On June 2, 2020, an employee wearing a face mask and gloves disinfects samples of cosmetics in a shopping mall in Moscow, Russia. XINHUA MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill on Tuesday legalizing parallel imports in the country in a bid to stabilize prices amid Western economic sanctions.
The law protects Russian companies that import certain categories of goods without the permission of the intellectual property owner, the so-called parallel imports, from civil, administrative and criminal liability.
READ MORE: Russia-Ukraine conflict to affect 25% of the global grain market''
The Russian government can determine the list of goods that are subject to the new legislation.
The legalization of parallel imports is intended to protect the Russian economy and citizens against economic sanctions, simplifying trade in the eligible goods and stabilizing their prices, said Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia's lower parliament.