On 5 November 2015 the Association of European businesses held a press-conference about risks inherent in the legalisation of parallel importation.

The Association of European Businesses does not support the amendments to the agreement of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on 29 May 2014, prescribing exceptions to the principle of regional exhaustion of rights.

The AEB speakers were: Frank Schauff AEB CEO, Ivan Glushkov, Head of External Affairs Department STADA CIS, Jaron M. Wiedmaier, General Director Continental Tires RUS LLC, Marcus Osegowitsch, General Director of Volkswagen Group Rus.

«Parallel import of medicines not only creates the opportunities for the boost of competition in the pharmaceutical market but also significantly increases the risks to the quality of medicines. Short-term targets are achieved at the expense of the generation of long-term and large-scale challenges. Such a decision can hardly be considered justified», — noted Ivan Glushkov.

«Parallel imports are banned in all European countries, which has had a positive influence on the formation of a single market in the EU. Investors cannot build a clear strategy for a company if they are not confident in the stability of the legislation», — said Frank Schauff.

«As a consequence of liberalization of parallel imports, we expect the reduction of jobs in the tire industry. "Unauthorized" parallel importers will not be responsible for the technical condition of imported tires, as this would not be in their financial interests», — thinks Jaron M. Wiedmaier, General Director Continental Tires RUS LLC. 

«Volkswagen Group Rus, like other car manufacturers, is strongly against parallel import, as this measure has lots of long-term negative consequences. First of all, we will lose the mechanism of quality control — the market will be filled with counterfeit parts and, as a result, customers satisfaction with our products will go down and car manufacturers will be confronted with lots of claims under consumer legislation. Second, it will lead to unfair competition, as parallel importers are not obliged to keep a great amount of parts on stock for satisfactory customer service, while official importers invest a lot to fulfil these commitments. And, third, the market is losing attractiveness and potential for automotive components manufactures, slowing down the development of automotive industry and local production», — said Marcus Osegowitsch, General Director of Volkswagen Group Rus.

Please find here the press release in RUS and ENG