Georgia blocks smuggling of cars from the US and Europe to Russia
The European Union has banned the supply of cars with an engine capacity of more than 1.9 liters, as well as all electric cars and hybrids to Russia
The Georgian authorities have imposed restrictions on the export and re-export of cars made in the United States to Russia. The ban came into effect on August 1, according to the Revenue Service of the Georgian Ministry of Finance.
Similar measures will be introduced for cars imported from Europe. The restrictions will come into effect on September 26, as stipulated by the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, the agency added.
On June 23, the European Union banned the supply of cars with an engine capacity of more than 1.9 liters, as well as all electric cars and hybrids to Russia. This applies to both new and used cars. Previously, only cars worth more than 50 thousand euros were subject to the ban.
According to the National Statistics Service, in January-June 2023, Georgia exported more than 3,700 passenger cars to Russia for a total of more than $52 million.
The Minister of Economy of Georgia Levan Davitashvili said that the trade in cars is an important source of income for the country. The republic itself does not produce such products, but actively imports them.
At the beginning of 2023, Georgia more than tripled its supplies of passenger cars to Russia and several times to the EAEU countries: Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. In total, according to official statistics, in January-February, re-exports reached a ten-year high of 13,500 cars worth $236.8 million.
Experts noted that in fact, most of these cars end up in Russia, while Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan are used to import cars subject to sanctions.
David Avalishvili, an analyst at the independent Nation.ge agency, explained that by sending such cars to third countries, Georgia avoids violating Western sanctions.
Background. As a reminder, Kyrgyzstan's banks have begun to refuse to conduct transactions involving Russians.
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