Counter-measures from Finland
Finland said Thursday that it was considering counter-measures against Moscow in a dispute over wood tariffs. The dispute could eventually delay Russia’s entry into the WTO.
Finland is angered by the Russian increase of round timber export tariffs from 4 EUR per cubic meter to 50 EUR starting next summer. The tariffs threaten the powerful Finnish pulp industry, which is highly dependent on Russian raw materials. Russia on the other hand argues that the higher tariffs are necessary to stimulate timber processing in Russia. Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Paavo Vayrynen said Russia should agree on a solution to join the WTO and warned that Helsinki might impose a tariff on goods transported across Finland to Russia to compensate its paper makers, the Moscow Times reports. Finland is as large a trading partner with Russia as the United States. Russia is hungry for cars, televisions and machinery, meaning transit routes through Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are clogged with trucks. Photo: Barentsphoto.com
