Russia to continue parallel imports, but shorten list as domestic goods replace them

MOSCOW. May 31 (Interfax) - Parallel imports, a mechanism Russia implemented last year to supply its market with foreign goods whose producers refused to work in the country, will continue, but the list of goods eligible for it has shrunk considerably and will continue to do so as domestic analogs become available, Deputy Prime Minister and Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said.

"This mechanism will still continue, but the number of items has decreased severalfold. Initially there were about 1,300, [but] about 300 items remain. Well, and it will gradually decrease as the Russian market becomes saturated with our Russian-made products," Manturov said at a ministry board meeting on Wednesday.

The ministry's plans to gradually minimize parallel imports are at odds with the position of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). The head of the regulator, Maxim Shaskolsky recently confirmed to reporters that his agency believes parallel imports should be made permanent.

Parallel imports implies the use of the international principle of exhaustion of intellectual property rights and allows the import of goods without the consent of the rights holder as soon as sales begin in any country in the world. In Russia, this mechanism went into effect in early May 2022 and is applied to products and brands included in a list approved by the Industry and Trade Ministry, which consists of goods that are not made in Russia and that the foreign manufacturer refuses to ship to the country.