Starting next month, Kazakhstan may launch an online system that will track all goods entering and leaving the country to limit re-exports and parallel imports of products to Russia. first on this reported Eurasianet edition.
A senior source from the publication said that the system, which will be operational from April 1, is an attempt to show that Kazakhstan complies with restrictions imposed by the West, designed to isolate the Russian economy.
“Our government has repeatedly and very clearly stated that Kazakhstan does not impose any sanctions or restrictions on trade with Russia. However, it will not allow Western sanctions to be bypassed and there will be no platform for such circumvention, ”explained the source of the publication.
As Eurasianet wrote, Astana’s intention to introduce a system to restrict parallel imports and re-exports to Russia was confirmed in the words of Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi during a February visit by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Then, the minister noted that Kazakhstan has always had strong trade ties with both Russia and Ukraine, so the current situation is very difficult for the country.
At the same time, Tleuberdi confirmed that Astana and Washington are in constant communication to avoid secondary restrictions on the supply of goods sanctioned to Russia, and thanked Blinken for the US “preliminary reports on what potential incidents of secondary sanctions.” applicable.” “.
Finance Times approves Information published by Eurasianet. According to the news of the British newspaper, the system, which will make parallel imports to Russia difficult, will indeed work as of April 1.
The publication draws attention to the fact that exports from Kazakhstan to Russia increased by 25% in 2022. For some commodity items it used to be zero, but now it has acquired the character of industrial delivery. In Astana, this was explained not only by re-exports, but also by the fact that Kazakhstan was often used as a transit country for goods from China or Turkey – they also did not support sanctions against Russia and continued to trade actively. IT.
In early March, Bloomberg reported that Moscow was able to bypass EU and G7 sanctions and acquire the necessary Western technology to ensure its own industrial security. And the total volume of imports to the country has returned to the 2020 indicators, when the sanctions were not yet in effect.
The agency’s article highlighted the sharp increase in exports of chips, semiconductors, integrated circuits and other electronic components to Russia via Turkey, Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates. Bloomberg noted that Moscow actually buys sanctioned goods through third countries.
“In the case of some countries, technology exports to Russia have gone from zero to millions of dollars. Kazakhstan is a good example. Before the conflict began in Ukraine in 2021, the country was supplying Russia with modern semiconductors for just $12,000. And in 2022 it has already increased by $3.7 million,” the publication says.
Data from Trade Data Monitor, a company that monitors business operations around the world, shows that Russia has purchased $163 million worth of chips from the EU, US, Japan and UK. In 2022, volume dropped by nearly $100 million. Shipments from countries supporting Russia also increased by the same amount.
Similar models have been identified by analysts in hundreds of different product categories, but they stand out especially in the supply of chips and integrated circuits used in the defense industry.
Source: Gazeta
Ben Stock is a business analyst and writer for “Social Bites”. He offers insightful articles on the latest business news and developments, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the business world.