Terminal Jammed: Poland Introduces Another Restriction At Border With Belarus

The ban on the export of cars to Belarus has also touched upon lorry transport.

Not only cars, but also lorries, primarily trailers and semi-trailers, have fallen under the restrictions on car exports from Poland to Belarus. Perhaps, it is regarding them that the restrictive measures were prepared. Huge queues have gathered at the freight Kukuryki checkpoint on the way out of Poland. As a source in the transport industry told MOST, "the terminal is jammed". The Polish publication of Rzeczpospolita has a different explanation.

According to the MOST interlocutor, customs officers "do not turn trailers around, but put them aside" - until the relevant clarification is issued. Meanwhile, according to his estimates, until this week, every tenth lorry could carry empty semi-trailers - as goods for export. Since this position falls under the anti-Russian sanctions, the goods went to buyers in other countries: Belarus or Central Asia. However, later on, the goods often found their way to the Russian market.

Apparently, the EU has assessed the scale of such a scheme and identified its participants. The interlocutor notes that Polish customs officers have a list of suspicious companies.

- Some companies sold trailers to Belarusian companies, which registered them and sent [the sellers the relevant] confirmations. There are no claims against them. But those companies that simply passed dozens of trailers through themselves, cleared them and resold them further to Russia - they are on these lists. [That is, Poland] has compiled lists of companies that circumvented the sanctions.

Carriers are required to provide a document from the manufacturer of the trailer. According to the interlocutor of the publication, it should contain a text stating that the manufacturer agrees that the goods will move through the territory of Belarus and Russia, and realises the risks that the equipment may not be delivered to the final buyer.

The Polish edition of Rzeczpospolita describes the document in a slightly different way: it should state that the goods will remain in the importing country, but not in Russia.

The Polish publication attributes the measures to the increasing traffic to Central Asian countries over the past few weeks. In a 12-hour shift customs officers clear 800-900 cars, while a few months ago the number was almost half that.

Most likely, the final recipients of some of the cargoes are in Russia.