Shop Suspended - Due to the expanding business restrictions and Sanctions in your Region !!!

[VintagePopUpStore]

My friends shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnteBellumTreasure?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
was suspended on 12 December 2023.
After appeal, the following email was received:
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Thanks for contacting Etsy Support.
Due to the expanding business restrictions and sanctions in your region, we have suspended your Etsy shop and you no longer have access to Etsy.com.
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Can somebody from Etsy support answer what is this?
Shop has been working since 2015 and has always been in the European Union, Latvia. Shop sells vintage jewelry and had a successful business here with thousands of customers and almost all 5 star reviews for 9 years now.
Any help is appreciated and thank you in advance.

[Vintorious]

Etsy has made the determination that your friend is located in a restricted area. There really isn't anything that other sellers can do to help your friend. Etsy may or may not see this post: they don't proactively seek out posts to respond to.

[PlatypusDream]

"Can somebody from Etsy support answer what is this?"

Etsy support is not here. We are only other sellers, and the very occasional Admin.

Are they in a US sanctioned area?

Where they selling old USSR or Russian items?

The email from Etsy is very clear - the shop is done.

I wish them good luck on another platform.

[Vintorious]

Etsy was clear that the shop was suspended because of the location. My guess is that the shop was using a VPN to try to hide their actual location, and got caught. 

[VintagePopUpStore]

Shop has always been located in Latvia, European-union

[VintagePopUpStore]

Shop has always been located in Latvia, European-union

[JDTotesnDolls]

She might want to contact again through the appeal to say that Latvia is not a sanctioned country.  Latvia is not sanctioned by the US.  And Latvia is part of the EU and is the promoter of sanctions against Russia.  

I would try to see if she can get more information about her country and this business of sanctions.  

If it is because she is in Latvia then all shops based in Latvia should be closed.

Now if she had any sanctioned items from Russia, Iran, North Korea or any others that the US sanctions that could be the reason.  In that case she should acknowledge her lack of information and offer a plan to not have any sanctioned items in her shop.

However if she was warned before about having items from sanctioned countries then the final warning may be it for her being on Etsy.   

[TimeSpanTreasures]

And since @VintagePopUpStore  is located in Latvia, it doesn't make sense that their friend's shop was suspended because of "expanding business restrictions and sanctions in your region".

I can't find any information on this.

Either Etsy made a mistake, or there is something else going on.

If it's a mistake, I hope the shop can appeal and get their shop re-opened.

[JMOldeVintage]

@VintagePopUpStore  - This is an earlier thread you'd started: 
https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/Etsy-Shop-Suspension-and-No-response-to-Appeals/m-p/1...

Again, there is the USSR which was not just Russia & let's say "disbanded" about 1992.
There is Russia today. There are sanctions on Russia - have been for almost 2 years now.

If your friend had been having listings deactivated because they mentioned "made in the USSR" &/or this is how the item was marked, then imo Etsy needed a short recap on what the USSR was. No, it wasn't just the country of Russia.
If this was the case, yes, you'd think this could all be straightened out. That Etsy could have flat out said they considered the USSR "Russia" & then your friend could have figured out what to do.
But if your friend did not try & get the situation squared away, then we have their current shop closure.

However, no matter how old an item was, if anywhere physically on the item &/or in the listing "made in Russia" was stamped on the item or they mentioned it in their title, tags, description, then the current sanctions against Russia would hold. 
If they had been receiving prior notices from Etsy that their listings were being deactivated due to listing "prohibited items" and ignored those messages, sadly this is the outcome.

Also, I was surprised how may shop owners in the Baltic nations & other areas had bank accounts in Russian banks & had to scramble to change things when the sanctions were first enacted. But I'd think that if that were your friend's issue & they'd never updated their banking info, they would have been shut down ages ago. 
And goodness gracious, as a member of the EU since the early 2000's I'd hope Etsy doesn't consider the country off limits. 

[VintagePopUpStore]

shop appealed and done everything Etsy support asked, removed vintage USSR listings, after that got mesage:
-----
After you've removed these listings from your shop, please let me know. If it looks like there are no other outstanding issues, I can see about restoring your selling privileges.
Best,
Serge
Etsy Trust & Safety
-----
and after shop replying to this email Etsy Support then responded with this email ...!!!!
Due to the expanding business restrictions and sanctions in your region, we have suspended your Etsy shop and you no longer have access to Etsy.com.

[MadeMusings]

Yes ditto what everyone is saying here. The US has imposed sanctions on Latvia due to their relations with Russia and what is happening in Ukraine. Etsy has to comply with US trade laws. The other day, I had a customer from Latvia try to order something from me. Unfortunately I had to cancel the order because there wasn’t even a way for me to ship the order - as no carrier from the US is allowed to ship there. I’m sure it goes the other way too, US is not allowed to accept shipments from Latvia.  I had wondered why Etsy just didn’t automatically cancel the order but seems like they’re taking measures to do so for inbound + outbound orders?

[Arcalliq]

???

everyone is saying the exact opposite - there no US sanctions against Latvia.

[Vintorious]

The US hasn't imposed sanctions on Latvia. It has, however, sanctioned banks that have been hiding illegal transactions on behalf of Russian interests in Crimea. OFAC Settlement with Swedbank Latvia 

[MadeMusings]

Shoot - my bad. Disregard my message then. It was really confusing  because when I tried to ship to Latvia, my shipping carrier mentioned sanctions so that’s where I got my info from. Hopefully that’s no longer the case

[Vintorious]

Which shipper was it that said they won't ship to Latvia? (Curious, because most still do.)

[JMOldeVintage]

This from USPS on shipping to Latvia: https://pe.usps.com/text/imm/il_021.htm#:~:text=Coins%3B%20banknotes%3B%20currency%20notes%2C,Expres....

I would definitely urge shop owners to read the list of prohibited items - it's surprising what is prohibited.

That said, a google search had a few returns that mentioned the USA, Latvia & Swedbank. But I couldn't find anything on sanctions such as those imposed on Russia (& other countries)

[VintagePopUpStore]

Currently there are more than 20K “USSR Jewelery” items in etsy search. 

[JMOldeVintage]

Is it possible that your friend banks with Swedbank? I'm not familiar with the bank or the details on the sanctions.
But when I reread your other thread, I'm not sure if the USSR jewelry was the culprit. Unless Etsy had specifically stated that as the reason.
Could Etsy have requested updated bank info. or say that your friend needed to change banks? Or something along that vein? 

[VintagePopUpStore]

No she is not using Swedbank. It was first because of having USSR in the listing name

[JMOldeVintage]

Then tbh I'm at a loss & have no idea what to say. I don't know how Etsy would react to her appealing again &/or asking for an explanation of their "the expanding business restrictions and sanctions in your region".

What I would suggest is that your friend look for other venues where she can list her items for sale. It's always best to not rely on one marketplace. 

[Vintorious]

Listings that mentioned Russia may have been the first issue, but location is the second. Your friend may want to consider other platforms, since Etsy has already denied the appeal.  There is nothing sellers in this forum can do to help them. 

[cindylouwho2]

I know of a similar story and will contact that seller to see if I can reveal any details to help your friend.  It took them a few weeks to get it fixed. 

I'd keep harassing Etsy for a real answer. 

[cindylouwho2]

@VintagePopUpStore UPDATE: the other seller gave me permission to provide a bit more detail about their similar situation.

They had an item removed for mentioning a prohibited country, then Etsy suspended them - for being in a different prohibited country. Problem is, the seller was not in any of the countries involved. 

Their first appeal was rejected, but they did get reopened a few weeks later. So be persistent.