Minsk reacted to the decision EU to impose duties on Belarusian fertilizers

The decision to impose increased import customs duties of the European Union on Belarusian products is a mediocre imitation of the rapid activity on the part of European institutions. This was announced today, May 23, by the press secretary of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry Ruslan Varankov.

"For such cases, folk wisdom has saved up a lot of accurate definitions — from "to cut off the branch on which you are sitting" to "to spite mom's ears to freeze". But seriously, of course, we can only once again sympathize with ordinary citizens of the EU member states who will be deprived of access to high—quality, inexpensive and competitive products of Belarusian origin — primarily agricultural products and nitrogen fertilizers," he said.

According to him, it is no coincidence that European farmers and their organizations clearly and unequivocally condemned the thoughtless plans of European officials.

"After all, all they can lead to is another jump in food prices in the EU, the destruction of jobs in the agricultural sector and a further decline in living standards. For example, an increase in duties on Belarusian casein — and this is every fifth ton of European imports — will inflate feed prices. The rise in the cost of flax, which today covers half of the EU's needs, will hit the textile industry, forcing it to buy raw materials twice as expensive. And restrictions on fertilizers, where Belarus is the fourth key supplier, will hit farmers: the cost of their products will jump, and ordinary families will have to overpay for bread and milk," the Belarusian diplomat noted.

Varankov also stressed that by such decisions the European Union punishes only its own producers and consumers, adding fuel to the fire of social discontent instead of fighting the impending economic recession and inflation amid a sharp increase in spending on the military-industrial complex.

"Belarus, as a reliable supplier, will continue to work on export diversification. The rationality of this strategy is confirmed by the growing volumes of supplies, for example, to Russia, the countries of Asia, Africa and the Middle East… We see in the actions of European institutions what they essentially are: outright trade protectionism, unfair competition, and finally, a mediocre imitation of turbulent activity," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. — I even wonder if any of the thinking people still believe in false statements about stimulating their own European agricultural production? It is not clear how to have a serious conversation with such partners who are indifferent to the fate of their own citizens and states in general." — He said.

At the same time, as Varankov noted, Belarus, guided by the principles of good neighborliness and responsibility for global food security, remains open to equal and mutually beneficial cooperation.,

"We are convinced that only through respectful dialogue can solutions be found that meet the interests of all parties," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Recall, on May 22, the European Parliament, by a majority vote, approved the introduction of new protective duties on imports of agricultural products and fertilizers from Russia and Belarus. The European Parliament said that the duties The EU will not affect the transit of agricultural products and fertilizers from Russia and Belarus to third countries.