Russia bans fish products from “unfriendly countries”

Russia imposes a ban on the import of finished products from fish and seafood from countries that Moscow considers unfriendly.

Such a decision was approved by the Russian government, which was reported by the Ministry of Economic Development on Tuesday. As noted in the press service of the department, the decision was taken as part of response measures to the actions of “unfriendly countries”. The ban will be in effect until the end of this year.

The Russian authorities emphasize that the refusal of imports from the European Union, the USA and Norway will free certain market niches that will be filled by domestic manufacturers. In addition, as noted in the Rosrybolovstve, “the decrease in the market share of imported products will eliminate the factor of negative influence on the value of the volatility of the exchange rate.”

At the same time, on Tuesday it became known that the Russian government decided to increase import duties on wine and some other goods from “unfriendly states”. They grew from 12.5% ​​to 20%.

The new restrictions may affect canned fish, including Latvian sprats, which did not fall under the food embargo in 2014. And the increase in import duties on wines, according to trade networks, will primarily affect the low and medium price segments, Kommersant writes.

• Moscow recognized as unfriendly all the countries of the European Union, the USA and Canada, as well as Great Britain, Japan, South Korea and a number of others. All of them adhere to sanctions against Russia.
• In August 2014, Vladimir Putin, in response to sanctions imposed by the West due to the annexation of Crimea, signed a decree on a food embargo against countries that supported the restrictions.
• In July 2015, Putin signed an additional decree “On certain special economic measures used to ensure the security of the Russian Federation”. According to the document, products coming from countries subject to Russian sanctions are subject to destruction.