Jaguar Land Rover luxury vehicles are among British made luxury goods no longer exported to Russia (Wikipedia Commons) 

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLMATIC  TIMES

The British government has banned  luxury goods exports to Russia  as well as imposing new tariffs on Russian imports, including vodka. The UK ban will also hit hundreds of key products with new import tariffs that represent a 35 percentage point hike on current rates.  The UK said the new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian vodka is one of the iconic products affected by the tariff increases, while the export ban will likely affect luxury vehicles, high-end fashion and works of art, according to the UK government. 

“The measures will cause maximum harm to Putin’s war machine while minimising the impact on UK businesses as G7 leaders unite to unleash a fresh wave of economic sanctions on Moscow. The export ban will come into force shortly and will make sure oligarchs and other members of the elite, who have grown rich under President Putin’s reign and support his illegal invasion, are deprived of access to luxury goods.”

-UK government statement

Stolichnaya (Russian: Столичная, also known as Stoli) is a Russian vodka made of wheat and rye grain (Wikipedia Commons)

Denying Russia access to Most Favoured Nation tariff treatment for key imports and applying additional tariffs will restrict Russian exports to the UK, the government said. 

“Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rules-based international system it does not respect. These tariffs build on the UK’s existing work to starve Russia’s access to international finance, sanction Putin’s cronies and exert maximum economic pressure on his regime. These new measures will further tighten the growing economic pressure on Russia and ensure the UK acts in line with sanctions imposed by our allies.”

-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said