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Russia Wants Deere to Build Equipment Overseas
Bloomberg News — 9/17/2010
Deere & Co. will get Russian government aid for projects that increase production of farm machinery in the country, instead of assembling equipment from components made abroad, President Vladimir Putin said.
"If you go from assembly to localization and opening production on Russian territory, then we could speak about state support for these projects such as programs to stimulate demand for your finished products," Putin said today during a meeting with Deere Chief Executive Officer Sam Allen at an investment conference in Sochi, Russia.
Deere, the world's largest maker of farm equipment, plans to expand in Russia, which has 9 percent of the world's arable land, Allen said June 17 at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in Russia's second-biggest city. Russia should lower tariffs on imported machinery, and the government shouldn't promote domestic suppliers, he said. "We're willing to gamble on the economic environment," Allen said in June.
"The amount of localization should be driven by market forces, not percentages, and we are committed to finding local suppliers." Moline-based Deere said in April that it opened a plant south of Moscow to manufacture agricultural, construction and forestry equipment, and distribute components.
