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Trade chaos looms on Russian border

New Russian customs regulations could deal a blow to smooth cross-border truck traffic.

In a last-minute decision, the Russian Customs extends the TIR Agreement in the country, thus averting major truck jams at border-crossing points. However, the extension is only temporary.

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The Federal Customs Service on Monday officially notified the Russian TIR guaranteeing association, ASMAP, about the extension of its agreement. The announcement, which came just one day prior to the termination of the legislative document, was made after a series of meetings between Russian top officials, among them First Deputy Premier Igor Shuvalyov.

As previously reported by BarentsObserver, Russia wants to exit the TIR Convention, the universal customs transit system which regulates international cross-border traffic, and instead introduce its alternative regulations. The proposed new Russian regulations will impose a series of fees and bank guarantee requirements on transport companies. 

The Russian part of the TIR agreement has now been extended to 30 November this year, the International Road Transport Union informs . The extension is the fourth in one year.

In an open letter addressed to President Vladimir Putin in late 2013, the International Transport Union expressed deep concern with the Russian position on the TIR Convention saying that it could have “potentially devastating consequences […] for Russian citizens, the Russian economy, as well as the economy of the Eurasian Union”.

The TIR Convention from 1975 is one of the most successful international transport conventions and is so far the only universal Customs transit system in existence. To date, it has 68 Contracting Parties, including the European Union. It covers the whole of Europe, the International Road Transport Union informs on its website.