20 November 2014 - 21 November 2014
IIASA, Wodak room

Non-Tariff Barriers and Technical Regulations

This is the third workshop in the framework of the IIASA’s project “Challenges and Opportunities of Economic Integration within a Wider European and Eurasian Space”.  

The workshop focuses on major issues related to the compatibility and costs of technical regulations used by different countries and unions, and also on the non-tariff barriers affecting the trade between them.


The workshop aims to review the existing non-tariff barriers in trade between the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the European Union (EU), and other CIS countries. Participants will discuss the challenges related to the general non-tariff barriers that exist between the EU, the EAEU, and the CIS countries, as well as possible solutions to them, particularly in the context of recent economic and political developments.  The workshop is expected to discuss the relationship between the norms and principles of international trade law within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO); analyze the legal framework of economic integration in various regions of the world; and reflect on the potential for eliminating unnecessary obstacles to trade and for mutual recognition of conformity.   

The workshop focuses particularly on the potential effects of the implementation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA) between the EU and Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. It also addresses economic impacts of the currently on-going “sanction war” between the EU, the USA and Russia, the corresponding threats for international trade, long-term cooperation between the EU and the EAEU and its impact on economies of other CIS countries, not directly involved.   

Harmonization of legislation in the field of technical regulation, sanitary, phytosanitary, and veterinary regulation between the EAEU and other regions, primarily the EU, is addressed. This includes the issues of harmonization of terminology and labeling; harmonization of national and regional standards with international standards; accreditation, product safety, training in the field of standardization and conformity assessment; and trade facilitation.  

Workshop participants discuss possible ways how non-tariff barriers could be reduced and convergence of technical regulations to the mutual benefit of all parties involved could be achieved. In this context, they also analyze opportunities and risks of economic modernization of the East-European partnership countries, if they adapt to European technical regulations and sanitary requirements. Possibilities for providing a unified policy, removing bottlenecks and differences in the sphere of technical regulation in the EAEU countries, is examined; and the impacts of such policy on producers of goods and services in different regions with regard to securing their competitive advantages are assessed. 

Research Project ‘Challenges and Opportunities of Economic Integration within a wider European and Eurasian Space’

The international and interdisciplinary research project “Challenges and Opportunities of Economic Integration within a wider European and Eurasian Space”, which was launched by IIASA in 2013, aims to discuss and analyse issues of economic integration within the Eurasian continent. European and Eurasian cooperation extends to the key Asian players, such as ChinaKorea and Japan, as well as the USA. The multidisciplinary approach of the project include economic, technological, institutional, demographic, sectorial (finance and investment, energy, infrastructure, etc.) aspects of Pan-European/Eurasian development. 
The three-year research project consists of a series of workshops at which specific aspects of integration are discussed by scientists and stakeholders representing all interested regions; follow-up discussion summaries outline the state-of-the-art in this field and reflect on different futures.  
The project has been discussed and initially supported by the European Commission, the Eurasian Economic Commission, the Eurasian Development Bank, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and some other European and Eurasian institutions.
As a result of this project’s international multidisciplinary and independent nature, it is well positioned to provide scientific substantiation in support of possible options for trade policies across all major parties involved in this region, in addition to its scientific methodological contributions.

Photos from the Workshop

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Last edited: 24 August 2018

CONTACT DETAILS

Elena Rovenskaya

Program Director and Principal Research Scholar Advancing Systems Analysis Program

Futures initiative

Eurasian of Economic Integration

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313