The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (Minpromtorg) has put forward for public consultation a draft Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation On the Powers of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation to Implement Industrial Policy in the Circulation of Veterinary Medicines1.

The proposed amendments are intended to do away with duplicate powers that Minpromtorg and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation (Minselkhoz) currently have to regulate the market in veterinary medicines and to make broader legal instruments available to Minpromtorg in this area.

Specifically, the draft envisages that Minpromtorg alone will exercise the following new powers with regard to the circulation of veterinary medicines:

  • to produce draft strategic planning documents;
  • to provide financial support for entities operating in the veterinary medicines sector;
  • to support innovation and scientific and technical endeavors;
  • to provide information and advice;
  • to support the development of human resources; and
  • to support foreign trade.

A reservation taking these powers away from Minselkhoz will also be incorporated into the Regulation on the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation2.

The draft amendments refer to Art. 6(2) of Federal Law No. 488-FZ of December 31, 2014 On Industrial Policy in the Russian Federation – a provision that empowers the Government of the Russian Federation to determine the powers of federal executive authorities in the implementation of industrial policy, including the power to produce draft strategic planning documents for industry. In our view, this indicates that the dynamic growth of the Russian market in veterinary medicines has not escaped the government's notice and we will soon be seeing proactive programs by Minpromtorg to support Russian manufacturers, as well as measures to encourage investment from abroad.

The public consultation for the draft amendments is set to continue via the government portal at http://regulation.gov.ru until September 25, 2019.

Footnotes

1. ID for draft 01/01/09-18/00083864 (http://regulation.gov.ru/projects#npa=83864);

2. Approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 450 of June 12, 2008 On the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.

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