Russia Ban Fruits, Vegetables, Meat, Fish & Dairy Imports From U.S & EU

Russia has escalated an economic battle set off by the crisis in Ukraine with a ban on all food imports from the U.S. and on fruit and vegetables from the European Union, dropping any pretence these might be for food safety reasons. The import ban, reported by The Moscow Times on Wednesday, comes after
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered retaliation for Western sanctions against Moscow. Russia is a major buyer of European fruit and vegetables but ranks 23rd among buyers of food from the U.S., accounting for less than 1 percent of America's farm exports.

The White House said the ban would backfire, hurting Russian citizens by pushing up inflation. "Retaliating against Western companies or countries will deepen Russia's international isolation, causing further damage to its own economy," said Laura Lucas Magnuson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.
Putin signed a decree on Wednesday halting or limiting imports of agricultural products from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia, ordering his government to come up with a list of imports to be banned for a year. "[All food products] that are being produced in the U.S. and being supplied to Russia will be banned,"
Alexei Alekseyenko, spokesman for the Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service (VPIS), said. "Fruit and vegetables from EU will be covered by the total ban,"

Alekseyenko also said retaliatory action would be "quite substantial" and would include U.S. poultry. Russians have a strong appetite for U.S. chicken, buying 276,100 tonnes of it last year, or 8 percent of U.S. exports.
The U.S. National Chicken Council and Poultry & Egg Export Council said it did not expect a great impact on the industry from the ban, while farmers said ordinary Russians could suffer. "This is clearly a political move. It is unfortunate that the biggest losers in this will be Russian consumers, who will pay more for their food now as well as in the long run," said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
In the past, Russia has banned a variety of U.S. foods, citing health and safety concerns, but Wednesday's action makes its language on terms similar to that of the U.S. and EU, which have imposed sanctions on Moscow. Explicitly banning a country's products for political reasons would violate the rules of the World Trade Organization, which Russia joined in 2012.