On 2 March 2022, the EU significantly expanded its sanctions against Belarus, in response to Belarus’ role in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Belarus was already subject to significant EU sanctions targeting its financial, dual-use, military, tobacco, petroleum and potash sectors, many of which were imposed following the Belarusian Government’s response to civil unrest following the 2021 election (see our previous post here).
Many of the changes are in line with sanctions imposed against Russia on 25 February (see previous blog post here), but the EU has also imposed wide-ranging restrictions on other areas of the Belarusian economy.
In brief, the new restrictions include:
- designations of a further 22 members of the Belarusian military;
- tighter restrictions on dual-use and other high-tech exports to Belarus;
- prohibitions on the supply of various types of machinery to Belarus,
- enhancement of the existing tobacco sector, petroleum/mineral product, and potash restrictions;
- procurement restrictions on wood, cement, iron and steel, rubber originating in Belarus; and
- removal of exceptions for pre-existing contracts in the Belarusian financial sector.
In general, where a prohibition on the supply of items has been imposed or extended, so too has a prohibition on the provision of brokering services, technical assistance, financing, and financial assistance for the restricted items.
Further details of the restrictions can be found below.
Dual-use and high-tech items
The new sanctions tighten existing restrictions on the supply of dual-use items to Belarus for military use, imposing a blanket prohibition on all supplies of dual-use items to Belarus for any reason. Other items that “might contribute to Belarus’s military and technological enhancement, or to the development of its defence and security sector“, listed in a new Annex Va to Regulation 765/2006, are also prohibited for export.
The lists of controlled items, and the exceptions and licensing grounds under which such items may be supplied, closely mirror the restrictions imposed against Russian on 25 February, as set out in detail in our previous blog post here.
Machinery
A wide variety of machinery, listed in Chapters 84 and 85 of the EU tariff, has been prohibited for supply to Belarus. These restrictions are subject to various exceptions, broadly aligned with the exceptions applicable to dual-use and high-tech items.
Tobacco sector
The list of goods restricted due to their potential use in the Belarusian tobacco sector has been widened to include knives and other blades for machines and other mechanical appliances.
In addition, the restrictions have been extended to include a restriction on the supply of brokering services, technical assistance, financing, and financial assistance for restricted tobacco sector products. This prohibition had been unusually absent from the prior tobacco sanctions.
Finally, an exception for the performance of pre-existing contracts as of 25 June 2021 has been removed.
Petroleum/mineral products
The existing restrictions on the procurement of petroleum products has been extended to include other oil products, classified in Heading 2707 of the EU tariff.
An exception for the performance of pre-existing contracts as of 25 June 2021 has also been removed.
Potash
The restrictions on procurement of potash have been extended to include a restriction on the supply of brokering services, technical assistance, financing, and financial assistance for the procurement of potash products from Belarus. As with the tobacco restrictions, this prohibition had been unusually absent from the prior potash sanctions.
An exception for the performance of pre-existing contracts as of 25 June 2021 has also been removed.
New procurement restrictions
The new sanctions also prohibit the procurement of various other goods from Belarus. The restricted products are as follows:
- wood and charcoal products classified in Chapter 44 of the EU tariff;
- cement and cement products classified in Headings 2523 and 6810 of the EU tariff;
- iron and steel products classified in Chapter 72 and 73 of the EU tariff; and
- new rubber tyres classified in Heading 4011 of the EU tariff.
EU persons are prohibited from:
- importing these items into the EU if the items originate in, or have been exported from, Belarus;
- purchasing these items if the items are located in or originate from Belarus; and
- transporting these items if the items originated in Belarus, or are being exported from Belarus (regardless of the destination).
As with the other restrictions above, the provision of related technical assistance, brokering, financing and financial assistance (including insurance) for these activities is also prohibited.
An exception is available for the performance of contracts concluded before 2 March 2022, until 4 June 2022.
Finance
The substantive restrictions on the Belarusian financial sector (aimed at restricting the Belarusian Government’s access to credit and insurance) have remained unchanged. However, an exception for pre-existing loans and insurance as of 25 June 2021 has been removed.
