Alexei Gordeev said it intends to raise the issue of customs duties on dairy.
Photo: Nikolay Cyiganov
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Agriculture Ministry Named Symbols of Agrarian Sovereignty
The RF Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeev named three groups of farming products, for which Russia will probably endeavor to terminate liberal import agreements entered into in time of the WTO negotiations. Russia is ready to push away the EU and U.S. suppliers of chicken, pork and dairy product.
Alexei Gordeev specified three groups of farming products, for which he will advocate the revision of bilateral agreements clinched in time of the WTO negotiations. Gordeev named the chosen goods yesterday, at the meeting of the RF government’s agricultural commission. They are chicken, pork and milk. This statement of the minister could be viewed as response to the August 25 order of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who demanded from top-ranked bureaucrats to reconsider the WTO agreements that weren’t advantageous for Russia.
Gordeev said the import quotas on chicken and pork should be narrowed to begin with. “We are able to cover big quantities of the import quotas,” the minister pointed out, adding they could be reduced by “hundreds of thousand tons” in line with the growth of own production.
Russia imposed meat quotas and higher off-quota duties far back in 2003 and 2004, but agreed to terminate meat quoting till late 2009, annually increasing the amount until that time. The duty on quoted meat import is just 15 percent of the customs cost, but the rate is higher for off-quota supplies. In 2008, the off-quota duty on poultry was 60 percent of the customs cost but no less than €0.48/kg; the pork had the same 60 percent, but no less than €1/kg.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 28, 2008
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