Following the series of import restrictions on food products from Western countries, Russia has recently expanded its list of banned fishery products from "hostile countries of Russia."
The bans will affect several hostile countries, including the United States, the EU, Canada, Australia, Norway, Ukraine, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and the United Kingdom. However, shipments of fishery products from China and other countries unaffected by the sanctions will continue to be allowed.
Thus continues the scale of actions that would have its starting point in the invasion of Crimea (Ukraine) in 2014. At that time, there were already different economic sanctions on the United States and the EU, which have intensified in response to the second invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Thus, the new bans approved by the Kremlin specifically affect "ready-to-eat or canned fish, sturgeon caviar and fish roe substitute." In addition, it would also affect "prepared or canned crustaceans, mollusks, and other aquatic invertebrates."
Through these new measures announced by the Russian Federal Fisheries Agency, it seeks to promote the national product and eliminate the gray market. On the one hand, these measures help to create exclusive opportunities for domestic producers. On the other hand, it deals a blow to the gray market, which despite the entrance restrictions, was still on the shelves of the establishments, they explained.
The United States, for its part, also maintains a ban on imports of Russian seafood products.
In addition, a bill proposed by U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski seeks to add a labeling program. This program could pose an additional barrier to foreign seafood products, including Russian ones.
