Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Trade Ministry has set an import tax of 35% on shampoo and toothpaste, as well as civilian weapons and bulletsMoscow has introduced a levy of 35% on goods imported from nations violating Russia’s economic interests, according to a resolution published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade late on Friday.The measure, which is valid until December 31, 2023, targets personal care products and detergent imported from the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Poland including shampoo, hair products, toothpaste, shaving creams and deodorants.The 35% tax also applies to civilian weapons and ammunition, including smoothbore single-barrel firearms, sporting and hunting rifles,…

The measure is reportedly encouraged to help avoid power outages this winterGermany’s BNetzA gas-network regulator has asked households and companies to reduce heating as the nation tries to conserve supplies during the energy crisis, Bloomberg reported on Friday.The report highlighted that industrial gas consumption in the country declined by 12% in the week through last Sunday while household and commercial consumption dropped by 13%.The regulator previously said that Germany needs to slash gas consumption by at least 20% to help offset the loss of supplies from Russia.Citizens should “perhaps not turn the heating up all the way and think carefully about…

CEO Alexey Miller and President Erdogan discussed a Turkish natural gas hub. The head of Russian state-run natural gas monopoly Gazprom has spoken on Saturday of progress made on plans for a natural gas hub in Türkiye, following his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.CEO Alexey Miller discussed the creation of a gas hub with the Turkish leader during a Gazprom delegation’s visit to Istanbul on Friday.The sides also negotiated issues relating to Russian gas supplies to Turkish consumers, according to a statement on Gazprom’s official Telegram channel.The idea of creating a base for gas supplies in Türkiye was proposed…

TotalEnergies will lose billions of dollars as it is unable to sell its stake in a Russian gas giantFrench oil and gas giant TotalEnergies has announced on Friday it is giving up its stake in Russian gas producer Novatek and withdrawing its two representatives from the company’s board.The exit will result in a “record” impairment of about $3.7 billion in the fourth quarter as Total will “no longer equity account for its 19.4% stake in Novatek.”The French company said in a statement that the two directors have had to abstain from voting in Novatek board meetings, “in particular on financial matters,” due to Western sanctions…

The embargo on Russian crude may lead to unexpected results for most industrialized nations, an energy economist warnsThe latest EU sanctions on Russian oil exports will fail to strip the country of its revenues, but are already causing global oil supply disruptions, a senior energy economist at CER-Centro Europa Ricerche told Sputnik news agency on Wednesday.The EU embargo took effect on Monday and was accompanied by a $60 price cap on Russian crude, supported by G7 countries and Australia. Any transactions over this limit are now barred from receiving brokerage, shipping, or insurance services.Demostenes Floros said that although the price…

Seoul’s trade minister says Washington’s actions will have a discriminatory impact on South Korean and European producersSeoul and Brussels should coordinate their responses to a large-scale subsidy package adopted by the US, South Korean Trade Minister Dukgeun Ahn said on Friday in an interview with EURACTIV.The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $430 billion climate protection and social investment plan adopted by the US Congress in August, is designed to battle inflation and reduce energy prices, as well as tackling climate change.However, it also includes massive subsidies for US-produced electric cars and batteries, sparking major concerns that European and South Korean…

 The region’s gas demand is projected to soarEU countries will need to dramatically increase their imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) in 2023 to grapple with probable shortages arising from severely curtailed Russian flows and growing demand, analysts from commodities trading giant Trafigura Group predict. Prices for gas in the region will need to remain high to attract LNG away from other buyers across the globe, the analysts said, adding that the security of this supply would remain an issue beyond next winter.“We expect gas and LNG markets to remain volatile,” the Singapore-based trading house said on Thursday in its annual report. “While…

Some member states have boosted trade turnover by more than 200%, the news agency saysThree quarters of EU member states boosted their trade turnover with Russia in the first eight months of 2022, RIA Novosti has reported on Saturday, citing data collected from the bloc’s various national statistics departments.Russia’s trade with Bulgaria and Greece reportedly soared 240% and 230% respectively, while trade turnover with Slovenia doubled during  January-to-August this year.At the same time, Austria and the Czech Republic boosted their trade with Moscow by 80% and Russia’s trade turnover with both Hungary and Italy surged 70%. Belgium and Cyprus also registered increases, of…

Economists no longer expect an “impressive recovery” and blame high inflation for weak performanceFood prices in the Netherlands have jumped by 15.7% in November compared to last year, data shared on Thursday by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) shows.The consumer price index (CPI) was 9.9% up in November from the same month last year. Experts point out that bread, cereals, meat and dairy products in particular have contributed to the price increase.According to the European harmonized consumer price index (HICP), services and consumer goods in the country were 11.3% more expensive in November than in the same period in 2021.In its latest…

President Xi Jinping has reportedly said his country will work to pay for fuel in yuanBeijing will work to make energy purchases in yuan instead of the US dollar signalling another step towards shifting further away from the greenback, China’s President Xi Jinping has told Gulf Arab leaders as cited by Reuters.China’s leader highlighted the necessity of the move while speaking at a Chinese-Arab summit that was hosted by Saudi Arabia earlier this week.  Xi had held separate talks with the heads of the Persian Gulf states at the summit that reportedly  brought together 30 leaders from across the region.The world’s biggest…