As junk soda sales continue to slip worldwide, members of the Russian government have recently called for sanctions against the United States’ largest soft drink companies.
According to RT, Igor Zotov, the head of Russia’s Party of Pensioners, recently suggested sanctions against Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, not because of their products, but because the brands are heavy sponsors of anti-Russian politicians in the US. Zotov also argued that the measure would increase support for local and domestic companies that make similar products.
“In support of the president’s and government’s actions regarding the counter sanctions we suggest restricting imports of products made by the Coca-Cola and PepsiCo companies that are the main sponsors of respectively the Republican and Democratic parties of the United States, the active supporters of prolonged sanctions against the Russian Federation,” Zotov said in a letter to the Russian prime minister.
This could be bad news for the struggling Coca-Cola company, who stands to lose
67 billion rubles ($1.2 billion) per year. The Russian government may be hesitant to ban the company though, considering the fact that they are able to bring in 404 million rubles ($7.34 million) from the company’s income taxes, and the fact that they employ 11,000 workers.
PepsiCo is even bigger in Russia, bringing in 80 billion rubles ($1.45 billion) in profits, paying 158 million rubles ($2.87 million) in taxes, and employing 23,000 workers.
John Vibes writes for True Activist and is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war.
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