Sectoral sanctions on Belshina products continue to apply
The EU Court of Justice has lifted the blocking sanctions on Belshina OJSC, based on its decision.
What does this mean and should we be concerned?
“The removal of EU blocking sanctions from the company does not fundamentally change the overall sanctions mechanism regarding the Lukashenko regime. Despite the lifting of sanctions on the enterprise itself, Belshina OJSC's products, particularly rubber tires (HS code 4011), remain subject to EU sectoral sanctions,” Pavel Latushka stated. In other words, the sanctions have been removed from the company as an entity, but not from its products.
Belshina OJSC is still under sanctions from the USA, Japan, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
It is definitely surprising that the EU Council did not provide the Court of Justice with “sufficient concrete evidence to support the allegation that the company dismissed employees who participated in protests and strikes following the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus”.
However, the court decision itself does not deny the occurrence of repression, contrary to how some sources interpret it. Unfortunately, the defendant (EU Council) simply couldn't provide evidence capable of confirming the content of press articles regarding employee dismissals at Belshina OJSC or refute the information presented in the dismissal acts by the company's management.