Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to take steps to support UK businesses that are reliant on imported goods from Belarus and are at risk of insolvency as a result of the additional 35 per cent tariff on those goods.

As part of our response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Lukashenko regime is being made to feel the economic consequences for its support for Putin. The UK is working with our international partners to prevent those who fail to respect the rules-based international order from reaping its benefits.

To that end, on 15 March, the government announced an additional 35 per cent tariff on certain goods of Russian and Belarusian origin. The decision to include Belarus in scope of this measure is to prevent circumvention of Russian-origin goods, and is in line with the evolving sanctions position.

When designing this policy, the government considered the sectoral impacts on the UK economy alongside our wider objectives. To help businesses adjust, the Department for International Trade has exempted goods that had left Belarus or Russia before the legislation entered into force on 25 March 2022. If UK businesses have any questions about trading with Ukraine, Russia or Belarus they can contact the government's Export Support Service.

We will continue to keep these measures under review.