On December 12, 2019, the parliament of Ukraine adopted a law regarding the reduction of pressure on business from market surveillance authorities.
The adopted law eliminates duplication of oversight functions in the market surveillance of products, reduces the burden on the business by various separate types of inspections, introduces the principle of punishment for failure to comply with the requirements of market surveillance authorities to eliminate minor violations, and not for violations themselves, eliminates the opacity and bias in making decisions on imposing fines by market surveillance authorities, enhances consumer protection in case non-food products that are dangerous, present a risk and/or does not meet the requirements.
This law was the last of the list of necessary to start negotiations with the European Union on the conclusion of the Agreement on the Assessment of Conformity and Acceptability of Industrial Products (ACAA, or the so-called ‘industrial visa-free regime’) and the simplified export of industrial goods from Ukraine to the EU without additional certification.
In the early stages, ACAA may cover one or more sectors, with a gradual expansion to all 27 sectors provided for in the Association Agreement. Potentially, the ACAA can cover up to 20% of nowadays’ Ukraine’s exports to the EU.
The Cabinet of Ministers expects that the current level of readiness of Ukraine allows concluding ACAA in at least three sectors.