Speaking to journalists after the meeting Mr Zubkov said that the Commission had decided to increase the amount of parts supplied to Russia for industrial assembly. The Commission examined proposals from automakers that would abolish the import customs duties for some components supplied to the country for industrial assembly that include parts of gearboxes, radiators and steering wheels.

In addition, a decision has been made to spread the regime of import of parts for industrial assembly to cars with engine size of over 2.8 litres. The maximum diesel engine size was set at 3 litres.

The Commission decided to introduce a zero import duty on ceramic carriers for automobile catalytic converters. "It was deemed practicable to abolish these duties so that the vehicles assembled in Russia meet environmental standards," Mr Zubkov clarified.

The Commission also recommended the introduction of a duty on raw sugar in the amount of $220-270 per tonne from December 2008 through May 2009. "In effect, it is a prohibitive rate which will enable our producers to work more effectively and normalise production volumes," the Mr Zubkov said.