It is impossible to say that Russia's possible loss of the ammunition market in the form of the United States is critical for the Russian side, and there are also no grounds for mass state support. This was stated to Izvestia by lawyer, mediator Yuri Kapshtyk, commenting on the relevant media reports on Tuesday, October 12.
The fact that Moscow risks losing the largest market for cartridges in the form of the United States, RBC wrote earlier in the day. The forecast is related to additional sanctions imposed by Washington on August 20 regarding the import of certain types of Russian firearms. The sanctions came into force on September 7 and will be in effect for at least a year. They restrict the "permanent import" of small arms and ammunition to the United States from Russia by refusing to grant new licenses to American importers to import these products.
Kapshtyk said that basically all Russian factories producing cartridges work independently and have a share in the sale of their products through the state defense order. Its size does not affect the efficiency of the enterprise. This is due to the fact that the United States is not the only market for ammunition for Russia. Since the beginning of 2014, after the introduction of a ban on the export of Russian cartridges, Moscow has found new markets. In addition, through third countries, through other affiliated companies, this sale will continue, the mediator added.
"Yes, the share [of production] will decrease, but it will not become critical, because there are domestic orders — for the Ministry of Defense, for contracts with other countries, other regions of the world," the lawyer said.
If, according to Kapshtyk, the introduction of restrictions violates contractual relations under existing contracts, there will be grounds to file counterclaims in connection with the restriction of exports, to demand compensation for losses due to loss of profit. In this case, the issue will move to the legal plane, he said.
Production depends on raw materials, and export revenue is calculated relative to the company's performance indicators, the lawyer added. Therefore, a reduction in the volume of output is possible as a measure to regulate internal production algorithms.
The mediator stressed that if the cartridges were not bought today, the company will not stand up, however, gross revenue may decrease due to restrictions on export operations, but this is a renewable and recoverable process.
