VILNIUS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania's new government will seek to soften the ban on export of dual-use goods put in place by the previous cabinet, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported on Friday.
At a press conference on Friday, Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Lukas Savickas noted that some of the expanded measures had been taken without consulting businesses first.
"I have not heard from our business partners that anything has been negotiated with any of the associations present at the table," Savickas said.
The minister stressed that the previous sanctions would remain in place, but he added, "We hope that together with the government, we will be able to adjust the decision, to find a solution that is also effective in terms of sanctions."
Simonas Cerniauskas, director of Lithuanian Digital Technology Association Infobalt, said that too strict bans could discourage foreign companies from investing in Lithuania.
"We are not talking about limiting sanctions, we want to keep them, but it has to be done sensibly," he said.
Savickas estimated that the current restrictions would result in a loss of over 250 million euros (257 million U.S. dollars) a year in revenue for businesses.
SEB Bank economist Tadas Povilauskas wrote in a Facebook post that in the first ten months of 2024, exports from Lithuania of the sanctioned goods amounted to 720 million euros, and exports of such goods of Lithuanian origin alone amounted to 477 million euros. (1 euro = 1.03 U.S. dollar) ■
