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The EU will raise tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain products

The EU is proposing to impose high tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to protect its own farmers, prevent Russia from profiting from the war in Ukraine and prevent the sale of illegally obtained Ukrainian grain to the EU.

This will not affect grain supplies to other countries, say the EU.

The European Commission has proposed to increase tariffs on the import of grain, oilseeds and processed products from Russia and Belarus into the EU, including wheat, corn and sunflower cake. Although these duties are high enough to effectively suppress such imports into the EU, they will not affect exports to third countries.

The EU’s proposed tariffs are a three-pronged attack on Russia’s military efforts.

-First, they are aimed at protecting European farmers from a potential influx of cheap Russian grain, a concern fueled by Russia’s position as a major grain exporter and its history of using food as a political weapon.

-Secondly, the tariffs are directed against illegal trade in Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia. The EU says that some of the stolen grain enters EU markets under the guise of Russian products. The EU hopes to avoid these misunderstandings by making trade ineffective. With Russia exporting €1.3 billion worth of grain products to the EU by 2023, the EU is keen to deprive the Kremlin of money that could be used to finance the war in Ukraine.

Due to the close political and economic relations between Belarus and Russia, the price increase will affect Belarus as well. In addition, by introducing new measures in Belarus, the EU will not allow Russia to use Belarus to avoid new tariffs and distribute products to EU markets.