Deere in Russia

The president and CEO of Deere & Company says sales in Russia have plunged more than 50 percent this year after the country imposed tariffs and loan limits on foreign farming machinery. In an interview in Moscow, Samuel Allen told Bloomberg, loan restrictions more than doubled the cost of foreign machinery in Russia. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says they have no plans to extend the tariffs “beyond the severe phase of the economic crisis.”

Allen was in Moscow as part of a Russia – USA Business Forum held in conjunction with the summit meetings between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama. Deere plans to invest $500 million in production facilities in Russia in the next five to seven years.