The Russian government may reduce the size of import duties and increase quotas on imports of steel pipes, if domestic pipe manufacturers unreasonably increase their prices, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting on the development of the country's gas industry held in the town of Novy Urengoy.
"We expect that the domestic pipe producers will not abuse their dominant market position and lift prices. Otherwise, we will have to review our approach, including the size of import duties and import quotas. We will reduce the duties and increase the import quotas, in this event," Vladimir Putin said.
As Mr. Putin noted, in the next 20 years the demand for steel pipes from the domestic gas industry will reach 10-12 million mt.