The Ministry of Economy of Taiwan has announced a complete cessation of machine tool supplies to Russia due to stricter export control rules. These measures were taken after a series of investigations into such supplies were published in the media.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan on Friday, November 1, announced
about the complete cessation of supplies of machine tools that can be used in military enterprises to Russia. Export control rules were tightened after a series of investigations into such supplies were published in the media.
In particular, the fine for the initial violation of the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus was significantly increased to NT$1 million (approximately USD 31,100). In addition, the Ministry of Economy reported that it is conducting “active explanatory work” with manufacturers, urging them to comply with the law and control the final flow of products.
According to the ministry, this has already yielded results, and the volume of machine tool exports from Taiwan to Russia has “dropped to zero.”
In January of this year, the Russian edition of The Insider and the Taiwanese edition of The Reporter published a joint investigation,
which stated that Taiwan, despite the pro-Ukrainian position of the authorities, had become the main supplier of metalworking machines for the Russian military-industrial complex. The publication pointed out that these exports go through third countries such as Turkey. Already in February, Taipei imposed sanctions on several Russian companies that were mentioned in the article.)
In July, a new investigation was published by
The Insider reported that the Taiwanese company Giant Force intends to circumvent the restrictions by supplying Russia with an indispensable device for testing the heat-resistant coating of missile bodies – a “salt fog chamber”. According to the newspaper, this scheme involved a Chinese plant of a Taiwanese company, a Malaysian transportation company, and a Kyrgyz bank. As a result, the deliveries were disrupted due to the vigilance of banks, in particular Chinese banks, which feared sanctions for exporting dual-use goods, The Insider writes.
The supply of Taiwanese machine tools to Russia was also mentioned in reports by the British Royal United Kingdom’s Joint Institute for Defense Studies and the Open Source Center, a US government center that analyzes open-source information for US intelligence agencies.
In 2023, Russia bypassed sanctions and received more than 300 automated machines from German manufacturers, according to an investigation by the German television company SWR, which analyzed customs documents, as well as photos and videos. According to the report, German CNC machines are actively used by companies that supply the Russian army with engines and aircraft parts, including KAMAZ, NIR, and Industrial Solutions.
As the journalists found out, the Russian military-industrial complex uses machines from more than 30 German manufacturers, including Heller. According to SWR, in two-thirds of cases, equipment from Germany is delivered to Russia through intermediaries in Turkey.
German companies told SWR that they comply with sanctions against Moscow and do not know how their machines ended up in Russia. “Sanctions circumvention is an extremely lucrative business. As a rule, there is a person in a third country who will be well paid for this,” explained sanctions expert Benjamin Hilgenstock of the Kyiv School of Economics. He believes that German companies do not always know where their products are shipped to, but they “could definitely find out if they tried.” The expert called on the German government to tighten export regulations.
Source: https://www.dw.com/ru/tajvan-zaavil-o-polnom-prekrasenii-postavok-stankov-v-rossiu/a-70672790
