The US imposed sanctions against MZKT and three Chinese firms

The United States has imposed sanctions against the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT) and three companies from China , the State Department said in a statement. Washington suspected the enterprises of transferring to Pakistan products used as part of the ballistic missile development program.

In addition to MZKT, the following companies were subject to sanctions:

• Xi'an Longde Technology Development Company Limitedl;
• Tianjin Creative Source International Trade Co. Ltd.;
• Granpect Co. Ltd.

All three companies are based in China.

Washington believes that these companies supplied Islamabad with “products for Pakistan’s ballistic missile program, including its long-range missile program.” They engaged in activities or transactions “that materially facilitated or created a risk of materially facilitating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or their means of delivery,” the department said.

The sanctions are being introduced in order to strengthen the non-proliferation regime of weapons of mass destruction, to which the United States is committed, the State Department noted.

The Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant specializes in the production of on-road and off-road heavy-duty vehicles, wheeled chassis with high cross-country ability and load-carrying capacity, as well as vehicles of other categories.

As of July 2019, 84% of the company's products were exported . Since December 2020, the plant has also been subject to EU sanctions.

Under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Pakistan is prohibited from possessing them. The country did not sign the document and conducted its first nuclear tests in 1998. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), as of January 2023, Pakistan had 170 nuclear warheads on various carriers.