Skip to main content
  • Share to or

Russia's textile industry wants EU clothes destroyed, just like the food imports

In the midst of Russia’s campaign to destroy food illegally imported from the EU, Russian textile workers have voiced concerns about clothes smuggled from Europe. The Russian Association of Textile Workers has sent a letter to President Vladimir Putin asking him to sign a decree on destroying all textile products and consumer goods smuggled into Russia from the EU. The letter proposes the destruction of such products both at Russia's border, and at retail and storage locations—wherever they're discovered and confiscated.

According to Shamkhal Ildarov, the head of the Association of Textile Workers, the destruction of smuggled textile products could significantly help the Russian textile industry. According to the association’s data, the total Russian textile market size amounts to $31 billion annually. The association claims that a third of the market (over $9 billion) is comprised of smuggled products.

It remains somewhat unclear why the Association of Textile Workers is targeting EU clothing in particular. The Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets notes that most of Russia’s textile products come from Asia.

[Shamkhal Ildarov, the head of the Association of Textile Workers] explains that smuggled clothing is destroyed in countries like Spain, and that this practice significantly improves the competitiveness of local producers.

Moskovskiy Komsomolets

On July 29, President Putin signed an executive decree ordering the destruction of sanctioned food imports. His order, however, is short on details about how exactly officials are meant to carry out this massive undertaking. As a result, various state actors and agencies have used all manner of available resources to burn, bulldoze, and bury hundreds of tons of boycotted food. On August 18, the Attorney General launched a hotline for reporting the import or retail of illicit food products.

On August 20, the Federal Customs Service suggested introducing criminal liability for importing sanctioned food to Russia. In the proposal, the Customs Service argues that bringing in sanctioned products should be equated with smuggling harmful or noxious substances and weapons. The punishment for this kind of smuggling is up 7 years in prison (up to 10 years, if it includes violence or is committed by an official, and up to 12 years if committed by an organized group).

The EU currently has sanctions in place against Russia in response to Moscow's annexation of Crimea and participation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In retaliation for the extension of EU sanctions, Russia also extended its embargo on a number of goods from the EU, mostly food products.

  • Share to or