Belarus puts six-month embargo on certain food imports to counter western sanctions from 1 Jan 2022
<p> MINSK, Dec 13 - PrimePress. Belarus will impose a six-month embargo starting 1 Jan 2022 on food imports from certain countries, which have been applying anti-Belarusian sanctions. </p> <p> Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko admits that certain complications may arise in the process of introducing counter-sanctions. He reckons, however, that Belarus’ private households and companies will not be affected. </p> <p> The Foreign Ministry of Belarus cited as “one of the most significant measures to counter external pressure from the collective West and strengthen its economic security” the continuation of union programmes and the strengthening of economic integration with Russia. </p> <p> The Foreign Ministry of Belarus has listed the retaliatory restrictive measures to be taken by the government in response to external sanctions pressure: Belarus will ban import of a number of goods from the countries that apply sanctions introduced against Minsk; sanctions will be imposed against air carriers from the European Union and the UK; Belarus will expand the lists of persons prohibited from entering its territory and the Union State. </p> <p> Of all these measures, only the food embargo has been made public so far. The ban will apply to a number of imports from the European Union and its member states, from the United States of America, Canada, Norway, Albania, Iceland, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Montenegro, and Switzerland. In January-October 2021 alone Belarus imported over $530 million worth of food and food commodities from the aforementioned countries. </p> <p> The list of prohibited goods includes pigs, meat of cattle, pork, a number of byproducts, salted meat, meat in brine, dried or smoked meat, food flour from meat or meat by-products, milk and dairy products (with some exceptions), vegetables other than those intended for sowing, fruits and nuts, pork fat and poultry fat, fat of cattle, fat of sheep or goats, lard stearin and other animal oils, sausages and similar products, confectionery, salt and other goods. </p> <p> The retaliatory restrictions will not apply to goods, which Belarusians import for personal consumption, for instance, to baby food and a number of other critical imports. Belarus’ government retains the right to expand the list of prohibited goods if more destructive actions are taken against the country. </p> <p> Golovchenko said that the Belarusian government, when introducing counter-sanctions, had tapped into the experience of Russia, which took a similar step in 2014, and took into account many of the bottlenecks that the Russians overlooked at the time. In his words, when compiling the lists of embargoed commodities, the government proceeded from the capabilities of domestic manufacturers. For instance, the embargo does not apply to fish and fish products, babyfood and special nutrition for people with certain diseases. </p> <p> “As for vegetables and fruits that do not grow in Belarus, for example, tangerines or persimmons we see no problem here. We import them from several countries, not only from Italy, Spain, which have fallen under the embargo but also from Morocco, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey. To prevent any deficit in these products on the domestic market, the MART has been instructed to help importers quickly reorient to goods from other countries. For example, we have long received proposals from the EEU and CIS partners, who are interested in increasing the supply of fruits and vegetables, dried fruits and nuts to our country,” said Golovchenko. </p> <p> Belarusian processing enterprises will not be affected by the embargo, as raw materials will be imported under quotas, Golovchenko assured. </p> <p> Some experts point out that the Belarusian authorities have not chosen the harshest version of the counter-sanctions and they will not seriously affect the consumer market. The authorities point out that the consumer should not notice the restrictions. There will likely be no shortage of goods, but the range may shrink. The most sensitive item covered by the embargo is fruit. </p> <p> It is possible that the Belarusian authorities will introduce new counter-sanctions as the sectoral sanctions imposed by the West start to really work. </p> <p> Viktor Margelov, head of the Minsk City Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and owner of a trading business, believes that the counter-sanctions will be felt by a narrow circle of Belarusian consumers – “the rich”, while over 90% of the population will not notice the difference. Economist Sergey Balykin notes that the scale of the Belarusian economy is not capable of causing any noticeable damage to the “collective West” and that only small companies from Lithuania, Poland and Latvia might suffer from the embargo. </p> <p> Economist Yaroslav Romanchuk sees no inflation risks due to the food embargo. At the same time, he is sceptical about the statements made by the Economy Minister that import substitution should be one of the main responses to the sanctions. Romanchuk notes that no country has yet succeeded in this direction. “This is a red-tape political project that has nothing to do with the economy,” the expert said. </p> <p> EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano called the Belarusian counter-sanctions “complicated and non-transparent”. In his words, the European Commission is analyzing the decision of the Belarusian government, as it does not contain details regarding its implementation, the scope of the restrictions, and there is no information about the available ways to challenge the sanctions in court. At the same time, Stano stressed that the EU restrictive measures are transparent and can be challenged in court. </p>
2021-12-13
Primepress
Belarus puts six-month embargo on certain food imports to counter western sanctions from 1 Jan 2022
MINSK, Dec 13 - PrimePress. Belarus will impose a six-month embargo starting 1 Jan 2022 on food imports from certain countries, which have been applying anti-Belarusian sanctions.
Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko admits that certain complications may arise in the process of introducing counter-sanctions. He reckons, however, that Belarus’ private households and companies will not be affected.
The Foreign Ministry of Belarus cited as “one of the most significant measures to counter external pressure from the collective West and strengthen its economic security” the continuation of union programmes and the strengthening of economic integration with Russia.
The Foreign Ministry of Belarus has listed the retaliatory restrictive measures to be taken by the government in response to external sanctions pressure: Belarus will ban import of a number of goods from the countries that apply sanctions introduced against Minsk; sanctions will be imposed against air carriers from the European Union and the UK; Belarus will expand the lists of persons prohibited from entering its territory and the Union State.
Of all these measures, only the food embargo has been made public so far. The ban will apply to a number of imports from the European Union and its member states, from the United States of America, Canada, Norway, Albania, Iceland, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Montenegro, and Switzerland. In January-October 2021 alone Belarus imported over $530 million worth of food and food commodities from the aforementioned countries.
The list of prohibited goods includes pigs, meat of cattle, pork, a number of byproducts, salted meat, meat in brine, dried or smoked meat, food flour from meat or meat by-products, milk and dairy products (with some exceptions), vegetables other than those intended for sowing, fruits and nuts, pork fat and poultry fat, fat of cattle, fat of sheep or goats, lard stearin and other animal oils, sausages and similar products, confectionery, salt and other goods.
The retaliatory restrictions will not apply to goods, which Belarusians import for personal consumption, for instance, to baby food and a number of other critical imports. Belarus’ government retains the right to expand the list of prohibited goods if more destructive actions are taken against the country.
Golovchenko said that the Belarusian government, when introducing counter-sanctions, had tapped into the experience of Russia, which took a similar step in 2014, and took into account many of the bottlenecks that the Russians overlooked at the time. In his words, when compiling the lists of embargoed commodities, the government proceeded from the capabilities of domestic manufacturers. For instance, the embargo does not apply to fish and fish products, babyfood and special nutrition for people with certain diseases.
“As for vegetables and fruits that do not grow in Belarus, for example, tangerines or persimmons we see no problem here. We import them from several countries, not only from Italy, Spain, which have fallen under the embargo but also from Morocco, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey. To prevent any deficit in these products on the domestic market, the MART has been instructed to help importers quickly reorient to goods from other countries. For example, we have long received proposals from the EEU and CIS partners, who are interested in increasing the supply of fruits and vegetables, dried fruits and nuts to our country,” said Golovchenko.
Belarusian processing enterprises will not be affected by the embargo, as raw materials will be imported under quotas, Golovchenko assured.
Some experts point out that the Belarusian authorities have not chosen the harshest version of the counter-sanctions and they will not seriously affect the consumer market. The authorities point out that the consumer should not notice the restrictions. There will likely be no shortage of goods, but the range may shrink. The most sensitive item covered by the embargo is fruit.
It is possible that the Belarusian authorities will introduce new counter-sanctions as the sectoral sanctions imposed by the West start to really work.
Viktor Margelov, head of the Minsk City Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and owner of a trading business, believes that the counter-sanctions will be felt by a narrow circle of Belarusian consumers – “the rich”, while over 90% of the population will not notice the difference. Economist Sergey Balykin notes that the scale of the Belarusian economy is not capable of causing any noticeable damage to the “collective West” and that only small companies from Lithuania, Poland and Latvia might suffer from the embargo.
Economist Yaroslav Romanchuk sees no inflation risks due to the food embargo. At the same time, he is sceptical about the statements made by the Economy Minister that import substitution should be one of the main responses to the sanctions. Romanchuk notes that no country has yet succeeded in this direction. “This is a red-tape political project that has nothing to do with the economy,” the expert said.
EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano called the Belarusian counter-sanctions “complicated and non-transparent”. In his words, the European Commission is analyzing the decision of the Belarusian government, as it does not contain details regarding its implementation, the scope of the restrictions, and there is no information about the available ways to challenge the sanctions in court. At the same time, Stano stressed that the EU restrictive measures are transparent and can be challenged in court.