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Discussions on cross-border carbon tax still underway in Europe, Russian minister says

According to Denis Manturov, the international situation has a significant impact on the development of trade between Russia and other countries

STOCKHOLM, October 15. /TASS/. The EU authorities are still not fully certain about introduction of the cross-border carbon tax, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with TASS.

On Friday, at a meeting of the Russian-Swedish supervision committee on trade and economic cooperation, the Russian delegation had managed to convey their concerns about what should be done to ensure fair competition in international trade to the Swedish party, the minister added.

"In particular, we touched upon the cross-border carbon tax in Europe. I actually heard what I would like to hear - they (our European partners) are not completely sure whether this is the right or wrong decision today," he said.

"We conveyed our position on the need to be in dialogue and work out a solution that will allow us to ensure healthy competition in the market, which will not limit the supply of our products from Russia, meaning that the energy balance in our country, now and generally, has mainly low carbon footprint," the minister added.

According to Manturov, the international situation has a significant impact on the development of trade between Russia and other countries.

"Unhealthy competition in this area does not promote free trade. We must adhere to the principles of free trade, while, of course, do not forget to support our own producers, but on a competitive basis," he said.

According to the data of Russia’s trade mission in Sweden, in January-June 2021, the value of Russian-Swedish trade increased by 16.5% (+ $239.9 mln) compared to the same period in 2020 and amounted to $1,690.1 million.

In December 2019, the European Commission (EC) launched the Green Deal project aimed at moving towards a greener life in the European Union, within which the EC intends to present a number of initiatives and bills in the coming years. The transition to a zero-carbon economy is planned by 2050. One of the measures under the Green Deal is the introduction of a carbon tax on imports of goods. Earlier it was reported that Russian exporters could pay between 6 bln and 50 bln euros in the form of a discussed cross-border carbon tax in the EU.