The European Union (EU) is taking steps to impose tariffs on imports of %Grain from Russia and Belarus as the war in Ukraine continues and farmers protest a rise in cheap products from foreign sources.
Officials for the EU say the tariffs are mainly designed to limit Russia’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine and to curb its sales of grain that’s been stolen from Ukrainian farms.
Until now, the EU has avoided imposing sanctions on Russian agricultural products for fear of disrupting global supplies.
However, a growing number of protests by farmers across Europe over a rise in cheap imports of foreign grains has prompted the EU to now act.
The proposed tariffs will be 95 euros ($102.76 U.S.) per ton for cereals and 50% for oilseeds.
Russia exported 4.2 million metric tons of cereals and oilseeds to the EU in 2023, worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion U.S), representing about 1% of the entire European market.
Commodities traders have largely dismissed the tariffs as symbolic given that Russian and Belarusian shipments to the EU are relatively low.
Still, the move comes amid rising tensions with European farmers who are angry over the suspension of tariffs on agricultural imports from Ukraine since Russia invaded that country in 2022.
The governments of France and Poland, where farmer protests have been the most intense, criticized a deal reached on March 20 that will extend tariff-free access to Ukrainian grains for another year.