The European Union has banned freight transport by vehicles registered in the Russian Federation and Belarus, Russia’s Customs Service (FCS) said in a statement.
“The FCS of Russia informs that from April 8, 2022, the customs authorities of the countries of the European Union bordering the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, referring to the fifth sanction package, the admission of vehicles registered in these countries , have stopped moving to EU territory,” the press service explained.
The new sanctions affected the ban on road freight transport across the EU, including transit. Now vehicles of international transport with Russian and Belarusian registration plates cannot transport goods across the territory of the EU countries.
So far, this restriction has not affected trucks that deliver pharmaceutical, medical, food and agricultural products, including wheat, energy, non-ferrous metals and fertilizers.
Road connections for humanitarian purposes also remain open. Transit flows to the Kaliningrad region will also be maintained, but only for vehicles registered in Russia.
According to the Federal Customs Service, in the past 24 hours, 192 trucks and 118 passenger vehicles have passed through the Kaliningrad Regional Customs posts at car checkpoints in the direction of Poland and Lithuania, 271 trucks and 206 cars have entered the territory of the Kaliningrad Region.
Experts believe the trucking ban will affect store shelves in three weeks – delivery interruptions could begin. Although one scenario is likely that during this time the authorities will consider the possibilities of circumventing the restrictions.