Will Russian government find a way to use confiscated sanctioned products?

In Russia, a ban can be imposed on the certain types of goods. This project was developed and submitted to the State Duma on the initiative of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of the Russian Federation. Thus, the sanctioned products and goods imported into Russia at reduced rates through the EEU countries will be at the disposal of the government. It is still unknown, what the officials would do with the seized goods.

"The bill proposes to give the Russian government a right to impose a ban on the circulation of the certain categories of goods, during the import of which into the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union the customs duties are paid at the rates different from the established single customs tariff of the Union", the bill, published yesterday on the Cabinet’s web-site, reads, RIA novosti reports.

"The adoption of the bill will enhance the efficiency of control over the turnover ban of the certain categories of goods on the territory of Russia, ensuring the uniform conditions for the movement of goods regardless of the methods of supply, types of transactions and other factors, used by the economic entities ," the government website reports.

Now the meaning of the word "control" of the sanctioned products means only one thing - to destroy them in any convenient way. During the year, more than 7.5 tons of products, prohibited from being imported, were destroyed in Russia. "In the period from August 6 2015 to August 6 2016, 7.282 tons of the sanctioned vegetable production and 228.642 tons of the products of animal origin were destroyed,’’  Rosselkhoznadzor reported earlier.

Among the destroyed products there were apples, pears, peaches, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, strawberries, oranges, nectarines, grapes. A better use could be found for these products, because even some members of the United Russia were not ready to vote for the abolition of the imported products, and the Duma opposition is clearly against the destruction of food due to the sanctions and embargoes.

This legislative initiative again will give a reason for heated discussions about the sanctions.