Desk Report
The European Union (EU) is going to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia. It is said that this rate can be up to 50 percent. Basically, such a proposal has been made to keep the EU market stable.
A tariff of up to 50 percent on grain imports from the country has been proposed amid fears European markets could be destabilized by cheap wheat from Russia, British newspaper The Guardian reported on Friday.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on EU leaders to do something about Russia’s “stolen” grain imports from Ukraine. It is in this context that the European Commission (EC) proposes to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia.
According to Zelensky, in view of the war in Ukraine, several regions of the country have been acquired by Russia. Through this, the crops of those regions are now under the control of Russia. It is this grain that the Kremlin can send to Europe at prices below the market price.
Regarding this new proposal, EC President Ursula von der Leyen says, ‘This tariff on grain imports from Russia is proposed to protect our markets and farmers from increasing risks. Through this, the ability of the EU to increase its war-capability by using the market will be undermined.
In this regard, a senior EU official told The Guardian, ‘This proposal is aimed at saving the EU market from being destabilized. In this case, along with Russia, Belarus has also been taken into consideration. We want to protect Europe from any such situation.’
Incidentally, Russian grain was getting duty-free access to the EU market. If the proposal is passed, Russia will have to pay 95 euros per ton to export grain to the European market.
