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Economic Development Ministry proposes to exclude US, EU from suppliers of meat to Russia

According to the draft regulation, the quota for the supply of meat to Russia will be distributed in accordance with the decision of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission

MOSCOW, August 31. / TASS /. The US and the EU will not be able to export meat to Russia in 2016, even if food embargo is lifted. That is according to a draft resolution of the Russian government "On distribution of volumes of tariff quotas for cattle meat, pork and poultry in 2016," published on the website of federal draft regulations.

The document was prepared by the Economic Development Ministry.

According to the draft regulation, the quota for the supply of meat to Russia will be distributed in accordance with the decision of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

The quotas will be distributed among the suppliers that imported meat to Russia in 2015, proportionally to the volume of beef, pork and poultry imported from January 1, 2013 to September 30, 2015.

In 2015, the US and EU countries did not supply meat to Russia due to the food embargo on Western food imports.

If Russia lifts the food embargo, the quotas of the US and EU will be distributed in five days between the producers who exported meat to Russia in 2015. Thus, according to the document, the US and the EU will not be able to supply beef, pork and poultry to Russia under any circumstances.

On August 6, 2014, President Vladimir Putin signed decree N 560 "Executive Order on special economic measures to protect Russia’s security" for one year starting from August 6, 2015".

The decree imposed a package of countermeasures in response to the sanctions introduced by the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union and Norway over Moscow’s stance on developments in neighboring Ukraine. Russia’s countermeasures involved a one-year ban on the import of vegetables and fruit, dairy and meat products from these countries.

Later on Russia struggled with re-export of banned European products, imposing restrictions on imports from Belarus and Serbia.

On May 1, 2015, Russia banned imports of peanuts and on May 26 - imports of live poultry from the United States.

On June 4, a decree came into effect banning imports of canned fish from Latvia and Estonia.

On June 24, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to extend Russia’s counter sanctions for one year from August 6, 2015.