The European Commission is set to reintroduce tariffs on certain agricultural products imported from Russia and Belarus on Friday, the 22nd of March, to curb the growing demand for them in some European Union (EU) countries, reports Politico.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen received the backing of EU leaders for the measures at a European Council summit on Thursday
She told a press conference that the measures “will prevent Russian grain from destabilising the EU market for these products […] will prevent Russia from exploiting the revenues from exports of these products to the EU and […] will ensure that illegal Russian exports of stolen Ukrainian grain do not enter the EU market”.
Thanks to exceptionally favourable weather conditions, Russia has produced record volumes of grain in the last two years and is selling it at low prices on the world market. This has helped to reverse the surge in grain prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bringing them down to pre-war levels.
Although the EU imports much less Russian grain than Ukrainian grain, several EU countries have bought cheap Russian production,
with Spain, Italy and France ranking first.
Market analysts, however, say there is no evidence that Russian production has destabilised EU markets.
Also read: Week in Lithuania | MPs seek EU ban on Russian, Belarusian grain imports
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