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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree prohibiting public procurement of foreign furniture. The document can be found on the government website.
The ban should be effective for two years. It does not apply to furniture made in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union: Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
"The decisions were made to fully use the production capacities of the domestic enterprises in the furniture and woodworking industries, they are aimed at increasing the competitiveness of Russian products," the statement reads.
The Ministry of Industry had proposed to prohibit state purchases of foreign furniture twice before. Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov claimed that the Russian manufacturers used on average 40 to 50 percent of their capacity, and the ban should help them receive orders for 3 to 40 billion rubles a year.
Restrictions on public purchases of foreign goods first appeared in 2014. Now the ban applies to certain software, some medical products, equipment for the defense industry and machine building. Russian producers of food, crockery and equipment received a 15% price advantage at auctions.
In February 2016, Deputy Economic Development Minister Yevgeny Yelin said that the prices of state contracts increased by 40% due to the import substitution policy. The Federal Antimonopoly Service also stated that the bans on public procurement of foreign goods affect competition adversely.
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