A ground-breaking decision the Latvian parliament passed prohibitions on imports of agricultural goods that originate from Russia and Belarus and is positioning itself as one of the very first European Union member to enforce this kind of ban. The legislative measure, which aims to punish Russia because of its aggression against Ukraine it was approuvé in the hope that it will not impact the movement of grain through different markets in the world. Latvia has been a vocal opponent of Russia’s military activities and actions, has been in the front of the EU and has been a vocal advocate for stricter sanctions as well as increased aid to Ukraine. Despite the efforts, the campaign to impose an EU-wide embargo against Russian grain has not yielded any fruit.

The intersection between economic as well as national security Janis Reirs who is the budget committee’s chair, highlighted the unintended consequences of eating Russian-derived items that are morally acceptable to society and stated, “Consuming products of Russian origin, thereby indirectly or directly supporting the illegal regime is not in line with the values of the society.” In spite of the EU as well as Russia having a major trade in food staples, the importation of some crops, particularly Russian durum wheat, to the EU is on the rise. growth, highlighting the importance to this restriction.

In the event that Latvia’s imports of Russian agricultural products reaching EUR280 million during the first ten months of 2023, Latvia is the second largest EU importer of these items. The Latvian government is charged with drafting regulations for the implementation of the law within a period of two weeks from the date of its implementation.

Source: bnnbloomberg.ca

Source of photo: Dreamstime.com