Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a 35% tax hike on hundreds of Russian goods, including seafood.

Russia accounts for over 40% of global whitefish production and produces over 30% of the global Atlantic cod supply and 25% of haddock. It is also the primary producer of Alaskan pollock with a near 60% share.

The new tariffs will cover a list of good worth £900 million. In targeting the Russian seafood industry, the UK government looks to put pressure on one of the country’s biggest economies.

The Chancellor was able to announce the move after MPs passed the Economic Crime Bill on Monday night, which make sanctions and other economic measures easier to impose.

Sunak said: “Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rules-based international system it does not respect.”

He added: “These tariffs build on the UK’s existing work to starve Russia’s access to international finance, sanction Putin’s cronies and exert maximum economic pressure on his regime.”

Minimising the impact

Seafish, the Grimsby-based UK authority, has been working to quantify the harm sanctions could bring to the UK seafood industry. The company predicted price rises as high as 20-30% and potential product ranges being withdrawn as alternative supply chains are explored.

The company said that UK seafood businesses understood how difficult the potential price rises could be for low-income families. It added: “There is a great deal of work happening by businesses to find ways to minimise the impact this will have on consumers.

“We’re working with the seafood industry to support them with any changes they may want to make to their supply chains in light of this situation.”