The European Commission proposed on Friday to impose taxes on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to prevent Moscow and its ally from disrupting EU markets and try to appease farmers who have protested for months against cheap imports, Reuters reported.

The commission said the tariffs were also designed to limit Russia’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine and reduce sales of grain stolen in Ukraine.

The EU specifically avoided sanctions against Russian agricultural products so as not to disrupt the world market.

The commission said that with the new taxes, the transit of grain through the EU bloc to other countries would be allowed, as would the financing, insurance, storage and transportation of these cargoes.

The measure could be more symbolic

Market traders said earlier this week that Russian and Belarusian supplies to the EU bloc were low, especially compared to Ukraine, and that the levies were largely symbolic.

In 2023, Russia exported to the EU 4.2 million tons of grain, oil crops and processed products worth 1.3 billion euros. A representative of the Commission said that this is about 1% of the EU market.

However, the Commission said there was a risk of more imports as world exports of Russian wheat rose to 50 million tonnes from the usual 35 million tonnes.

Taxes will be 95 euros per ton for cereals and 50% for oilseeds. They can be applied after approval by EU governments, which are likely to give their approval in a few weeks.

The proposal came as European Union leaders discussed the EU’s response to farmers’ complaints about environmental rules and the suspension of tariffs on agricultural imports from Ukraine after the start of the Russian invasion.

This last measure caused unrest within the bloc. Both France and Poland criticized a tentative agreement reached on Wednesday to extend duty-free access for another year with new restrictions on some food products.

Russia has many alternative export markets for its grain besides the European Union, the Kremlin said on Friday after Brussels’ announcement. Dmytro Peskov said that the intervention of experts is needed to determine who will suffer more from such restrictions: Russia or the EU.

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