and the disclosure of beneficial owners.

Report by Armenia – WT/TPR/G/379

4 TRADE POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

4.1 Trade and Investment Policy, 4.1.3 Non-tariff regulations, 4.1.3.3 Quotas, export/import prohibition. Page 13, paragraph 4.32

The Report states that "As a member of the EAEU the common external trade regime is also extended to non-tariff measures: import/export prohibitions, quantitative restrictions, exclusive trading rights, licensing (permit), anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures. The legal basis for these measures is the founding Treaty of the EAEU. Decision on application of these defence instruments is taken by the Eurasian Economic Commission following the investigation conducted in accordance with the Annex 8 of the Treaty, which contains Protocol on Application of Safeguards, Antidumping and Countervailing Measures in Respect of Third Countries."

16. Ukraine would appreciate for confirmation of our understanding that the Republic of Armenia delegated its authority to conduct anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard investigations to the Eurasian Economic Union's (EAEU) responsible bodies.

In accordance with the Article 49 (Principles of Application of Safeguard, Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures) of the EAEU Treaty and the Annex 8 of the Treaty, which contains the Protocol on Application of Safeguards, Antidumping and Countervailing Measures in Respect of Third Countries, the decisions on application of anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures are taken by the Eurasian Economic Commission in accordance with the decision-making process of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

17. Could Armenia kindly confirm that there are no Armenian national laws and bodies which are responsible for conducting anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard investigations and decision- making process thereon?

The anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard investigations are conducted by the Eurasian Economic Commission, in accordance with the Article 49 (Principles of Application of Safeguard, Anti- dumping and Countervailing Measures) and the Annex 8 of the EAEU Treaty, which contains the Protocol on Application of Safeguards, Antidumping and Countervailing Measures in Respect of Third Countries. In accordance with the Article 49 and the Annex 8 of the Treaty the decisions on application of anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures are taken by the Eurasian

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Economic Commission in accordance with the decision-making process of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

18. Please, explain whether the Republic of Armenia could suggest or influence the decision of the EAEU's bodies responsible for decision-making process under the anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard procedures to ensure that a decision would be in line with national interests of the Republic of Armenia.

In accordance with the Article 49 (Principles of Application of Safeguard, Anti-dumping and Countervailing Measures) of the EAEU Treaty, the EAEU member countries participate in the discussions regarding trade defence measures, where they present their views based on their economic interests. Direct influence on the decision making is ensured through the voting process.

4.3 Intellectual Property Rights, page 15, paragraph 4.46

Armenia reported that its trademark legislation, including the Law "On Geographical Indications" adopted on 29 April 2010, is in full compliance with the EU requirements including relevant EU directives and decisions. At the same time, as the member of EAEU, once the Draft Agreement on EAEU Trademarks is in force, the appellation of origin of EAEU goods will fall under provisions of that Agreement.

19. As Ukraine is also in the process of harmonizing its legislation with the EU norms and principles, would Armenia kindly give further clarification on whether the application of these two norms in the future may constitute a legal collision?

The application of the two norms will not constitute any legal collision.