The Customs Union Commission has set import tariffs to 0 for coking coal being exported from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The duty rate was at 5 percent before it was zeroed in early December by the Commission’s decision No. 477. Earlier reports indicated that the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service proposed the initiative to lift customs duties for coal, so as to minimize the shortage of coal in Russia after the accident at the Raspadskaya mine. The Ministry of Economic Development and Industry as well as the Ministry of Trade have endorsed the customs duties initiative. Data provided by Russian Customs indicate that coking coal imports in the first ten months of the year were 688 940 tons, a figure reflecting a 360-percent increase in coal imports year-on-year. Coal exports also increased by 50 percent, reaching 15.02 million tons. Exports account for only about 1.7 percent of the Russian coal demand. The biggest coal trading partners are Mongolia and the United States. The largest producers of coking coal in Russia are Raspadskaya and Mechel.