New U.S. sanctions, which restrict the import of smartphones and other devices to Russia by more than $300, threaten to potentially halt parallel electronics imports into the country for fears of companies and legal entities falling under Washington’s restrictive measures. They told this vedomosti experts in the electronics market.
“It’s one thing for an American company to officially stop deliveries to Russia on its own initiative, and it’s another thing entirely if the delivery is banned by sanctions,” said Mikhail Burmistrov, head of Infoline Analytics.
According to Ivan Timofeev, program director of the Russian Council of International Relations, it was possible to import goods into Russia, which previously suffered from boycotts of companies, through parallel imports, now given the ability of the United States to initiate criminal prosecution. Parallel importing becomes a much riskier activity as it violates sanctions.
Denis Kuskov, head of Telecom Daily, announced that the export restriction will affect all smartphones manufactured in the United States. The specialist is sure that in addition to the iPhone, it will also apply to the import of Samsung and Google devices.
Burmistrov did not exclude that large Russian retail chains will completely refuse to sell Apple equipment, as it is fraught with secondary sanctions. He concluded that the devices could “turn into bricks” after purchase and that the seller would have to return the money when the buyer brought them back.
It was previously reported that iPhone deliveries will be made from India to Russia in 2022, following parallel imports. doubledUp to 165 thousand devices.