Russia has imposed a 55.65% tariff on China-made furniture parts, a trade war salvo that has raised hard new questions about Moscow and Beijing's "no limits" partnership with US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on the horizon.

Since autumn 2024, the customs department of Russia's eastern city of Vladivostok has re-categorized furniture sliding rail components as bearing types, resulting in a drastic increase in tariffs from zero to 55.65%. The city now handles 90% of China's furniture parts imports into Russia. 

Forbes first reported the protectionist move on November 26, and Russian media widely cited it on November 27. Sergey Zmievsky, president of Almaz, a Russian furniture company, told Forbes that sliding parts can account for 30% of the costs of making kitchen furniture.

The Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises of Russia (AMDPR) said the new tariff would bankrupt Russian importers of furniture components and create an additional 15% cost for local furniture makers. 

AMDPR president Alexander Shestakov said importing a finished piece of furniture, which is only subject to a 9-12% tariff, is now more profitable than producing it domestically. He said the targeted components are currently not produced in Russia, which imports about US$1.3 billion of these furniture parts annually, mainly from China. 

He added that furniture parts importers now must pay up to 2 to 2.5 million rubles ($19,969 to $24,962) worth of tariffs for each container, causing many to send them back to China rather than take delivery. 

Friendly tariffs

In mid-November, AMDPR sent a letter to Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade proposing imposing a 60% tariff on furniture imported from "unfriendly" countries and 10% on furniture from "friendly" countries. It said the average duty on Russian furniture exceeds 30% in Turkey and reaches 30-60% in Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Many Chinese commentators have said Vladivostok's new tariff is unfair to Chinese suppliers, especially when Russia only charges a 10% tariff on similar goods imported from Europe. However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry and state media have not yet commented on the matter.