Trevor Gunn
Deputy Director
BISNIS
Russia/CIS Division
U.S. Dept of Commerce
Tele:(202) 482-4655 x25
Fax: (202)482-2293
Source: American Embassy- Moscow, Russia
NEARLY ALL EXPORT DUTIES TO BE CANCELED
IN ACCORDANCE WITH MOSCOW'S AGREEMENT
WITH THE IMF, DEPUTY ECONOMICS MINISTER SERGEY VASILIYEV CONFIRMED ON MARCH
22 THAT ALL EXPORT DUTIES WILL BE REMOVED ON APRIL 1 SAVE FOR THOSE ON CRUDE
OIL, WHICH WILL BE HALVED FROM 20 ECU PER METRIC TON TO LO ECU. ANDREY KUDRYASHEV,
A SENIOR CUSTOMS OFFICIAL, LATER TOLD INTERFAX, HOWEVER, THAT THE EXPORT DUTY
ON NATURAL GAS WOULD ALSO ONLY BE CUT IN HALF -- FROM 2 ECU PER METRIC TON
OIL EQUIVALENT TO 1 ECU. FURTHERMORE, HE ADDED THAT IN ORDER TO COMPENSATE
GAZPROM FOR THE PARTIAL RETENTION OF THE EXPORT DUTY, CUSTOMS, MINECON, MINFER,
GAZPROM, AND (CURIOUSLY) GOSKOMOBORONPROM WOULD WORK OUT A PROPOSAL FOR THE
"EFFECTIVE REDUCTION" OF IMPORT TARIFFS ON CERTAIN TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT AND
PIPES.
IMPORT TARIFFS TO RISE ON FOOD, MEDICINES SENIOR CUSTOMS OFFICIAL ANDREY KUDRYASHEV PROVIDED INTERFAX WITH SOME INSIGHT INTO WHERE SPECIFIC DUTIES MAY RISE IN THE SCALED-BACK HIKE IN THE TRADE-WEIGHTED AVERAGE TARIFF THAT IS TO GO INTO EFFECT APRIL 1. IN GENERAL, HE NOTED THAT TARIFFS ON SPECIFIC FOOD PRODUCTS AND MEDICINES WOULD BE INCREASED. IN LINE WITH IMF RECOMMENDATIONS, NIL TARIFFS ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, CHEMICAL PRODUCTS, MINERALS, AND RAW MATERIALS FOR LIGHT INDUSTRY WOULD RISE TO THE FIVE-PERCENT MINIMUM TARIFF RATE. (NOTE: RUSSIA'S TARIFF RATES ON NEARLY ALL PRODUCTS FALL IN ONE OF THE FIVE-PERCENT INCREMENTS BETWEEN FIVE AND THIRTY PERCENT.