BRITAIN has stepped up sanctions against Russia, including a ban on luxury goods such as caviar, silver, and diamonds, in retaliation for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday, the British government announced a new round of sanctions, including new import bans and high tariffs on Russian goods. The most recent measures include bans on imports of silver, wood products, and high-end Russian goods, including caviar.
The move is intended to increase pressure on Russia’s collapsing economy as President Vladimir Putin intensifies his nine-week-old invasion of Ukraine.
Tariffs on approximately £130 million worth of products from Russia and Belarus, including diamond and rubber, will increase by 35 percentage points, the UK department for international trade announced.
“The UK continues to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and is working closely with our international partners to inflict maximum damage on Putin’s regime, reducing the resources and funds he requires to carry out this illegal war,” International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in announcing the sanctions.
“We are taking every opportunity we can to ratchet the pressure to isolate the Russian economy and these further measures will tighten the screws, shutting down lucrative avenues of funding for Putin’s war machine.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated that the “significant sanctions” will increase the UK’s total tariffs and bans on Russian goods to more than £1 billion, “imposing further economic pain on Putin’s economy for his barbaric and unjustified attacks on a sovereign nation.”
The UK has already prohibited the import of a number of iron and steel products from Russia and Belarus, as well as certain luxury goods.
Sanctions imposed last month prohibit the export of hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of goods to Russia, including luxury cars, designer clothing and accessories, precious stones, and works of art.
The move was intended to deny Russian oligarchs and other members of the country’s elite access to their luxury goods.
Russia has also been adversely affected by crippling import tariffs on goods worth more than £900 million, including Russian vodka.
The new trade restrictions come on the heels of the UK government’s announcement earlier on Thursday of 26 new sanctions targeting “defense actors,” including military generals and defense companies involved in the Ukraine war.
The Foreign Office stated that the latest round of sanctions was in response to Russia’s “continued war of aggression in Ukraine” and its renewed assault on Donetsk and Luhansk.
It stated that intelligence indicated that civilian infrastructure in the heavily fortified city of Mariupol, including hospitals, schools, and transportation, was being deliberately targeted.
For the latest International News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest International News on oldsite.bolnews.com
