According to Reuters estimates, based on Russian customs data, Russian firms could have earned a total of additional $1 billion from their exports last year if they passed the products off as duty-free exports.
Russia is looking to raise more revenues for its budget via the oil and gas industry - its key export responsible for contributing a large part of the state’s income. Currently, Russia’s economy is suffering the consequences of the oil price crash that it helped to create after the temporary rift with its OPEC+ partner Saudi Arabia in March.
The oil price crash, along with the coronavirus-driven global recession, will result in Russia’s economy shrinking this year by 6 %, or by the most in 11 years, the World Bank said in its latest economic report on Russia in July.
Meanwhile, Russia’s exports of petroleum products to the United States more than doubled in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period last year, reaching their highest levels since at least 2004, according to Russian customs data.
The U.S. has been raising its imports of fuel oil from Russia over the past year and a half after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s exports, Reuters reported in July, quoting data from Refinitiv Eikon.
Author: Tsvetana Paraskova
