The UK government is to tighten sanctions on Russia with a ban on exports to the country of high-end luxury goods from works of art to fashion, while imposing new import tariffs on hundreds of products such as vodka.
About £900mln of goods will initially be affected by the fresh import levies, which will represent a 35 percentage point hike on current rates.
The export ban is designed to deprive oligarchs and members of Russia’s elite from access to luxury goods, the government said.
"Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rule-based international system,’’ said Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak.
"These tariffs build on the UK’s existing work to starve Russia’s access to international finance, sanction Putin’s cronies and exert maximum pressure on his regime.’’
The latest sanctions follow asset freezes and travel bans on seven oligarchs and 286 members of the Russian Duma. The UK has also provided £400mln of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, defensive weapons and civilian supplies, the government said.
Goods included in the import levies include iron, steel, fertilizers, wood, tyres, railway containers, cement, copper aluminium, antiques, fur skins and glassware.
Several luxury goods companies, including Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC (LSE:AML) and Burberry Group PLC (LSE:BRBY) have already made steps to suspend the supply of goods to Russia or temporarily close their outlets in the country.
Shares of Aston Martin traded down 6.8%, while Burberry was just 0.4% lower.
In addition, the British government announced sanctions against a further 350 Russian individuals and entities, Sky News reported.