Turkmenistan has made small steps to transition to international trade standards. “Turkmenstandartlary” is the main state standards service that regulates and oversees the entire processes of conformity assessment, product certification, and publication of technical regulations. Products made in Turkmenistan are labelled with a barcode that starts with number 483.
Overview
Turkmenistan uses the National Standards of Turkmenistan (TDS) and General Interstate Standards (GOST). GOST standards are developed and maintained by the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC), composed of 12 former Soviet countries and incorporating former Soviet standards. Standards and metrology are governed by the Law on Standardization and Metrology of 1993 as well as a series of by-laws.
Standards
Turkmenstandartlary is the regulatory agency for standards and metrology in Turkmenistan. There are no other standards organizations in Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan became a correspondent member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1993. In 2015, Turkmenistan created a national organization for bar coding.
Testing, Inspection and Certification
All imported goods must be certified as adhering to quality standards set by Turkmenstandartlary. Bilateral agreements on the acceptance of national state certificates allow for mutually simplified procedures on issuing conformance certificates for imported/exported goods. The United States and Turkmenistan do not have an intergovernmental agreement on standards, metrology, and certification.
Turkmen legislation requires that products be certified. Gauging equipment also needs to be calibrated by Turkmenstandartlary. In 1998, Turkmenistan introduced a sanitary certification requirement for food products imported into Turkmenistan. The State Sanitary and Epidemiological Inspectorate (SSEI) conducts tests of imported food products to issue certificates of conformity. Certificates of conformance for food products must be accompanied by a Russian-language product description. In March 2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UIE) officially opened the first private sector food safety laboratory in Turkmenistan.
Turkmenistan joined the International Standard Association in 1991, and in 1992 began to adhere to the Interstate Council on Standards, Metrology, and Certification that covers CIS countries.
Publication of Technical Regulations
Turkmenstandartlary publishes national standards updates.
Contact Information
Main State Standards Service “Turkmenstandartlary”
12 Galkynysh Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan, 744004
Tel: (993-12) 49-58-59
Fax: (993-12) 51-04-48
Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
The ePing SPS and TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing,” provides access to notifications made by WTO Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present. ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts. Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.
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