The boss of construction equipment maker JCB has hit out at European Union and US sanctions against Russia, saying that they may result in the loss of British jobs.
Sir Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, told the UK’s Telegraph newspaper that it was "absurd" that his company, a major exporter to Russia would be hurt by sanctions "coming out of Brussels".
His comments come days after EU governments decided to impose further economic sanctions against Russia after the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine last month.
The sanctions are aimed at Russia’s oil industry, defence, dual-use goods and sensitive technologies.
"Russia is a very important market for JCB and has been for more than 30 years," Bamford said.Â
"We ship both machines and spare parts to Russia and are the market leader for construction equipment in the country. If sanctions restrict sales of machines and spare parts, there will be obviously be a major impact on JCB, which could put hundreds of British jobs at risk."
He added: "It seems absurd that a leading UK exporter, successfully selling machinery to construction companies and farmers in Russia, could be affected so dramatically by EU sanctions coming out of Brussels."
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it is very sad that Bamford chooses to blame ‘Brussels’ for the economic sanctions that have been imposed on Russia. The real question is whether such sanctions are a logical way for the EC to express its concerns about the postition the Russian Government has taken vis-a-vis the Ukraine situation. If sanctions are to be the collective political response, then it is clear that it will have an impact on both sides of the equation. Bamford seems to have over-looked that the British Government is a supporter of these measures; had it wished it could have adopted a similar position to that of the French government – that current contracts (the sale of warships) will go ahead but there will be no new contracts.