Action is Needed
The EU needs to take bold steps to reduce its dependence on Russian fertilizers.
As imports of fertilizers from Russia into the EU are financing Putin’s war and are threatening the EU’s strategic autonomy in food and fertilizers, Europe must explore other possible restrictive measures.
As imports of fertilizers from Russia into the EU are financing Putin’s war,
all available measures must be taken to prevent this.
The EU should impose tariffs on imports of finished fertilizers into the EU from Russia.
These measures, while applicable only to the EU and severe enough to suppress such imports into the EU in practice, would not affect exports to third countries, ensuring that food security challenges elsewhere are not exacerbated.
Such measures should be designed to prevent EU market destabilisation as well as to stop Russia from using revenues from exports to the EU to fund its war against Ukraine.
Any revenues generated by the tariffs could be used for remediating damage caused by the conflict, such as reconstruction of Ukraine, cost inflation for farmers or food consumers, defence spending, etc.
Currently, Russian producers sell fertilizers minimally below the EU fertilizer market prices, in order to undercut EU producers while maximising their own profit. In the case of tariffs on Russian fertilizers, the immediate impact on prices is expected to be mild.
As a precautionary measure, the EU could introduce a phase-out period between the announcement of measures and their enforcement. This would allow time for any market adjustments, including the resuming of full domestic production. The EU market would also remain open to imports from other exporters.