The EU is not only considering introducing prohibitive tariffs Grains, oilseeds and their processed products, but also on all other food products from Russia and Belarus. This was stated by Belgian Foreign Minister Adja Labib at a press conference following the meeting of the EU Trade Council, at which it was decided to introduce "prohibitively high" tariffs on grain from Russia and Belarus from 1 July.
“Sweden has proposed that the EU impose similar tariffs on other foods from Russia and Belarus in addition to grain,” Lyabib said. She pointed out that the tariffs imposed by the EU are a means to combat the sale of “grain stolen in Ukraine.”
The European Commission has consistently stated since the start of the war that the EU “does not impose any restrictions on the Russian agricultural sector.”
The EU Council had previously decided to introduce prohibitive tariffs on imports from Russia and Belarus from July 1 on the following goods: Wheat, Corn, Sunflower seeds, Peas and derivatives as well as animal feed. The amount of customs duties can be up to 95 EUR pros Tonne which is about 50% of the cost of wheat on the European market (EUR 193 per tonne, according to March data).
As Valdis Dombrovskis, deputy head of the European Commission, said when presenting the European Commission's draft of these tariffs on March 22, they are “a de facto ban on the supply of grain, Sunflower seeds and feed from Russia and Belarus into the EU internal market by setting tariffs so high that their import into the EU becomes economically unviable”.
Source: Ukragroconsult (Ukraine)