Russian President Putin says his country should retaliate against economic sanctions imposed by the West in the crisis over Ukraine, steps that could affect “everything from major Western accounting firms to overflights by European airlines to frozen American chickens,” said the New York Times. “Russia has already taken some retaliatory steps, banning certain food imports, including Ukrainian dairy products, Polish apples, Australian beef, pork from various neighbors and Moldovan fruit. The Russian news media has reported that American chickens might be next.”
U.S. farm exports to Russia totaled $1.3 billion last year, or 11 percent of all of Russia’s imports of American goods, Reuters reported. “Russia is the second largest importer of U.S. broiler meat behind Mexico, buying 276,100 tonnes last year, or 8 percent of U.S. exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.”