The European Commission is plotting to impose import tariffs on cereals imported from Russia and Belarus, according to internal sources, in an effort to compensate for the dissatisfaction of some member states and European farmers with the influx of Ukrainian agricultural products.

It is that the European Commission will propose a tariff of €95 per tonne ($103) on grains from both countries and a tariff of 50% on oil seeds and their derivatives.

It is worth noting that this tariff policy will only apply to supplies of Russian agricultural products for domestic consumption in the EU-27 member states, and will not extend to goods shipped to other third countries after the transition to the EU.

This move is seen as a stopgap measure by the EU to balance the interests of all parties. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, large quantities of cheap Ukrainian agricultural products have entered the EU through countries such as Poland and Romania, sparking strong dissatisfaction among EU farmers. They argue that, under the pressure of the "European Green Deal," the influx of Ukrainian products has undoubtedly exacerbated the survival challenges faced by EU agriculture.

Some farmers’ organizations have even called for the EU to temporarily close its borders and ban Ukrainian agricultural products from entering the country, but the EU has insisted that Ukraine must be supported and that Ukraine’s exports should not be stifled.

However, compared to Ukraine, the quantity of agricultural products exported by Russia and Belarus to the EU is very limited, so the tariff measure is largely only symbolic, and the actual effect may be limited.

Overall, the EU’s move aims to ease pressure from local farmers while avoiding a complete cut in the supply of Ukrainian agricultural products to Europe.