Russia is considering applying control measures on
importation of plant protection products (pesticides) into the customs
territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
In a meeting last week at Russia’s analytical centre, it was noted that between January and October last year,
imports of pesticide products increased by nearly 21% compared to 2015 and continues to grow.
Import customs duty rates for pesticides are currently set
at the highest level allowed under World Trade Organisation rules.
Representatives from the analytical centre said there is a need to develop a document that will reflect the requirement to restrict pesticide
imports in to the country.
They go on to say the document should help to protect the
interests of domestic producers of plant protection products, while preventing
the import of counterfeit products which seems to be confusing two issues –
protectionism and counterfeit products.
I’m not entirely sure if they are just
brainstorming in line with the current policy on import substitution being extended
to technology or how a document may be translated in to direct action but the
idea seems clear enough and the implications could be wide reaching.
As a minimum I think we can expect to see a tightening of
the regulations and procedure (and cost) that imported pesticides will have to go through before being registered for use in the EEU.