Council of EU approves raising duties on grain imports from Russia, Belarus from July 1 - press release

BRUSSELS. May 30 (Interfax) - The Council of the European Union adopted a regulation on Thursday increasing tariffs on imports of Russian and Belarusian grain products to the EU.

"The council today adopted a regulation that aims to levy prohibitive tariffs on grain products imported from Russia and Belarus," the council said in a statement.

The decision will take effect on July 1, 2024, it said.

"The regulation increases duties on cereals, oilseeds and derived products from Russia and Belarus to a point that will in practice halt imports of these products," it said.

The measures also apply to beet-pulp pellets and dried peas, it said.

In addition, those goods will be barred from access to the EU's tariff rate quotas, the statement said.

Following the EU summit on March 21-22, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the commission's proposal to raise duties on imports of grain products from Russia and Belarus to the EU.