The food embargo imposed by Russia not only limits imports of high-quality products to the country but also may cause serious financial problems to the national budget. Despite being isolated, Russia is still a member of the World Trade Organization, so it should fulfill its responsibilities, particularly the ones regarding the export restrictions.
Russia’s ban on import of pork meat from the European countries became the reason to start an arbitration process. The European authorities claim 1.3 billion euros per year. This sum is estimated to be equivalent to the total value of meat imports to Russia in 2013. At first, the court should decide whether these claims are legitimate and if this fine is applicable to Russia. Interestingly, the official explanation for imposing the ban was not the Western sanctions but cases of African swine fever detected by the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance.
The claimant argues that the restrictions imposed by Russia are not based on the sanitary standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health. If the EU wins this case, then the ban on pork imports will cost Russia 1.3 billion euros per year.
