Clifford Chance
Navigating Russia's Trade Regime
26 May 2011
Since shortly after the introduction of Russia’s Federal Law No. 135-FZ "On the
Protection of Competition" (the "Competition Law") in October 2006, the
Federal Antimonopoly Service "FAS") has been emphasizing the need for
additional regulation of the trade sector. In particular, FAS has pointed to the
many Russian and foreign retail chains whose market shares typically fall short
of market dominance but whose market position is significantly stronger than
that of their suppliers, which in FAS' view has resulted in questionable business
practices and vertical dependencies within distribution chains. After a longlasting
dispute about the necessity of sector-specific regulation and heated
debate over the details of specific restrictions, the Federal Law "On Principles of
State Regulation of Trade Activity in the Russian Federation" (the "Trade Law")
was adopted at the end of 2009. The Trade Law entered into force on 1
February 2010.
