Voluntary Report - Public distribution

**Date:** 10/18/2007

**GAIN Report Number:** RS7071

RS7071

**Russian Federation**

**Dairy and Products**

**Certain Dairy Import Tariffs Reduced**

**2007**

**Approved by:**

![](media/image1.wmf)Allan Mustard

American Embassy

**Prepared by:**

Mikhail Maksimenko and Erik Hansen

**Report Highlights:**

In response to rising prices for dairy products, the Russian government
issued a resolution October 15 immediately reducing import tariffs on
dairy products from 15 to 5 percent. Market analysts believe this action
will have little impact on rising cheese and butter prices, since most
such imports originate from member states of the Commonwealth of
Independent States and thus enter duty-free. However, prices for dairy
products reconstituted from dry milk powder may stabilize somewhat.

Includes PSD Changes: No

Includes Trade Matrix: No

Annual Report

Moscow \[RS1\]

\[RS\]

#  

[Executive Summary 3](#executive-summary)

[Text of Resolution Number 674 of October 15, 2007
3](#text-of-resolution-number-674-of-october-15-2007)

[Import Customs Duty Rates 4](#import-customs-duty-rates)

[Other Relevant Reports 4](#other-relevant-reports)

#   {#section-1 .unnumbered}

# Executive Summary

In response to rising prices of dairy products, the Russian government
issued resolution No. 674 on October 15, 2007, under which a tariff
rates will be set at 5 percent of customs value for customs code
positions 0401-0405 (milk and dairy products), and 0.3 Euro per kilo on
cheese (TN VED\* 0406), excluding positions 0406 10 through 0406 40, on
which duties are set at 5 percent.

Market analysts indicate that the resolution won't slow rising cheese
and butter prices since most imports already enter Russia duty-free from
other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), such as
Ukraine and Belarus. Cheese from other countries that currently face
import duties occupies only a small portion of total cheese imports.
However, the lower tariff on imported dry milk is expected to stabilize
prices as almost half of all domestic cheese and sour cream is produced
from imported dry milk.

# Text of Resolution Number 674 of October 15, 2007

Begin Text:

**Government of the Russian Federation**

**Resolution No. 674 of October 15, 2007**

**"On Temporary Import Duties on Milk and Dairy Products"**

The Government of the Russian Federation decrees the following:

1.  To approve, for a period of 6 months, the attached import tariffs
    regarding separate types of commodities included into the commodity
    nomenclature of foreign economic activity of the Russian Federation
    from November 27, 2006 No. 718 "On the customs tariff of the Russian
    Federation and the commodities nomenclature applied when carrying
    out external economic activity" (Collection of legislative acts of
    the Russian Federation, 2006, No. 50, Article Article 5341).

2.  To decree that validity of the second bullet of the resolution No.
    1347 dated October 22, 1997 of the government of the Russian
    Federation. Issues of the Custom and Tariff policy (Collection of
    legislative acts of the Russian Federation, 1997, No. 43
    Article 4998) is not applied for rates of import tariffs approved by
    the present resolution.

3.  The present resolution enters into force as of the date of its
    official publication.

Chairman of the Government

Of the Russian Federation

V. Zubkov

APPROVED

By the Government\
of the Russian Federation\
on October 15, 2007, No. 674

# Import Customs Duty Rates

  --------------- -------------------------- ----------------------------
  **TN VED        **Name of Commodity \***   **Import Customs Tariff (ad
  codes** [^1]                               valorem or in Euros or U.S.
                                             Dollars)**

  0401-0405       Milk and dairy products    5 percent

  0406            Cheese and cottage cheese  0.3 Euro per 1 KG

  Excluding:                                 

  0406 10-0406 40 Fresh cheese, grated or    5 percent
                  powdered cheeses, process  
                  cheese, not grated or      
                  powdered, blue and other   
                  cheeses                    
  --------------- -------------------------- ----------------------------

\*For the purpose of applying the rates of import duty, commodities are
determined exclusively by codes of TN VED of Russia. Commodity names are
listed only as a courtesy.

End Text.

**Source**: Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Official Newspaper of the Russian
Government)*;* October 17, 2007 and Russian government website at

http://www.government.ru/government/governmentactivity/rfgovernmentdecisions/archive/2007/10/17/1105921.htm

# Other Relevant Reports

RS7070 Grain and Feed / Russian Government Resolution on Temporary
Export Duties on Wheat and Barley

(URL not yet available as of this report's submission)

RS7068 Grain and Feed / Grain Export Tariffs Coming in November

http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200710/146292716.pdf

RS7320 Grain and Feed / Grain Interventions and Export Tariffs Likely

http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200709/146292480.pdf

RS7043 Dairy and Products / Dairy Semi-Annual Report

http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200705/146291245.pdf

RS6042 Dairy and Products / Import Duties on Cheese Increase

http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200608/146208623.pdf

[^1]: All imported commodities are classified in accordance with the
    Codes of the Customs Commodities' Nomenclature of the Foreign
    Economic Activity of the Russian Federation and their descriptions
    can be found at http://tks.ru/db/tnved. These codes are close, but
    not identical, to the Harmonized System.