Speaking at a meeting on the development of the Russian auto industry in the WTO era, Greenpeace Russia Program Director Ivan Blokov recommended the government to levy a special utilization fee on automakers. President-elect Vladimir Putin, who chaired the meeting, did not only support the proposal, but immediately ordered the government to work out the parameters for its implementation. Explaining the policy, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov called the fee ‘a compensation,’ a sort of barrier, to prevent used cars flooding the Customs Union market. After joining WTO, Russia will have to reduce its import duty on cars from the current 30% to 25% and then to 15% within seven years. This utilization fee is to compensate for this loss.
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