Doing Business in Romania: 2019 Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, U.S. & FOREIGN COMMERCIAL SERVICE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. Table of Contents Doing Business in Romania _________________________________________ 6 -- Market Overview _______________________________________________ 6 -- Market Challenges ______________________________________________ 6 -- Market Opportunities____________________________________________ 7 -- The European Union and EU Funding ______________________________ 8 -- Market Entry Strategy __________________________________________ 10 Political Environment ______________________________________________ 11 Selling U.S. Products & Services ____________________________________ 12 -- Using an Agent to Sell U.S. Products and Services __________________ 12 -- Establishing an Office __________________________________________ 12 -- Franchising __________________________________________________ 15 -- Joint Ventures/Licensing _______________________________________ 18 -- Selling to the Government ______________________________________ 18 -- Distribution & Sales Channels ___________________________________ 20 -- Express Delivery ______________________________________________ 21 -- Selling Factors and Techniques __________________________________ 21 -- eCommerce __________________________________________________ 22 B2B/B2C ecommerce sales channel _____________________________________________ 22 Online purchases ____________________________________________________________ 22 -- Trade Promotion & Advertising __________________________________ 23 2019 Romania Country Commercial Guide 2 -- Pricing ______________________________________________________ 24 -- Sales Service/Customer Support _________________________________ 24 -- Protecting Intellectual Property __________________________________ 25 Due Diligence __________________________________________________ 26 -- Local Professional Services _____________________________________ 27 -- Principle Business Associations _________________________________ 27 -- Limitations on Selling U.S. Products and Services __________________ 28 -- Web Resources _______________________________________________ 29 ----------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________ 31 Leading Sectors for U.S. Exports & Investments _______________________ 31 -- Agricultural Machinery & Equipment ______________________________ 31 Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 31 Leading Sub-Sectors __________________________________________________________ 31 Irrigation Technology & Equipment _______________________________________________ 31 Opportunities ________________________________________________________________ 32 Web Resources ______________________________________________________________ 32 -- Defense Industry ______________________________________________ 33 Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 33 Leading Sub-Sectors __________________________________________________________ 33 Opportunities ________________________________________________________________ 34 Web Resources ______________________________________________________________ 38 -- Energy ______________________________________________________ 40 Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 40 Leading Sub-Sectors __________________________________________________________ 41 Opportunities ________________________________________________________________ 44 IEAS International Electric & Automation Show Bucharest 2019 - Sep 2019 ______________ 45 2019 Romania Country Commercial Guide 3 Web Resources ______________________________________________________________ 45 Romania Crude oil reserves, 2010-2019 - knoema.com ______________________________ 45 Romania Crude Oil Production | 2019 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast ________________ 45 Romania: Oil imports, up by 3.8% in 2017 - Energy World Magazine ____________________ 45 Romania Primary coal production, 1973-2018 - knoema.com __________________________ 45 -- Information Technology/Cybersecurity ____________________________ 47 Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 47 Leading Sub-Sectors __________________________________________________________ 49 Opportunities ________________________________________________________________ 50 Web Resources ______________________________________________________________ 50 -- Transport infrastructure ________________________________________ 51 Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 51 Leading Sub-Sectors __________________________________________________________ 51 -- Agriculture ___________________________________________________ 57 Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 57 Leading Sub-Sectors __________________________________________________________ 58 Web Resources ______________________________________________________________ 62 Trade Regulations, Customs and Standards ___________________________ 63 -- Import Tariff __________________________________________________ 63 -- Trade Barriers ________________________________________________ 65 -- Import Requirements and Documentation _________________________ 65 Agricultural Documentation _______________________________________ 70 Sanitary Certificates (Fisheries) ___________________________________ 71 Labeling/Marking Requirements ___________________________________ 71 -- U.S. Export Controls ___________________________________________ 86 -- Temporary Entry ______________________________________________ 86 -- Prohibited & Restricted Imports __________________________________ 88 2019 Romania Country Commercial Guide 4 -- Customs Regulations __________________________________________ 88 -- Standards for trade ____________________________________________ 90 Overview ___________________________________________________________________ 90 Standards __________________________________________________________________ 91 Conformity Assessment _______________________________________________________ 92 Product Certification __________________________________________________________ 92 Accreditation ________________________________________________________________ 93 Publication of technical regulations _______________________________________________ 93 -- Trade Agreements _____________________________________________ 94 -- Licensing Requirements for Professional Services __________________ 96 ------------------------------------------------ ___________________________________ 99 Investment Climate Statement (ICS) __________________________________ 99 Romania – Executive Summary ____________________________________ 99 ------------------------------------------------ __________________________________ 100 Trade & Project Financing _________________________________________ 100 -- Methods of Payment __________________________________________ 100 -- Banking Systems _____________________________________________ 101 -- Foreign Exchange Controls ____________________________________ 102 -- U.S. Banks & Local Correspondent Banks ________________________ 102 -- Project Financing ____________________________________________ 103 -- Web Resources ______________________________________________ 105 ------------------------------------------------ __________________________________ 106 Business Travel _________________________________________________ 106 -- Business Customs ___________________________________________ 106 -- Travel Advisory ______________________________________________ 106 -- Visa Requirements ___________________________________________ 106 -- Currency ____________________________________________________ 108 -- Telecommunications/Electric ___________________________________ 109 2019 Romania Country Commercial Guide 5 -- Transportation _______________________________________________ 110 -- Language ___________________________________________________ 112 -- Health ______________________________________________________ 112 -- Local Time, Business Hours and Holidays ________________________ 113 -- Temporary Entry of Materials or Personal Belongings ______________ 113 -- Travel Related Web Resources _________________________________ 114 2019 Romania Country Commercial Guide 6 -------------------------------------------------------------- Doing Business in Romania -------------------------------------------------------------- -- Market Overview Romania is a market with vast potential, a strategic location, though with a challenging business climate. Its economy is among the EU’s fastest growing; 6.9% growth in 2017 (the highest since 2008) and 4.1% growth in 2018 (slightly slower growth, but still very fast). While this growth is primarily driven by consumption, the business is growing in nearly every sector. Romania is eligible to receive approximately €43 billion ($57.1 billion) in EU funding for the 2014-2020 programming period, but Romania’s lack of institutional capacity has limited its ability to effectively absorb these funds. Bilateral trade in goods between Romania and the United States amounted to $3.70 billion in 2018, with $2.59 billion in Romanian exports to the United States and $1.11 billion in U.S. exports to Romania1. This report is intended to aid American companies in developing and executing new and increased sales to this important and promising – yet