Australia To Apply 35% Tariff To All Imports From Russia, Belarus From April 25

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2022) Australia will introduce additional tariff of 35% to all imports from Russia and Belarus starting April 25, the Australian government said in a statement on Thursday.

"On 1 April 2022, Australia will issue a formal notification withdrawing entitlement to the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff treatment and applying an additional tariff of 35% to all imports from Russia and Belarus. This will take effect from 25 April 2022 and will be in addition to general duty rates that currently apply," the statement read.

On March 20, the Australian government said that it would allocate additional 30 million Australian Dollars ($22.4 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Ukraine. This brings Australian government total commitment to Ukraine to 65 million Australian dollars.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries, including Australia, have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow.

Australia imposed targeted sanctions and travel bans on Russian individuals, organizations, banks and entities that support the Russian military. Additionally, sanctions were imposed against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and members of his family, as well as other key Belarusian individuals and entities who have provided support to Russia.