Sanctions are a continuous process that develops according to certain rules.
January 2024
Regarding the various sanctions ever imposed on anything (on anyone) by Western governments and various international organizations and associations, there are always basically two radically opposite opinions. Some people claim that they don’t work and, simply speaking, you can’t give a damn about them. Other people usually oppose the first with the same extremeness, that sanctions are destructive and companies and countries subject to sanctions will inevitably and quickly die. In the logical at first glance reasoning of both groups fiercely opposing each other, of course, there are elements of truth, but what is certain is that the truth itself lies somewhere in the middle and does not seem to be a completely unambiguous and static definition.
To understand the truth, it is necessary to clearly understand that sanctions are not an instant event, but a continuous process that will continue for many years, and most likely decades.
Sanctions go through several stages before they work in full force, so at the first moment it seems, for example, that they do not work or will not work. Then, at a certain stage, it seems that everything is lost and the sanctioned companies are inevitably facing collapse. And only after some time does a real and objective picture of what is happening emerge.
Briefly, the stages of the sanctions process can be characterized as follows:
- process of discussion and adoption of sanctions
- process of imposing sanctions
- process of clarifying sanctions
- process of monitoring compliance with sanctions
Of these four smaller processes-parts, one large sanctions process, only the first point, the process of discussing and adopting sanctions, has clear boundaries and even dates. The next three processes do not have clear time boundaries, smoothly flow into one another and often run parallel to each other.
Therefore, when considering the actions of sanctions and counteraction to them, as well as measures and methods of work during the period of sanctions, it is important not to fall into the erroneous idea of the static nature of the sanctions process, which is often done by the two groups described above, but to have a clear idea at which stage of the above described a specific sanctions process and in what direction the situation within this process will develop.
In order not to harm your business (and often just save it) and to predict the movement of a specific sanctions process as accurately as possible, it is necessary to analyze many factors without haste and fuss, based on knowledge of the Western political-economic model. It is necessary to take into account many economic, political, and often mental factors influencing certain decisions. Haste and fuss in decision-making are of course harmful, but on the other hand, slowness in decision-making (I would say a certain slackness) on how to work under the conditions of a particular sanctions process can also lead to dire consequences for the company and its owners. You must try to go at least half a step ahead of the sanctions process and always be ready for changes.
It can be said without exaggeration that if your team does not have specialists with multi-faceted knowledge and many years of experience, how does the decision-making system function in Western markets and in the Western economic and political model and if your specialists do not understand the mentality of people and the internal logic of the structure of the systems that make sanction decisions, then you will not be able to draw the right conclusions from the ongoing sanction events and, accordingly, you will not be able, no matter how bitter it may sound, to build the correct strategy for doing business in the conditions of a specific sanction process.
What we can do for you and your business:
We help carry out detailed verification of goods, services, individuals and legal entities in all sanctions databases around the world. (USA, EU, Canada, UK, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Norway, Switzerland and many other countries and jurisdictions.)
- assistance in expanding and transferring your business to the jurisdictions of the European Union and North America
- creation of symbiotic long-term business structures from companies from different jurisdictions (friendly and unfriendly)
- assistance in opening companies in the European Union
- assistance in opening companies in North America
- consultations on sanctions already introduced and planned for introduction
- consultations on working with sanctioned goods
-consultations on working with sanctioned companies and individuals
- assistance in making payments and other financial transactions
- assistance in managing business and assets in friendly and unfriendly jurisdictions
- export-import operations of various types
- obtaining various licenses
- obtaining temporary permits to work with sanctioned companies, sanctioned goods and services
- assistance in retaining your counterparties (clients and suppliers) with whom you work in Western markets
- necessary contacts in various areas of business, administrative, legal, banking, financial and other contacts
- investments
About the author.
Dmitry Belik, began his work and business career in the former USSR, built several successful businesses during the years of the cooperative movement and the beginning of perestroika, then worked for almost thirty years in various mid- and high-level managerial positions in Western companies, where he managed representative offices of corporations in Russia, countries of the former USSR and Eastern Europe. Among the places of work were such positions as deputy head of the representative office of Newbridge Networks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbridge_Networks), head of the representative office of Wesley Clover International (https://www.wesleyclover.com/), head of the representative office and CEO of the joint venture managing the Mitel Networks business in Russia, the countries of the former USSR and Eastern Europe (https://www.mitel.com/)