Luxury for 300 bucks: the US lowered the threshold for the cost of luxury goods for Russia

Ivan Zubov

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce has adjusted the cost limits for items considered luxury items that can no longer be exported to Russia.

If earlier shoes or clothing that cost less than $1,000 were not considered luxury goods, now this threshold will be lowered to $300 per item, thereby tightening the export control regime for goods destined for Russia. In addition, according to this parameter, the United States will be equal to the European Union, in which the luxury threshold is set at 300 euros. But for cars of the so-called business class (BIS), this threshold is now equal to 50 thousand dollars.

As you know, America banned the export of luxury goods to Russia back in March 2022, and the list included: precious stones, silk, perfumes, electric cars, motorcycles, marine engines, alcohol, tobacco products, as well as clothes and shoes worth more than 1,000 dollars per unit. The US administration then estimated that this embargo would affect goods worth $550 million a year.

The European Union also banned the import of luxury goods into Russia that cost more than 300 euros per unit, and the ban affected perfumes, cosmetics, alcohol, cameras, smartphones and vehicles.

In addition, America has expanded the list of goods prohibited from exporting to Russia. Now there are also:

- converters based on semiconductors;

- piezoelectric crystals, with the exception of quartz;

- electric or diesel generating sets and heating radiators;

- LEDs (zener diodes and microwave diodes);

- electronic integrated circuits;

- cameras, including those for underwater photography and instant printing cameras, as well as spare parts for them.

The largest US imports to Russia potentially affected by the ban are cars (up to $939 million in 2020), cosmetics and perfumes (up to $156 million), motorcycles (up to $103 million), and alcohol ($76 million).

However, the Russian authorities, compensating for this deficit, are doing their best to encourage deliveries through "parallel imports", that is, without the permission of the manufacturer.