Russia lifts DFDS ban
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• DFDS Transport has won a long battle with the Russians to get its name removed from a Customs blacklist.
Danish-owned DFDS is just one of about 40 West European hauliers which were banned from entering Russia. It says there was a misunderstanding over the correct level of import duty payable, which has now been settled.
DFDS will now concentrate on carrying industrial products to Russia, rather than consumer goods, which it regards as more problematic. "We are no longer persona non grata in Russia," says John Symons, DFDS Transport divisional managing director for Scandinavia. "As long as we do everything to ensure that products, documen
tation and customs clearance are handled correctly, the problems shouldn't reoccur."
However, frequent changes of customs rules and regulations in Russia continue to dog exporters and freight firms, says the Freight Transport Association.
European Union Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock believes that bringing other countries into the ELT will help resolve long-running problems over border controls.
Countries applying for membership into the EU, such as the Czech Republic, Estonia and Hungary, would have to apply all the key elements necessary for the Single Market, including resolving outstanding border disputes.