Analysis: Britain's latest trade measures designed to punish the Kremlin for the invasion of Ukraine are largely symbolic - though they might help ordinary Russians understand how much the world disapproves of its actions
The measures were made possible when, on Friday last week, the G7 nations stripped Russia of its"most favoured nation" status, paving the way for them to hit Russian imports with higher tariffs than would normally be allowed under World Trade Organisation rules, or even ban certain Russian imports altogether.
As Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, noted:"This will hit a central sector of Russia's system, deprive it of billions of export revenues and ensure that our citizens are not subsidising Putin's war." Nor will they be able to buy such items from the EU, which is home to most of the world's top luxury brands, including Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Prada, as well as Tiffany & Co, which despite being a US brand has been owned by LVMH of France since January last year.
The British drinks giant Diageo owns the best-selling and third best-selling brands, Smirnoff Red and Ketel One, while the French drinks maker Pernod Ricard owns the second and fifth best-sellers, Absolut Blue and Absolut Vanilla.Other big global vodka brands, such as Khortytsa and Żubrówka, hail from Ukraine and Poland respectively while another of the top-selling vodka brands in the UK, Skyy, is owned by Grupo Campari of Italy.
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