MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/. Russia may increase import duties on cars as a retaliatory measure to the restrictions imposed by the US, Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Friday.
"It is being considered," he said, in response to the relevant question.
On Tuesday, Oreshkin said that Russia would soon introduce additional import duties on the US goods that have substitutes on the domestic market, in response to US duties on steel and aluminum.
An official with the ministry told reporters that a list of the US goods, which are subject to retaliatory import duties, will be formed within a few days. The entire volume of retaliatory measures that Russia can impose under WTO rules is estimated at almost $ 538 million. This amount, according to the Russian estimates, is equivalent to the damage Russia’s suffers from the US restrictions.
On March 23, Washington introduced new duties on steel and aluminum products - 25% for steel and 10% for aluminum. They are valid for all countries that supply products to the US, but Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, as well as the EU countries were granted a deferral until June 1. In response, the EU countries agreed to establish 25% import duties on some US goods totaling 2.8 billion euros. India, Turkey, Mexico and others also announced their intention to retaliate.