FCS: Containers - No pasarán!
01.06.2009 (14:33)
Last month the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of the Russian Federation initiated restrictions in container traffics from the EU through Russian border motor vehicle checkpoints. Officials are sure it will promote an increase in freight traffic through Russian Baltic ports and in the number of container trains on RZD’s network. Meanwhile, participants in foreign trade say that such measures will only lead to a rise in prices for imported goods, because as a result, Finnish ports will start reloading containers into tented trucks, and as regards the desirable increase in freight traffics in ports and by railways, this is hardly likely to take place.
"It is planned to redistribute motor transport flows to sea and railway routes. In particular, this is necessary in order to enable Russian Baltic ports to start working,” explained FCS representatives and specified that currently this draft document is currently being coordinated with Ministry of Transport and other involved departments. The Head of the Russian Transport Ministry’s Press-Service, Timur Khikmatov, confirmed that his department had already considered the document prepared by the FCS as a matter of interdepartmental coordination.
"This Draft Decision was aimed at reducing the large number of trucks at motor vehicle checkpoints. But in world financial crisis conditions exports and imports fell drastically, and as a result there are no transport queues on borders," noted the representative of the Ministry. In his opinion, restrictions for container transport of more than 20 feet through motor transport checkpoints at borders of the Russian Federation and redirecting these cargoes to the sea and railways will end up stopping the considerable fleet of container carriers. "Thus the current uneasy situation in international transport will become even more difficult," considers Timur Khikmatov.
Official acknowledgement of the preparing of this Order was also received in the Transport Ministry of Finland, and its head, Anu Vehviläinen, has already declared that her country objects to these Russian plans. In this connection Ms Vehviläinen addressed a request to the head of the Transport Ministry of the Russian Federation, Igor Levitin, to prevent this Order to come into force. In her opinion, this document completely contradicts the WTO principles and will damage the whole of Finnish export trade to Russia, as well as all other industry sectors which are connected with transit cargos. The Head of the Port of Kotka, Kimmo Naski, thinks that Russia's intention goes against modern trading traditions, which assume that a state cannot change global transport systems by unilateral decision. However, so far it is just a draft, and whether such order is necessary for countries or not, it will be under discussion in June, during the visit of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to Finland.
Let's note, that today the unloading of cargoes, including cars, spare parts, home appliances and other goods, takes place in Finnish ports, and then cargo travels to the Russian Federation through international border crossing points. Last year 196,000 containers went through Finland to Russia, and only 7,000 of them went by rail. These days from 8,500 to 10,000 container trucks per week go through Vaalimaa, Nuiamaa and Imatra border points to Russia. About 4,000 people are involved in the Finnish transits sector. Such a scheme of cargo movement is caused for several reasons. "They are the non-competitive rates of Russian Baltic ports; less time is spent for transits in comparison with Russian terminals; as well as the complexity (and sometimes even the impossibility) of registering an internal customs transit document before the "internal" customs points, which is caused by an interest in larger fees (and consequently in a fulfilling and over-fullfilling of plans) by customs bodies in such places," explains Vice-President of STS/RLS Logistics, Mr. Vladimir Dorokhov. In his opinion, this plan can only be realized by adding complications to the procedure of registering internal customs transit documents for container cargoes. "It will bring reductions in throughput at overland border crossing points, and thus will increase idle time of vehicles at the border. An unbelievable, but nevertheless a possible method can be the obligatory examination of all container cargoes at the border, which can inevitably lead to the impossibility of cargo transportation," comments Mr Dorokhov on the situation.
Participants in foreign trade say that the purpose of the customs officers’ initiative is quite clear. However, in their opinion, it will not be possible to implement it. "It is another attempt of our officials to redirect traffic flows to other routes using administrative methods. Earlier such orders existed until somebody challenged them in court. The convention on containers does not stipulate types of transport by which a container can or cannot cross a border," the General Director for CIS from GE SeaCo company, Mikael Gevorkyan, said. On the one hand it is favourable for the State for several reasons. "It will engage Russian ports which are not working now at full capacity in conditions of crisis. But also, it will promote an increase in the number of
containers from the Baltics delivered by Russian Railways. To me this seems to be a rather illusive project, when considering current transit terms and rates. And at last, such new conditions can promote the realization of in-Russia motor-transport, mainly by domestic companies," analyzes Mr Dorokhov. According to his forecasts, restrictions for importers will increase both transit terms and the transport component in the cost of inward cargoes and, consequently, it will raise the price of these goods and reduce their competitive abilities in the home market. "Generally, this Federal Customs Service’s initiative (though it is caused by our state’s good intentions) can have negative consequences for foreign trade participants,” sais Mr Dorokhov, and he is convinced "that the results will lie on the shoulders of the end users of those cargoes.”
Another reason to undertake such steps is as follows. A cargo goes through customs clearance and connected with it are payments on Russian territory in all cases. But as regards increasing the contribution to the Russian budget from warehousing and cargo transhipment services in ports in the required volume (it now remains in the treasury of Finland), this will be impossible. "Alas, even if the capacities of St-Petersburg and Ust-Luga seaports are used ,there will still be insufficient capacity to handle and store all these cargoes which these days are coming to us from the Finnish ports of Kotka, Hamin, Helsinki, etc.,” says Michael Gevorkyan.
However, analysts and participants of foreign trade forecast that the consequence of such step is that the containers will be reloaded in Finnish ports to tented trucks. Different estimates place the cost of such a service at 100 to 140 Euro. "And the ultimate goal, which is the redistribution of freight traffic, will not be reached," concludes Mr. Gevorkyan.
Maria Shevchenko