![Novosibirsk shopper in a cheese aisle. Photo © RIA Novosti](/userdata/news_en/2014/news_255275/thumb_b/photo_42389.jpg)
Vladimir Putin’s import ban in response to the countries supporting sanctions against Russia may be not as effective as planned, Tengrinews reports citing Gazeta.ru.
Vladimir Putin’s import ban in response to the countries supporting sanctions against Russia may be not as effective as planned, Tengrinews reports citing Gazeta.ru.
According to economists, the banned foreign products could be still imported into Russia due to inability of the Russia’s Customs to fully control the transportation of goods from its partner countries. “Re-export of banned products is possible through Russia’s partner countries Kazakhstan and Belarus,” Professor of World Economy and Politics at the National Research University Alexey Portansky said. According to the economist, the customs was closed prematurely. “Consider when Georgian mineral water Borjomi was banned, but still it was imported to Russia, albeit in small quantities,” Professor Portansky added.
But not everyone is skeptical of the new regulation and its capacity. Yelena Belozerova of the Goltsblat BLP who specializes in customs law said that Putin’s regulation suppressed any and all possibilities of re-exporting goods from Belarus and Kazakhstan. “The ban affects goods by producer-country, meaning the USA, EU, Australia, Norway, Canada. Hence, it does not matter through which country the goods are imported, they cannot be sold at the Russian market,” Belozerova said.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Russia said that the partner countries would be instructed on the methods of identifying banned products and preventing them from being imported to Russia. However, the officials have not commented on the ways of stopping illegal re-export of banned products.
Earlier, the United States and Europe targeted Russia's key financial, arms and energy sectors with tough new sanctions in response to Moscow's intervention in the Ukraine crisis, AFP reported. In response, president Putin signed a decree applying market restrictions and banning some types of agricultural products, raw materials and food products imported from the countries supporting sanctions against Russia.
By Gyuzel Kamalova