The participants of the meeting discussed the results of the antidumping probe into nickel-bearing stainless steel flat rolled products, which Russia imports from South Africa, Brazil, Korea and China. They made a decision to support the introduction of an antidumping duty for a period of three years. Its rate will be calculated based on the dumping margin.
In order to ensure conditions of fair competition for latex coco mat (mattress) manufacturers on the Russian market, the subcommission's members supported the plan to increase the import duty on these products from 5% to 10% and to introduce a levy at the rate of 0.25 euro/kg. The Russian Federation will submit this proposal to the Commission of the Customs Union, which will review it and initiate changes to the Unified Code of Customs Tariffs.
In response to the falling domestic demand for cement, the subcommission's members agreed a draft government resolution to cancel export duty on Russian cement, which currently stands at 6.5%. This will increase the competitiveness of the Russian cement on the global market.
In summing up the results of the subcommission's work during the first six months of 2010, the participants of the meeting noted that it had considered 17 more issues than planned. First Deputy Prime Minister Zubkov emphasised the need to oversee the practical implementation of the subcommission's decisions in the Customs Union. "We should be more active in getting the changes made to duty rates under the Unified Code of Customs Tariffs that will support Russian producers," Mr Zubkov stressed.