The amendments aim to protect the interests of domestic agricultural producers.
In particular, the amendments provide for tariff quotas on agricultural goods. Currently, the share in the overall tariff quota volume is divided between importers proportionally to the volumes of agricultural goods they brought into Russian Federation customs territory during the previous calendar year.
This creates a situation in which, in order to increase their share in the overall quota for the following calendar year, importers find it advantageous to increase imports of goods not covered by the tariffs during the preceding calendar year. This leads to surplus supply on the market and pushes prices down, thereby affecting the interests of domestic agricultural producers.
In order to resolve this problem, it is proposed that the previous calendar year no longer be used as the calculation basis for allotting the shares in the overall tariff quota volume. Instead, the Russian Government will have the right to decide of its own accord the length of the period to be used as a calculation basis, and this will mean that importers no longer have an interest in increasing imports of goods not subject to the tariffs in the sole aim of increasing their quotas for the following year.