EU wants to temporarily lift sanctions against Chinese company that assists Russia – Bloomberg

The European Commission plans to propose temporarily lifting sanctions against a Chinese semiconductor supplier after European automakers warned of imminent supply chain chaos if the restrictions remain in place.

According to Ukrinform, Bloomberg reported this in an article, citing informed sources.

According to the sources, the European Commission may propose this exemption for the Chinese company as early as this week.

Such a move would require approval from all 27 EU member states.

It is noted that the Chinese semiconductor company had been included in the EU's 20th sanctions package against Moscow.

The company had allegedly supplied Russia with dual-use goods or weapons systems.

According to the sources, European automakers lobbied the EU to postpone sanctions against the company, arguing that they had not had enough time to diversify their supply chains and that the measures could exhaust inventories within weeks.

Read also: Ukraine urges EU to stop re-export schemes used to circumvent sanctions on Russia

The EU automotive industry already experienced serious supply disruptions late last year following a dispute between the Dutch government and the Chinese chipmaker Nexperia.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian President's Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, stated that the sharp increase in exports of certain goods from the EU to Central Asian and Caucasus countries points to systematic re-export of products to Russia. In this context, Ukraine is urging the EU to more actively apply mechanisms to counter sanctions circumvention.

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