The Russian government commission for protective measures in foreign trade and customs tariff policy under the chairmanship of Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Victor Zubkov has decided on the suitability of extending by one year the eight percent import duty on imports of large diameter (LD) pipes of more than 508 mm outside diameter, regardless of the country of origin.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, on December 17, following the special protective reinvestigation of imports of LD pipes, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation proposed to prolong the eight percent import duty on imports of LD pipes for the period up to December 21, 2012.
The import duty will affect LD pipes under the following HS Codes: 7304 11 900 2, 7304 11 900 9, 7304 19 900 2, 7304 19 900 9, 7304 31 800 0, 7304 39 990 0, 7304 59 990 0, 7305 11 000 1, 7305 11 000 2, 7305 11 000 3, 7305 11 000 8, 7305 12 000 1, 7305 12 000 9, 7305 19 000 0, 7305 31 000 0, 7305 39 000 0 and 7305 90 000 0.
The eight percent special duty on imports of LD pipes was imposed in Russia on December 21, 2006 for the period up to December 21, 2009. The duty did not affect imports from developing countries which come under the scope of Russia's Generalized System of Preference. In May 2009, Russia added China to the list of countries affected by the duty.