EU imposes higher import duties on Russian and Belarusian grain with new regulation

31 May 2024 --- The EU has greenlit a regulation to levy higher import duties on grain products from Russia and Belarus. The tariffs will take effect July 1 and affect cereals, oilseeds and derived products from the two countries. 

The regulation seeks to prevent these products from being eligible for the EU tariff quotas and halt their imports to member states. Poland, the Czechia and the Baltic states reportedly advocated for these higher tariffs.

Affected goods
Vincent Van Peteghem, finance minister of Belgium, says: “These measures will prevent the destabilization of the EU’s grain market, halt Russian exports of illegally appropriated grain produced in the territories of Ukraine and prevent Russia from using revenues from exports to the EU to fund its war of aggression against Ukraine.”

“This is yet another way in which the EU is showing steady support to Ukraine.”

The regulation also affects beet-pulp pellets and dried peas that originated in or were exported directly or indirectly from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Currently, importers pay no or low tariffs on the movement of these goods.

While the regulation does not apply to fertilizers, farming bodies and industry players have highlighted the need for agri-food producers to ditch dependency on Russian fertilizers in the recent past.

The European Council has clarified that the measures will not affect the transit of grain through the EU from both countries to other third countries in Asia and Africa.The tariffs will take effect July 1 and affect cereals, oilseeds and derived products from the two countries.

Russian exports since the war
The European Union’s imports of grain products from Russia have significantly increased since it initially invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

While the Russian Federation remains a relatively small supplier of those products to the EU market, it is a leading worldwide producer and exporter.

Given the amount of goods it currently exports around the world, the Russian Federation may decide to shift a sizable portion of those supplies to the EU, which would result in an unexpected influx from its sizable stocks. Such a development could disrupt the EU market, according to the Council.

The Council also states that the EU is acting on evidence that the Russian Federation is illegally extracting large volumes of such goods from illegally occupied Ukrainian territories and directing them to its export channels as allegedly Russian products.

EU member states believe that these measures will prevent the EU market from being “destabilized” and halt Russian exports of illegally acquired grain produced in Ukraine.

By Anvisha Manral