EU to impose tariffs on Russian grain imports

The EU is preparing to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to placate farmers and some member states.

IN SHORT

EU to Impose Tariff of Up to 50% on Russia Grain Imports

• The EU is set to impose a tariff of up to 50% on Russia grain imports to prevent the Kremlin from flooding the bloc with cheap wheat.
• The main reason for the proposal is to prevent the risk of destabilization of the EU market through potential future significant redirection of Russian grain into the EU market, including by Belarus.
• Following a plea from Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskiy to address grain “stolen” by Russians from occupied territories, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled the proposal.
• The measure aims to mitigate the risk to markets and farmers and reduce Russia’s capacity to exploit the EU for its war machine.
• EU takes a third of Russian sunflower meal exports.
• The proposal needs to be approved by the European council of member states but could be rubber-stamped within days or weeks by a qualified majority.

The European Union (EU) is imposing a tax of up to fifty percent on grain imports from Russia due to concerns that the Kremlin may flood the union with inexpensive wheat, aiming to disrupt the European market.

Vlodomyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, requested Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, to address the issue of “stolen” grain from occupied territory by Russian residents. The objective of the proposal is to lessen Russia’s ability to use the European Union as a resource for its military machine while also mitigating the growing risk to markets and farmers.

The primary objective of the idea is to forestall the possibility of the European Union market becoming unstable as a result of the probable future large redirection of grain from Russia into the European Union market, which may include contributions from Belarus.

The proposal would impose a tariff of €95 per tonne of grain, currently sold for up to €220 depending on the wheat grade. In contrast, the EU imposes minimal or no customs taxes on Russian grain sales.Between the years 2022 and 2023, the amount of grain that Russia exported to the European Union increased from 960,000 metric tons in 2022 to 1.5 million metric tons in 2023.

At the same time, the amount of grain that Russia produced increased from 35 million metric tons to 50 million metric tons. The European Council of Member States must give final approval to the plan that was presented by the European Commission;

however, the proposal might be rubber-stamped within days or weeks by a qualified majority. The European Union would utilize the “security exception” in the agreement with the World Trade Organization due to the “emergency situation” resulting from the conflict in Ukraine. According to the officials, given that the production in Russia is substantial and has greatly risen, they believe that they have the ability to redirect a considerable portion of these shipments to the European Union, possibly even at dump prices.