EU to place tariffs on Russian fertilizers

The levies on certain nitrogen-based fertilizers will jump to a “prohibitive” level, the European Commission has said

The European Union plans to impose “prohibitive” tariffs on certain agricultural products and fertilizers from Russia and Belarus, the European Commission has announced. The bloc is seeking to reduce its reliance on Russian imports, which it claims pose a risk to food security, and to support domestic agriculture.

The proposal follows last year’s tariff hike on grain shipped by Moscow and its closest ally Minsk, and now targets the remaining 15% of agricultural imports from Russia that were previously tariff-free.

Over a transition period of three years, duties on certain nitrogen-based fertilizers will gradually increase to a “prohibitive level” of 100%, the Commission stated on Tuesday. Tariffs on agricultural goods from Russia and Belarus imported into the Union will jump by 50% and come into force immediately after approval by the European Parliament and the Council.

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“Once adopted by the Council, all agricultural imports from Russia would be the subject of EU tariffs,” the press release said.

Currently, tariffs on fertilizers are set at 6.5%, which is a “low” rate, the Commission stated.

In 2023, the bloc imported 2.9 million tons of Russian agricultural goods covered by the proposed regulation worth a total of €380 million ($395 million), according to the EU statistics agency Eurostat. Russian fertilizers that fall under the regulation accounted for over 25% of the bloc’s total imports by weight.

Executives from three major European fertilizer companies sent a letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week, urging the European Commission to impose tariffs of at least 30% on fertilizer imports from Russia and Belarus, S&P Global has reported, citing sources.

The levies would support domestic production and the EU's fertilizer industry, which has been hard-hit by high energy prices, the Commission’s press release said. The regulation will allow for diversification of supply from third countries, it added.

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The measures would not affect the transit of Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports to third countries, and are not expected to negatively impact global food security, the Commission stated.

The proposed tariffs are part of a broader EU strategy to diminish Russia's export revenues and its capacity to continue the military operation in Ukraine.

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In response to the tariff hike on Russian grain imports implemented by Brussels last year, Moscow warned that “consumers in Europe would definitely suffer” from higher prices.