MOSCOW, May 4. /TASS/. The exclusion of certain computer equipment items from the parallel import list will not affect the selection of products available in Russia, as sufficient alternatives exist, the Industry and Trade Ministry told reporters.

"Analagous products excluded from the parallel import list are available from Russian manufacturers in sufficient quantities to replace products from unfriendly countries. Therefore, the exclusion of these items — computers, laptops, storage drives, servers, and storage systems — from the parallel import list will not affect the product range available on the Russian domestic market," the ministry said.

The Industry and Trade Ministry hopes that such measures will increase demand for domestic electronic products, thereby facilitating the development of the domestic electronics industry.

In November, the Industry and Trade Ministry approved further amendments to the list of goods permitted for import as part of the parallel mechanism. Some provisions of the order came into effect on the day of its publication, while others followed six months later. In particular, computers from Acer, Asus, HP, Intel, and Samsung were excluded from the list.

The Industry and Trade Ministry conducts an ongoing analysis of the parallel import list, excluding individual trademarks and entire product groups. The main criteria for exclusion from the list include continued production of localized products in Russia, shipments to retailers from existing Russian production facilities, continued supply of products to Russia by foreign copyright holders (patent holders, official distributors), the availability of similar products in Russia and their production in sufficient quantities to meet end-user demand.

The parallel import mechanism has been in effect since March 2022. It allows goods to be imported into the country without the consent of copyright holders. The list of such goods is constantly updated.