Interfax: Putin: import substitution in Russia is temporary phenomenon

File Photo of U.S. Dairy Cows

SAMARA. March 7 (Interfax) – Import substitution in Russia is a temporary phenomenon; a temporary tool to balance out the current situation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

“The idea of import substitution is not, in and of itself, universal and is not what we should be aiming for in the long run; import substitution mustn’t disrupt competition. This is an extremely important thing. We should all understand, all this import substitution, is a temporary phenomenon. I want everyone to understand this […] it is a temporary tool to balance out the current situation,” Putin said in a meeting with women entrepreneurs on Wednesday.

“We should be aiming to produce goods that are of a quality and at an affordable price, as to be competitive on not ours, but on the global market. If we permanently “cut off” something there, then we are never going to achieve this end result,” the president said.

He said that import substitution is primarily associated with guaranteeing security in the country, for example, in the defense industry. Putin said that Russia has started producing ship engines, helicopter engines and is doing this out of necessity.

“We are doing this out of necessity. In several cases we have done this and are continuing to do it to support Russian producers in a difficult financial condition, especially (conditions) where our partners have violated and distorted competition, when they impose various sanctions, supposedly politically motivated, but which are mainly based on gaining an advantage,” he said.

[featured image is file photo]

Comment