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Caviar and Diamonds Are Targeted in New U.K. Sanctions on Russia

Tins of caviar products sit on display at a food stall in the central market in Riga, Latvia, on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017. In 2016 the country's growth was forecast at double the pace of the euro area while its budget deficit was seen at 1.3 percent of gross domestic product, compared with a 3 percent shortfall for Poland, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Russia’s luxury goods industry is the latest to be targeted under new U.K. sanctions announced on Thursday, with the government slapping import bans on caviar and other high-end wares.

Silver and wood products from Russia will also be prohibited and tariffs will be increased by 35 percentage points on 130 million pounds ($170 million) worth of diamonds and other products, including some from Belarus, according to a government statement. That takes the total value of Russian goods affected to more than one billion pounds.

The U.K.’s measures are intended “to inflict maximum damage” to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime, “reducing the resources and funds he needs to carry out this illegal war,” International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said.

Britain has already imposed its broadest set of sanctions ever on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is working with other Group of Seven nations and the European Union to coordinate regular sets of new sanctions and trade restrictions, while enforcing measures implemented so far.

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