Lithuania’s Economy Ministry will propose to the government to impose a one-year ban on the transit of dual-purpose goods as they may be used in the war against Ukraine.
Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė says there has been a disproportionate increase in the transit of such goods through Lithuania to some third countries, which is why they are believed to be moving to Russia.
“We have been collecting information for some time now on the transit through Lithuania of various sensitive goods made outside Lithuania and traveling through Lithuania to some distant countries. These goods are traveling overland through Belarus and Russia, and we are concerned about the significant increase in the flows of certain sensitive goods. We have evidence that some of these sensitive goods could be used in the war in Ukraine and end up in the war zone,” the minister told reporters on Friday.
“Some of these goods are not sanctioned, some are sanctioned. The list is extensive but it mostly includes electronics,” she said.
According to Lithuania’s State Data Agency, exports of monitors and projectors to Kyrgyzstan increased by 3,684 percent and to Kazakhstan went up by 753 percent in 2022, compared to 2020, and exports of automated data processing machines to Georgia jumped by 1,882 percent.
Armonaitė says the proposal is to restrict the shipment of 65 commodity codes, adding, however, that the list may change.
“Some of the dual-use and potentially dual-use goods can be used both in household appliances and in armaments, and what the data from our services shows is that these goods, which we have already identified, the 65 codes, are also being used on the battlefield,” the minister said.
Exports of goods made by Lithuanian producers to eastern markets account for only 7 percent of total exports, Armonaitė said, and exports of prohibited goods are even lower.
To make the transit ban effective, it should be joined by other countries bordering Russia, Armonaitė added: Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Norway.
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