The European Commission discovers undeniable evidence of Russian circumvention of plywood duties
08.03.2024
Latvijas Finieris and Woodstock Consortium commend the European Commission’s decision that duties are to be imposed on Russian birch plywood imports, following evidence of circumvention through Kazakhstan and Türkiye. Before the conflict in Ukraine, the EU had raised import duties on Russian birch plywood by up to 15.8% to counter low-priced imports. However, evidence surfaced immediately after imposing these duties in November 2021, revealing attempts by Russian producers to bypass them through sales in third countries, such as Kazakhstan and Türkiye, neither of which had been notable exporters of this plywood type before.
The Woodstock Consortium, along with Latvijas Finieris and other industry leaders and major European associations, submitted compelling evidence of circumvention to the EC, leading to a formal and expedited investigation in August 2023. The recent revelation of the Commission’s findings to more than 30 stakeholders signifies a significant step in exposing deceptive practices within the wood trade industry. These findings stem from the consortium’s dedicated efforts to reveal trade practices adversely affecting European industry by causing daily losses in sales volume and income.
After on-site inspections in Kazakhstan and Türkiye, the EC discovered undeniable evidence of circumvention, now necessitating the extension of anti-dumping duties to all imports from these countries. Stringent measures, with the potential involvement of customs fraud and sanctions evasion, are now expected to be in force in collaboration with national authorities and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The findings will form the basis for a Regulation, and will retroactively extend the anti-dumping duties to imports from Kazakhstan and Türkiye, and then maintain them going forward. All imported plywood from these two countries now faces the same 15.8% duties as Russia, with arrears plus VAT to be collected with retroactive effect from August 2023.
“Besides Kazakhstan and Turkey, we closely monitor other countries to prevent new sanctions violations through alternative routes, and we encourage our cooperation partners to do the same. Sanctions must achieve their goals not only in maintaining balance in the European market but also in limiting economic relationships with an aggressor country such as Russia. Furthermore, I urge the European Commission to adopt the Regulation,”
comments Mārtiņš Lācis, Executive Board member of Latvijas Finieris.
Separate legal, and in some countries criminal, regulations govern these violations, carrying severe consequences and liabilities for individuals involved.
The Woodstock Consortium and its supporters call on the European Commission and all EU Member States to remain vigilant, monitor and check for any Russian-sanctioned wood entering the EU through various routes, and utilise all available national and EU defence measures.
