MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) – A senior Russian official said Monday that Moscow may file an official complaint with the World Trade Organization against the European Union’s practice of imposing anti-dumping duties on Russian steel and fertilizers.
RIA Novosti financial news service Prime cited Aleksei Likhachev, deputy head of the Economic Development Ministry, as saying the EU uses inaccurate prices when considering duties for Russian imports.
“They think that we are dumping value,” Likhachev said.
Moscow will officially file the complaint in November if a period of consultation with the EU fails to produce a resolution, Likhachev said.
Russia’s threat comes after the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, asked the WTO earlier this month to rule on the legality of a recycling fee that Russia imposes on imported cars. Japan has also filed a complaint to the WTO over the same issue.
The EU has said that it will not withdraw its complaint after Russia’s State Duma last week passed legislation that equalizes the recycling fee for imported and domestically produced cars, but which still permits differentiated application depending on the engine power of the car.
Likhachev insisted Russia had the right to charge variable fees for cars with different engine power.
“The expenditure on recycling should correspond to the damage inflicted by the means of transport, and that is directly connected with the power of the engine,” he said.
