Russia bans export of some products, equipment after sanctions

AFP , Thursday 10 Mar 2022

Russia announced Thursday an export ban on more than 200 types of foreign-made products and equipment until the end of the year, part of Moscow's response to sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin
File Photo: Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin gestures while speaking during a cabinet meeting via videoconference in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. AP

The measure concerns goods and equipment that were previously imported into Russia from abroad.

"The list includes technological, communication and medical equipment, vehicles, agricultural machinery and electrical equipment -- more than 200 types of goods in total," said an order signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

"This measure is necessary to provide stability on the Russian market," the order said.

The measure will affect all foreign countries, but exceptions can be made for members of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union and Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Separately, the government also banned the export of "some types of timber" to countries that "committed unfriendly actions" towards Russia.

The list includes 48 countries, including EU states and the United States.

Russia is home to one-fifth of the world's forest and further exploiting this resource could help the country cut down its economic reliance on oil and gas.

President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" in Ukraine that began on February 24 has triggered unprecedented Western sanctions and sparked an exodus of international corporations from Russia.

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