{"id":89956,"date":"2024-06-11T11:32:10","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T08:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/89956\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"trade-war-between-minsk-vilnius","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/89956\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade war between Minsk, Vilnius"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By<\/em> Ale\u015b Hudzija<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos of discarded snacks left at the Belarusian-Lithuanian border were reposted by many independent media. The restrictions have been eased, still, ordinary Belarusians are on the receiving end.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n (Motolko Pomogi)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On June 3, Vilnius imposed a ban on the import of agricultural products and animal feed from Belarus. More than 2,800 goods, including live animals, fish, milk, honey, tobacco and alcohol, are subject to the restrictions.

The measure affected not only businesses but also Belarusian travelers, who already had to go through the long hassle of obtaining visas and standing for hours at the border.

The new restrictions come in response to similar sanctions imposed by Minsk a few weeks earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political and economic tensions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lithuania’s new restrictions are just an element of a complex system of sanctions introduced by the two countries.

In May, Belarus expanded the list of goods banned for import and sale. The move targets all kinds of drinking water as well as several groups of goods produced in Czechia, Poland and the Baltic states. These include beer, hygiene and skincare products, deodorants, bedding, carpets, tableware, varnishes, paints and others, according to amended Directive No 700 adopted in late 2021 in response to Western sanctions against Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government linked the move to Latvia\u2019s ban on imports of food from Belarus, Lithuania\u2019s one-year ban on agricultural imports as well as higher duties on Belarusian agricultural products proposed by five countries at the European Union level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In mid-March, Belarus banned imports of condensed milk products, coffee, juices, vinegar, fruit, nuts, tights and socks from Lithuania after Vilnius closed two checkpoints on its shared border with Belarus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, Minsk took similar measures against Latvia after it had closed the Silene checkpoint in September 2023.The ban targeted the so-called unfriendly countries, including Lithuania. These measures, as well as earlier restrictions, were imposed by Minsk in response to Vilnius’ decision to close checkpoints at the border with Belarus.

In fact, the countries have exchanged sanctions and counter-sanctions for several years already after Vilnius banned the transit of Belarusian potash through the port of Klaipeda to align its policy with US sanctions against the Belarusian potash giant Bie\u0142aruskalij.

Relations between Minsk and Vilnius have become a tangle of political, social and economic restrictions, which are so closely intertwined that it is impossible to consider them separately.

The seizure of sandwiches and water from Belarusians at the border shows what happens when bureaucrats implement new restrictions in a short period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond doubt, the measure was ridiculous. Opposition leader \u0160viat\u0142ana Cichano\u016dskaja persuaded the Lithuanian government to ease the ban for travelers. On June 5, the Lithuanian Customs Service reported that the import ban does not apply to goods in transit or goods intended for personal consumption during the trip in opened packaging.

Cichano\u016dskaja demonstrated her ability to defend the interests of compatriots in a crisis, while officials in Minsk have neither the tools nor the will to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mongolia foothold amid hostility with neighbors<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The current round of sanctions comes shortly after Lithuania\u2019s presidential election, in the run-up to parliamentary election scheduled for October, as well as during the European Parliament election. During election cycles, politicians tend to take hasty and tough measures, hoping to win over voters.

The restrictions introduced by Lithuania on June 3 apply to goods whose deliveries from Belarus amounted to about \u20ac100 million last year, with oilcake and rapeseed oil being the top selling items.

Since the new sub-sanctioned goods account for a larger proportion of Belarusian exports compared to their share of Lithuanian imports, Belarus may be hit harder.

Volume of Lithuanian imports of goods from Belarus targeted by sanctions, \u20ac \u2019000
<\/strong>Rapeseed oil, vegetable oilcake, fruit and nuts, soy beans oilcake, other vegetables, vegetable oil, residue of starch production, soy beans oil, ethanol, animal, vegetable or microbial fats and oils, beer, other goods<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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