Egypt – Registration Requirements Relating to the Importation

of Certain Products

Request to Join Consultations

Communication from the Russian Federation

The following communication, dated 4 February 2022, from the delegation of Russia to the delegation of Egypt, and the delegation of the European Union, is circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body in accordance with Article 4.11 of the DSU.

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I wish to refer to the consultations requested by the European Union pursuant to Articles 1 and 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), Article 19 of the Agreement on Agriculture (Agriculture Agreement) and Article 6 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (Import Licensing Agreement) in the communication circulated to the WTO Members on 27 January 2022 (WT/DS609/1, G/L/1425, G/AG/GEN/193, G/LIC/D/54). My authorities have instructed me to notify the consulting Members and the Dispute Settlement Body of the desire of the Russian Federation to join these consultations, pursuant to Article 4.11 of the DSU.

The Russian Federation has a substantial trade interest in these consultations. They concern certain measures of the Arab Republic of Egypt related to the registration procedure of foreign manufacturers, inter alia, under the Decree of Minister of Trade and Industry No.43 of 2016 that have an impact on the exportation of certain Russian products. In particular, due to five-year delay in the registration a Russian exporter was unable to get  access to the Egyptian market, which costed in revenue foregone approximately 100 million USD per annum. Currently, in several sectors, in particular agricultural production, Russian exporters also report delays or other difficulties in the registration process, which affect their opportunities on the market of Egypt. Thus, the Russian Federation is directly affected by the measures at issue, as identified in the abovementioned communication.

Based on the foregoing, the Russian Federation respectfully requests that it be permitted to join the consultations in this dispute and would be grateful of being informed of the date and venue of the consultations.