Russian leaders acknowledge stricter customs, deny trade war

The Russian Federation has been conducting “prophylactic measures in preparation for changes in the customs administration regime in the event that Ukraine signs the Association Agreement with the EU,” said Sergei Glazyev, an advisor to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, as reported by the Interfax news agency on August 18.

The Russian Customs Service has already reported a large amount of non-Ukrainian products, including cheese and meat, which passes through the border. If this flow of goods becomes a systemic factor in trade relations with Ukraine, then Russian customs must operate as the EU customs does, “strictly reviewing the rules on goods’ origins,” Glazyev said.

The Russian government is most concerned about “an enormous amount” of reimports arriving from the EU, Turkey and other countries through Ukraine should the agreement be implemented, he said. “This review had a one-time nature, conclusions haven’t been made and information is being processed,” Glazyev said. “The situation is currently normalizing itself, but in any event we’re preparing for a stricter customs administration if Ukraine suddenly takes this suicidal step in signing the Association Agreement with the EU.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a telephone conversation on August 18 during which they “expressed their strong conviction that a trade war between Ukraine and Russia is not an issue,” the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers website reported.

They said separately that speculation surrounding complications in integration between the two countries are baseless. Customs officials from both countries will meet on August 19 to work on returning customs procedures to their optimal regime, which supports mutual trade.

Zenon Zawada:It has yet to be seen whether the trade conflict will deteriorate into a full-blown war. But it’s nice to see the Russian government acknowledge that it has tightened its customs procedures on Ukrainian products, even if the official reason is “prophylactic measures” instead of old-fashioned threats and saber-rattling. Indeed other information that surfaced this weekend indicates that last weekend’s events are just the beginning of a long, protracted conflict.