Russia - Import Tariffs Russia – Import Tariffs
In August 2012, Russia became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), lowering the average bound tariff rate on industrial and consumer goods, from almost 10% in 2011 to 7.8% by 2017.
Food and agricultural exports to Russia from the U.S. are not currently possible due to Russian counter-sanctions. However, if sanctions were lifted and agricultural and food exports resumed with Russia, these would fall under Russia’s WTO Accession Protocol. The protocol establishes tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for agricultural goods such as beef, pork, poultry, and some whey products. Imports entering the market within the quota would enjoy lower tariffs, while imports outside of the quota would face higher tariffs. Some of these TRQ’s could also be subject to member-specific allocations. The current in-quota and out-of-quota rates are listed below:
• Beef: 15% duty in-quota, 55% duty out-of-quota;
• Pork: 0% duty in-quota, 65% duty out-of-quota (the TRQ for pork will be replaced with by a flat top rate of 25% as of January 1, 2020);
• Selected poultry products: 25% duty in-quota, 80% duty out-of-quota; and
• Selected whey products: 10% duty in-quota, 15% duty out-of-quota.
On January 1, 2015, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was launched, incorporating the tariff regulations previously set forth in the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union (CU) established in 2010. Armenia's accession into the EAEU came into force on January 2, 2015, while Kyrgyzstan's accession came into effect on August 6, 2015. The Unified Customs Tariff of the EAEU/CU has undergone periodic revisions since 2011, with the rates of import customs duties now set in accordance with the obligations outlined in Russia’s WTO Accession Protocol. All issues such as tariffs, tariff rate quotas, technical regulations, licensing, and certification are being harmonized by the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), the multilateral entity originally established by the member countries to manage the Customs Union which now oversees the Eurasian Economic Union. Current information on the harmonized tariffs of the EAEU/CU can be found on the Eurasian Economic Commission's website.
In addition to Customs duties, import excise taxes may be applied for limited categories of products, such as luxury goods, alcohol and tobacco products, cars, diesel and motor oil, and other petroleum products. Import excise taxes range from 20% to 570%.
Value Added Tax (VAT) is applied to the sum of the Customs value plus the Customs duty plus any excise tax. Russian Customs VAT is levied at the same rates as Russian sales VAT – generally 20% for most goods, works, and services. A 10% rate applies to certain food products, children’s goods, certain medical and pharmaceutical products, pedigree livestock, and certain books and periodicals. Some categories (e.g. medical goods and equipment, goods designated for diplomatic corps) may be VAT exempt.
Effective August 2018, Russia began imposing additional tariffs ranging from 25-40% for a set of United States products ranging from fiber optics to certain equipment for road construction, the oil and gas industries and metal processing and mining, with the Ministry of Economic Development indicating that these tariffs were in response to United States imposition of tariffs on Russian steel and aluminum products earlier in 2018 under the United States’ Section 232 process.