Brussels, June 12 (LaPresse) – The EU Council has approved the regulation imposing new tariffs on remaining agricultural products and certain fertilizers from Russia and Belarus that were not yet subject to additional customs duties. The goal, the Council notes in a statement, is to reduce the EU’s dependence on such imports and decrease Russia’s export revenues, thereby limiting its ability to finance the war of aggression against Ukraine.
The implementation of these tariffs will be closely monitored to protect the EU’s fertilizer industry and farmers. Tariff increases on fertilizers will be gradual, over a transitional period of three years. Once the regulation enters into force, EU tariffs will apply to all agricultural products from Russia, as other agricultural goods are already subject to customs duties.
The new tariffs will apply to goods that represented about 15% of all agricultural imports from Russia in 2023. In the case of fertilizers, the new duties will apply to certain nitrogen-based products. In addition to weakening the Russian war economy, the new tariffs aim to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russia and Belarus and stimulate diversification and domestic production.
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