Restricting imports to the Russian food market: simply an act of protectionism?

During the past decade Russia has imposed import restrictions on different types of food and plant products from a vast number of countries, claiming to be acting on food safety scandals as the primary reason. However, most observers interpret these measures as acts of protectionism. In this article the Russian import restrictions on Norwegian fish products are presented as the main case in a discussion of the rationale behind the measures. Our main finding is that, although the measures are trade barriers that lack transparency and documentation related to the alleged food safety risks, the traditional protectionist rationale, i.e. restricting imported volumes to prevent competition, does not seem to be the driving force behind the restrictions. Instead, we argue that food trade is regulated in order to regain governmental control over economic transactions and economic actors. Russian authorities have been very careful not to disturb the overall supply of seafood to Russia when implementing new import regulations. Also, import volumes of food to the Russian market in general have been increasing. This is linked to the fact that Russia is highly import-dependent and unable to replace imports. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings with regard to future market access to the Russian food market, including the potential for Russia's adaptation to relevant World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements.