Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) utilising or (b) amending the provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act 1939 to designate Russia as an enemy for the purposes of that Act.

The Trading with the Enemy Act 1939 can only be used in relation to countries that are at war with the UK. The UK is not at war with Russia, so we cannot use the Act. The UK has implemented extensive sanctions against Russia, which already significantly restrict trade and other financial dealings with Russia. We have sanctioned 2,300 individuals from Russia, and our sanctions have deprived Russia of $450 billion in revenue since February 2022. We, along with international partners, have excluded Russia from the SWIFT system, which stopped Russian banks from conducting financial transactions worldwide in a fast and efficient manner. Russian imports into the UK have fallen by more than 98 per cent compared to pre-invasion levels, and UK exports to Russia are down by more than 80 per cent.