Freeze on fuel import duties unlikely to cool high prices at the gas pumps

The government has decided to temporarily freeze all import duties on fuel including the 25-35% duty on oil products from Russia in an attempt to control inflation. Unfortunately analysts say the new regulation, due to take effect Sept. 28, will have little or no effect on the market and therefore will fail to result in lower retail fuel prices. Wojciech Zurawik, the head of Poland's second biggest refinery Rafineria Gdanska, said that Poland's eastern regions might start using cheaper imported fuels, but the rest of the country will not follow suit. According to Polski Koncern Naftowy (PKN) Orlen, "The freeze on duties will not have any impact on fuel prices as tariffs are only a marginal factor influencing the price. More than half of the fuel price is the excise duty, which the state will increase for the third time this year. (Reuters)