EU seeks 1.4 billion euro sanctions on Russia in WTO pork dispute

The European Union is seeking authorisation to impose annual trade sanctions worth 1.39 billion euros ($1.65 billion) on Russia, it said on Wednesday, alleging that Moscow failed to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling on pigs and pork.

The EU will submit the request to the WTO's dispute settlement body on Jan. 3, triggering a new round of litigation. Russia lost the WTO ruling in February, and agreed to comply by Dec. 6.

The EU said it had not done so and asked to be allowed to impose the sanctions at a value equivalent to the total relevant exports in 2013, increasing by 15 percent a year.