Russia planning import restrictions on EU plant products?
After contacting the European Commission (DG SANCO), Union Fleurs established that Russia notified the WTO on February 6 of its intentions to introduce temporary restrictions on EU seed potato imports, citing pest risks. The country feels the EU’s safeguards and sharing of information are lacking.
A meeting subsequently took place between DG SANCO and their Russian counterparts to address the issue, with these outcomes:
- The enforcement of the import restrictions initially scheduled for 1 April has now been postponed to 1 June 2013.
- The import restrictions would be extended from seed potatoes only to also include consumption potatoes, tree nursery products, planting materials and potted plants with soil.
- Restrictions would apply to the whole of the Russia - Belarus - Kazakhstan customs union.
- According to the information so far relayed by DG SANCO, cut flowers have not been mentioned at all during the meeting.
A follow-up bilateral technical meeting between EU and Russian officials is scheduled for 26 March. This meeting shall address in particular the proposal put forward by DG SANCO to provide more transparent and detailed information on pre-export certification of plant products intended for the Russian market and on areas free from organisms classified as quarantine in Russia.
The Russian officials have made it clear that the definitive lifting of the scheduled import restrictions would largely depend on the EU’s response to the Russian demands to open the EU market to imports of Siberian trees (Siberian pine seedlings, oak and spruce) and potato seeds. Russia claims that the EU has not been able to present sufficient evidence to justify the existing import ban of these products.
Source: VGB
