The proposal made by the European Commission (EC) envisages raising the levy on assortments such as wheat, corn, barley and millet to 95 euros per metric ton, as well as a second tariff of 50 percent for oil seeds and vegetable oils.

According to the EC, the possible supply deficit associated with the measure may be partly offset by imports from other traditional suppliers to the EU market, such as the United States, Brazil, Ukraine, Serbia and Argentina.

EU purchases of cereals, oil seeds and byproducts from the Russian market totaled 4.2 million metric tons worth 1.3 billion euros in 2023, while the EU producers secure around 300 million tons annually, the source noted.

“We propose to impose the tariffs on these Russian imports to mitigate the growing risk to our markets and our farmers,” EC Chairwoman Ursula von der Leyen noted, acknowledging a marked interest in weakening the Russia’s economy over the EU’s support for Ukraine.

The levies “will reduce Russia’s ability to exploit the EU for the benefit of its war machine,” she said.

“We do not want Russian and Belarusian grain on the EU market, but transit is still possible and, of course, the continued supply of (Russian) grain to the Global South and other regions of the world is also guaranteed,” she said in press release.

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