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EU to analyze Russia’s food import ban
The European Union will start analyzing Russia’s ban on food imports as soon as the official list of banned products is published to study response measures and file lawsuits to the World Trade Organization, an EU source said on Thursday.
A meeting of the EU Council may be convened at a required level in the coming days, if necessary, the EU source said.
It is early to say whether the EU will take measures in response to the Russian ban on food imports from Europe, the source told.
“First, it is necessary to see and analyze the official list of products that Moscow intends to ban. After that, decisions will be made both at the European and the national level,” the source said.
At the same time, the European diplomat said that the EU would “seek justice” through the WTO.
“Politically motivated large-scale trade restrictions are a direct violation of WTO rules, which Russia pledged to comply with,” the diplomat said. “These measures will be thoroughly analyzed, and then relevant claims will be submitted to the WTO.”
The European diplomat said that the Russian leadership’s decision to impose a ban on food imports would deepen Russia’s international isolation.
The Russian ban on food imports from the European Union is an “irresponsible measure” that can lead to billions of euros in losses for European as well as Russian consumers, the source told ITAR-TASS.
Russia’s ban can be considered as a measure that aims to further heighten tension in relations between Russia and western countries. Estimates show that damage may reach several billion euros both for European producers and Russian consumers, he said.
In his view, food prices will rise for Russian consumers as they will have to pay for transport expenses when cheap and high-quality European products are replaced with supplies from other regions.