Western partners show interest in restoring relations with Belarus

‘Restrictive measures in world trade: not a barrier, but new rules of the game’ – a seminar with this title was held by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for representatives of more than 100 Belarusian enterprises. This event is a kind of pilot project for the BCCI, because issues of trade restrictions are being discussed for such a wide audience for the first time.

As noted by Elena Malinovskaya, Deputy Chair of the BCCI, the topic of trade wars in the world is not new; it has been practised for quite some time. And for our country, it has become particularly relevant in recent years.

"Over the past few years, we have already gained sufficient experience and have developed an understanding of how to work in the new conditions. After some time, we see that Western partners are showing interest in restoring relations with the Republic of Belarus. How far this is possible today, how to do it, how to work with partners fr om friendly countries – these and other nuances were discussed during the seminar," said Elena Malinovskaya.

One of the key services provided by the BCCI in the current situation is sanctions compliance. Vitaly Vabishchevich, head of the BCCI's legal support and digital technologies department, told the participants about the specifics of this procedure.

He noted that sanctions are regulatory legal acts adopted by foreign countries, both individual states and associations, which hinder the work of Belarusian enterprises in foreign markets. The biggest disadvantage of restrictive measures is that they are cross-border in nature, with friendly residents refusing to interact with Belarusian residents due to the risk of secondary sanctions.

Sanctions compliance is carried out so that business representatives can assess the possible impact of sanctions on contract performance, logistics, payments and warranty obligations before entering into a contract. It is difficult for a company to understand all the regulatory documentation of Western countries on its own. It is simply a mountain of documents. For example, the export control rules in the United States are 990 pages long in small print. Given that the Chamber has delved deeply into the essence of sanctions restrictions, we have gained a certain amount of experience, which we share with companies both as part of our events and during individual consultations," emphasised Vitaly Vabishchevich.

Sergey Belyavsky, director of the law firm Economic Disputes, spoke about the practice of debt collection, recognition and enforcement of court and arbitration decisions in sanctioning jurisdictions.

"There is a stereotype that it is impossible to collect debts from counterparties in European countries. My goal is to dispel this stereotype. The practice is that foreign courts issue decisions on debt collection in favour of Belarusian counterparties and even counterparties that are directly included in sanctions lists. Therefore, there is no need to be afraid to go down this path and remember that civil law has a concept of the statute of limitations: if this is not done in a timely manner, the funds will never return to the Republic of Belarus," noted Sergei Belyavsky.

At the same time, he emphasised that there is a certain benefit to the unfavourable events that the Belarusian economy has faced. Businesses have become more careful when concluding contracts with counterparties. Whereas previously everything was done on impulse, resulting in constant legal disputes over debt collection, Belarusian businesses now carefully check their counterparties and do not enter into trade and economic relations with just anyone. As a result, there are fewer disputes.

At the same time, according to Sergei Belyavsky, given the consequences of the prospects for the enforcement of court decisions, it is necessary to carefully choose wh ere to consider these disputes. There are two options: national courts and arbitration courts. In the context of sanctions, preference should be given to arbitration, because the chances of recognition and enforcement of arbitration decisions abroad are highest – about 95%. Europe and the United States are no exception.

The seminar also addressed issues related to successful trade experience with the European Union, logistics solutions in the new environment, and approaches to organising foreign economic activity in terms of international settlements.