UK Announces New Belarus Trade Controls, Sanctions

The U.K. announced a new sanctions package against Belarus last week, including export restrictions on chemical and biological weapons-related products, certain machinery and bank notes, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announced. The new restrictions also set import bans on cement, rubber, wood and gold from Belarus and prohibit "ancillary services" for all banned goods, including technical and financial assistance.

The UK also expanded its designation criteria to allow it to "more effectively target those persons that are involved in supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine." The regulations also require social media and internet service providers to "restrict access to the websites of sanctioned Belarusian media organisations."

"This new package ratchets up the economic pressure on [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko and his regime, which actively facilitates the Russian war effort and ignores Ukraine’s territorial integrity," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. "Our support for Ukraine will remain resolute for as long as it takes, and the UK will not hesitate to introduce further measures against those who prop up [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war."