Tuesday, December 7th, 2021
Import ban on western goods
Lukashenko takes “retaliation” for sanctions
The European Union and the USA are convinced that the Belarusian dictator is targeting migrants to the EU borders. They are therefore again imposing sanctions on the country. Lukashenko is now escalating the dispute further and banning the import of many foods from the West.
Belarus has announced a ban on imports of food from a number of Western countries in response to sanctions. The Belarusian authorities published a long list of foods, including meat, dairy products, vegetables, confectionery and salt, which will be banned from the EU, the US, Canada, the UK and Norway from January.
According to information from Minsk, more products could be added. “Retaliatory measures have been taken amid continued attempts by the entire West to exert illegal sanctions pressure on our country,” the government said. “Importers, manufacturers and retail chains will concentrate on replacing goods that are not made in Belarus with deliveries from friendly countries.” However, some products such as baby food were exempted from the ban in the “interests of the Belarusian citizens”.
Since the controversial presidential election in Belarus in August 2020, the western states have imposed a series of sanctions on Belarusian government officials, organizations and companies. Last week, in a coordinated action by the Europeans and North Americans, further sanctions decisions were made because of the migration crisis at the EU borders with Belarus.
The EU accuses Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko of targeting migrants from the Middle East to the EU borders. Minsk rejects this. Previous sanctions were imposed on allegations of electoral fraud and crackdown on protesters and opponents of the government by the Belarusian authorities.
With a ban on the import of food, Lukashenko is doing the same as his ally, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Moscow also banned imports of agricultural products from the EU in 2014 in response to Western sanctions in the Ukraine crisis.