MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. EU sanctions on iron and steel products made with Russian resources may create problems for end consumers in Europe, experts questioned by TASS say.
Earlier today, the EU introduced its 11th package of anti-Russian sanctions and banned imports of iron and steel from any countries if Russian resources were used to make them.
"Now, with its 11th sanctions package, the EU is trying to choke off other channels, through which Russian steel can go to Europe as re-exports or after being converted into metal products. This will have little influence on global markets, while Russian steelmakers will have less freedom for exports, because the new ban will affect supplies of Russian steel to the EU market through third countries," Finam analyst Aleksey Kalachev said.
It is impossible to say exactly which countries and companies will be most affected by the ban, but this could be Turkey and countries from the CIS first of all, the analyst noted.
In the current situation, "companies supplying metals to EU countries must prove that input materials used for processing in a third country were not delivered from Russia," Boris Krasnozhenov from Alfa-Bank said. However, it will be difficult to assess how these measures will be implemented in practice. "If foreign traders are selling Russian steel, it will be fairly challenging to prove the origin of the metal. If EU authorities create further obstacles for imports of steel to the European market, this will only create more problems for end consumers," the expert added.