Farm equipment producers in Russia are asking the Russian government to protect their domestic production by imposing s 15 percent import duty on foreign farm equipment.
The country has already introduced a 15 percent tax on harvesters this year to support local producers, the Moscow Times reported.
The Russian agriculture equipment manufacturers group Soyuzagromash said it was seeking a duty on imports of seeding machines, plows, grain separators and other equipment to boost domestic output by 35 percent in 2010, according to the news source.
European manufacturers would be especially harmed by such a tariff, the report said. Russian farmers bought $5.55 billion worth of agricultural equipment last year, about 65 percent of which was imported.
U.S. manufacturers of farm equipment such as combines, tractors and other agricultural machines increased exports in 2008 by 26 percent, according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
For the first half of 2008, U.S. manufacturers exported $456 million worth of equipment to Russia. U.S. exports to Europe totaled $4 billion dollars in 2008, the highest of any region.