EU export sanctions and Finland’s trade with Russia

The EU has imposed extensive export sanctions against Russia. The sanctions have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland determines in specific cases which goods are subject to the sanctions. Finnish Customs has made an assessment, based on the 2021 data, of the number of businesses exporting goods to Russia as well as of the breakdown of the impact of the export sanctions by various main headings. It is a rough assessment, because the Regulation does not in all respects provide exact commodity codes for the products subject to the export ban. When more specific information is available, the details in this impact assessment may also change. The results are not directly applicable to the expected exports in 2022, because the assumption is that the exports would be at the same level in 2022 as the year before.

In 2021, there were 2 200 Finnish businesses exporting goods to Russia, and their share of Finland’s exports to Russia was 88 per cent. The rest were businesses registered in some other EU Member State. Around 500 businesses operating with a Finnish Business ID were exporting goods under commodity codes subject to the new sanctions, which was 23 percent of the Finnish businesses exporting goods to Russia.

Exports to Russia of goods subject to EU export sanctions by goods group

According to the assessment by Finnish Customs, the value of exports to Russia of goods subject to the new export sanctions imposed by the EU amounted to around 250 million euros in 2021. Of Finland’s total goods exports to Russia, the share of the value of these goods was 6.9 per cent. Regarding these exports, businesses operating with a Finnish Business ID had a share of around 200 million euros of the value of exports.

According to the assessment by Finnish Customs, the export sanctions partially cover the following CN chapters: machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical machinery and equipment; vehicles; instruments and apparatus as well as clocks and watches; but that they completely cover the chapters aircraft and spacecraft as well as ships, boats and floating structures. The export ban also covers parts classified under these chapters, but passenger cars (CN 8703) are not subject to the sanctions.

According to the estimate by Finnish Customs, regarding the chapter machinery and mechanical appliances, the value of exports to Russia concerning the sanctioned commodity codes was around 148 million euros last year, whereas the value of exports to Russia concerning the whole chapter was 845 million euros. Of the total exports subject to the sanctions, the share of the chapter was 61.4 per cent. Regarding the chapter electrical machinery and equipment, the value of exports concerning the sanctioned commodity codes was approximately 49 million euros, whereas the value of exports to Russia concerning the whole chapter was 237 million euros. Of the exports subject to the sanctions, the share of the chapter was 20.2 per cent. Of the exports subject to the sanctions, the share of vehicles was 6.4 per cent and the share of instruments and apparatus 9.8 per cent. Last year, the total value of exports to Russia of aircraft and their parts as well as of ships only amounted to 19 million euros, so the export sanctions would have a lesser impact, assuming that the exports would be at the same level in 2022.

Figure 1. Assessment of the breakdown of the export sanctions at CN2 level based on the 2021 data.

Finland’s trade in goods with Russia in 2021

In 2021, the value of Finland’s goods exports amounted to 68.8 billion euros, of which the value of exports to Russia amounted to 3.7 billion euros. Of the total goods exports, the share of exports to Russia was 5.4 per cent. The total value of Finland’s goods imports in the same period amounted to 72.7 billion euros, of which the value of imports from Russia amounted to 8.6 billion euros. Of the total goods imports, the share of imports from Russia was 11.9 percent.

According to the BEC classification, the share of industrial supplies of Finland’s exports to Russia was 45.5 percent, and the value of exports in this group grew by 16.5 per cent last year. The share of capital goods was 31.3 per cent, and the value of exports of these goods increased by 26.6 per cent. The share of processed fuels and lubricants was 8.9 per cent (+39.4%) and the share of transport equipment 8.2 per cent (+30.7%). The share of consumer goods was only 4.0 per cent, and the value of exports of these goods grew by 21.1 per cent. The value of exports of food and beverages grew by 16.1 per cent, and their share of the total goods exports to Russia was 2.2 per cent.

Figure 2. The shares of the main goods groups of the total goods exports to Russia in 2021 (BEC)

Regarding Finland’s imports from Russia in 2021, the share of primary fuels and lubricants was 58.2 per cent of the total goods imports from Russia. The value of imports grew by 54.6 per cent. The share of industrial supplies was 39.1 per cent, and the value of imports of the goods group grew by 37.7 per cent. The share of transport equipment was 1.4 per cent of the imports from Russia, and the value of imports increased by 16.8 per cent. Regarding the value of imports, the shares of the other main goods groups according to the BEC classification were less than one per cent.

Figure 3. The shares of the main goods groups of the total goods imports from Russia in 2021 (BEC)