Kazakhstan closes channels for smuggling goods to Russia after US intervention

Kazakhstan, Moscow's largest trading partner in the post-Soviet space, has closed its borders to parallel imports into Russia.

Source. This was announced by the head of the association "Gruzavtotrans" Vladimir Matyagin, moscowtimes.eu reports.

"Kazakhstan is creating difficulties at the border for such products, suppliers have actually been closed to the border," Matyagin said.

The decision was made after a delegation of US officials led by Assistant Deputy Treasury Secretary Elizabeth Rosenberg visited Astana in early May. They held meetings with both government officials and top managers of private companies, during which they warned of secondary sanctions, i.e. measures for violating the sanctions regime.

"There is a growing risk for Kazakhstan, as well as for companies and banks," Rosenberg said after the visit, adding that the consequences "may arise from Russia's assistance in evading sanctions and export control measures."

Now Russian cargo carriers with parallel imports have begun to bypass Kazakhstan, Matyagin said. According to him, supplies are now going through China, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

By the end of 2022, Kazakhstan increased the supply of goods to Russia by 25% and became one of the major "hubs" for parallel imports (smuggling), the total volume of which the Russian government estimated at $20 billion.

For example, exports of washing machines to Russia amounted to almost 100 thousand units per year, although in 2021 there were no exports at all. Supplies of modern semiconductors from Kazakhstan jumped more than 300 times to $3.7 million in monetary terms.

Background. It has also been reported that the EU wants to establish ties with Kazakhstan so that it stops helping Russia circumvent sanctions.