Russia to soon submit proposal to EEC to slash import duty on grain to zero
MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Russia's Economic Development Ministry will soon submit a proposal to the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) to reduce the current 5% import duty on grain to zero, and expects that the decision will be made in March-April, Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach told reporters on Monday.
He confirmed that the Agriculture Ministry had submitted such a proposal to the Economic Development Ministry in order for it to be reviewed by the commission for customs tariff regulation. "The Agriculture Ministry submitted the proposal to us, now we are supposed to submit the proposal to the EEC. I think this will happy fairly quickly," Klepach said.
He could not say when the proposal might make its way through the EEC, but said a decision might be made in March-April.
The proposal is "simply a kind of sign, a kind of window of opportunity in case prices climb somewhere still higher, particularly in the northwest," Klepach said, adding that for now prices are "nonetheless stalling."
The Agriculture Ministry submitted a proposal to the Economic Development Ministry and government commission for integration to temporarily reduce the import duty on grain to zero until July 1, 2013.
