Page 41 - RPTRusFeb17

5.0 External Sector & Trade
Russia's foreign trade surplus declined by 39% year-on-year in 2016 t o $90.4bn (€85.6bn), according to data of the state statistics office Rosstat published on February 28.
Overall trade turnover in 2016 declined by 11.1% y/y to $468bn (€443bn),
in line with previous estimates of the economy ministry, which reported a 12% decrease to $470.6bn.
Exports from Russia in 2016 contracted by 17.5% y/y to $281.8bn, while imports declined by only 0.8% y/y to $191.4bn. The rate of exports decline lagged behind imports growth throughout 2016, the trend moderating towards the end of the year as exports growth caught up.
Russia's trade turnover with the European Union declined by 15% to $200bn and with the CIS by 14.2% to $56.7bn. Trade turnover with the US slipped by 3% y/y to $20bn. At the same time, trade with China gained 4% y/y to $66bn, being the only major trade partner to see a rise in turnover in 2016.
The EU was still Russia's most important trading partner last year , accounting for nearly half of exports and almost 40% of imports. 22% of exports went to countries in Asia, and 34% of imports came from Asia (China's shares were 10% and 21%, respectively). CIS countries accounted for roughly 10% of Russia's imports and exports.
Structure of Russian goods trade in 2016
5.1 External sector overview
Russia is imposing new rules banning imports of sanctioned products from the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member countries , making the former Soviet Union's "free trade club" less free, RBC reported on February 21. The move is designed to stop widespread smuggling. According to the report, the finance ministry in Moscow has prepared a draft law giving Russia the power to ban goods coming from the organisation's member states, which also include
41 RUSSIA Country Report February 2017 www.intellinews.com