According to a Reuters report on Thursday, Acer said it was selling monitors in Russia after publicly stating it would halt operations there because of the war between Russia and Ukraine. In the Reuters report, Acer claimed it only sold a “limited number of displays and accessories” for “civic everyday use”. In addition, Reuters reported that Acer was selling laptops in Russia after saying it would not.
On April 8, 2022, Acer, like many technology companies (see: HP, Dell, Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia, etc.), said it would no longer do business in Russia for the foreseeable future.
“Acer strictly adheres to applicable international trade laws and regulations and is closely monitoring the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Due to recent developments, Acer has decided to suspend its operations in Russia,” the company’s statement at the time said. .
Despite that, Acer reportedly continued to sell monitors to Russia, mainly through delivery services ordered by Swiss subsidiary Acer Sales International SA. Acer has never explained why it sold anything to Russia after saying it had ceased operations there, Reuters noted.
The subsidiary did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, nor did the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs told the publication that it does not comment on specific cases or companies. Acer’s Russian company told Reuters that “nothing has changed” since Acer claimed it would stop doing business in Russia.
Reuters said it reviewed “customs records from a commercial trade data provider” that showed that Acer sold at least $70.4 million worth of computer hardware to Russia “between April 8, 2022 and March 31, 2023.”
Acer reportedly did less business with Russia than before 2022. In terms of dollars and cents, business was down 71.1 percent year over year from April 8, 2022 to March 31, 2023, going from 3,735 shipments to 744. But that’s likely more than anyone who heard Acer’s statement about doing business with Russia last year would expect.
While Acer said it was shipping only a few screens and accessories for consumer use, Reuters quoted an anonymous person “familiar with the details of the shipments, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue” and reported that Acer was shipping laptops And computer monitors to Russia since the company’s April 2022 statement. Acer denied selling any laptops or desktops to Russia since making its statement.
Reuters said it could not determine where some of Acer’s products available in Russia came from or when they entered Russia, but an Acer spokesperson told Reuters that Russian importers may have received them from other countries.
IDC Russia data cited by Reuters suggests that Acer has been doing some notable business in Russia recently. In the fourth quarter of 2021, for Acer said it would pause operations in Russia, Acer reportedly accounted for 18.5 percent of computers sold in Russia, compared to 20.8 percent for HP and Dell combined, For example.
Sanctions intact, but what about Acer’s reputation?
The sales Acer made in Russia after April 2022 were made “in compliance with international sanctions,” an Acer spokesperson in Taiwan told Reuters.
“We strictly adhere to applicable international regulations and trade laws regarding exports to Russia,” they said.
The reported exports came from Switzerland, which, despite its historically neutral stance, adopted European Union sanctions against Russia in February 2022. But through Switzerland, Acer was still able to send computers to Russia until December 16, 2022. Nothing was sent after that time. , according to Reuters.
The publication reported no exports from Taipei and said Taiwan has no customs records of Acer exporting goods to Russia. If so, Acer would have violated sanctions that include electronics such as laptops and monitors, Taiwan’s economy ministry told Reuters.
But as described earlier, sanctions have not stopped people in Russia from having goods made outside the country. For example, a January 2023 report from The New York Times found data showing that “trade has increased for some of Russia’s neighbors and allies, suggesting that countries such as Turkey, China, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are stepping in to protect Russia of many of the products Western countries have tried to cut off.”
Analysts estimate that Russian imports may have already recovered to pre-war levels, or will soon, depending on their models, according to the January report.
It is not difficult to find examples of this customers already proclaiming lost respect for Acer on social media since the Reuters report came out. In a interview with a Taiwan-based TV station, corporate compliance expert John Eastwood is one of them to proceed, say Acer’s actions are “shameful” not only for Acer, but also for Taiwan, which has long faced its own potential outside threats.
