Imports have increased significantly
EU prepares higher tariffs on Russian grain
March 21, 2024, 11:56 p.m
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After the attack on Ukraine in 2022, Russian grain exports to the EU did not decrease, but increased massively. Now the EU Commission is planning higher tariffs. The decision is explosive.
The EU Commission wants to impose higher tariffs on imports of Russian grain. The authority has prepared a corresponding proposal, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen late in the evening after talks between EU heads of state and government at a summit in Brussels. In addition to grain, it would also affect other agricultural products from Russia and Belarus.
In addition, according to von der Leyen, grain stolen from Ukraine should be prevented from being sold to the EU. Russian grain must not destabilize the EU market and Russia must not benefit from exporting these goods.
As figures from the Eurostat statistics office show, the EU states have significantly increased their grain imports from Russia in recent years. While in the pre-war years 2020 and 2021 grain was imported from Russia to the EU for almost 120 million euros and a good 290 million euros, in 2022 it was around 325 million euros and a year later almost 440 million euros.
Tariffs should only apply to the EU market
Before the summit, several EU states had written a letter to the EU Commission demanding that the Commission prepare import restrictions for Russian grain. Russia is also financing the ongoing war against Ukraine with profits from grain exports to the EU, according to the letter, which was signed by the agriculture ministers from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. In addition, the Commission should examine to what extent the import of agricultural products of Russian and Belarusian origin into the EU could fundamentally be further restricted.
The proposal is explosive because the EU actually did not want to restrict the import and export of agricultural products. The Commission is now arguing that tariffs are not sanctions. In addition, it should be guaranteed that the taxes only apply to imports that remain in the EU. This should not make Russian exports to other regions of the world more expensive.