Exporting to Russia, a real logistical headache
Since the beginning of the conflict, the European Union has imposed a series of sanctions against Russia in response to its military aggression against Ukraine. Between European sanctions and Russian countermeasures to avoid shortages, exports to Russia are becoming particularly complicated.
As the European Union prepares to vote on new sanctions against Russia and Belarus, previous sanctions and retaliatory sanctions imposed by Moscow have made it difficult to conduct international trade logistics. Road transport on northern European routes is particularly affected.
In response to the latest sanctions, which include a ban on Russian transport companies from operating in the EU, Belarus enacted a countermeasure prohibiting trucks owned by European companies from operating in its territory.
As a result, the road transport of goods through Poland and Belarus, and even Lithuania, has become a real headache. As a result, the flows had to be reorganized and now pass through Turkey and Georgia.
According to AFTRI (Association Française de Transport Routier International), a surprisingly high number of Kazakh trucks were recently observed in the Netherlands, suggesting a strategy of circumvention by Russian companies. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have formed a customs union since 2010.
On September 28, the European Commission presented a new proposal for sanctions, including an embargo on imports of Russian products and a new ban on European exports of sensitive products, particularly in the aeronautics, electronic components and chemical sectors.
