Kazakhstan to close sanctions ‘loophole’ against Russian truckers – Reuters

Authorities in Kazakhstan plan to toughen work rules for foreign road hauliers, including Russian ones, who use Kazakh registration to circumvent sanctions and transport goods to and from Europe. This is reported by the publication Moscow time .
According to the innovation of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan, new companies will only have access to international freight transport. According to Asel Sadykova, Chairman of the Board of the Republic of the Union of Road Carriers and Freight Forwarders (SAPEK), the changes will come into effect on February 20.
According to Asel Sadykova, after the start of the war in Ukraine, more than 5,000 trucks from Russia and Belarus were re-registered in Kazakhstan. This allowed them to transport goods to Europe and back according to the Kazakh quota. As a result, the number of trucks engaged in international transport increased by more than 2 to 16,000, and Russian and Belarusian companies, registered as Kazakhs, took 70% of the market.
This led to the fact that there was a shortage of permits for traveling to Europe in Kazakhstan, and domestic carriers began to complain to the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development. Complaints have been heard: new rules will end the practice of re-registering Russian trucks in Kazakhstan and help protect Kazakh hauliers from competition.
Nevertheless, according to Asel Sadykova, the authorities have not yet decided what to do with Russian and Belarusian companies that have managed to “change nationality”.
Kazakhstan will not join the sanctions against Russia, but it will help circumvent the current regime’s restrictions, the Republic’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi said in December.
According to Tleuberdi, Moscow and Astana have close economic ties, so the sanctions against Russia, introduced due to the war in Ukraine, had a negative impact on Kazakhstan’s economy. He assured that the current relations between Kazakhstan and Russia will continue, but that Kazakhstan “will not be used by various companies to circumvent the sanctions”.
Vladimir Matyagin, Chairman of the Russian National Association of Road Freight Transport “Gruzavtotrans”, in a conversation with NSN said that the decision to ban Russian carriers from registering in Kazakhstan for unimpeded travel to Europe could lead to the banning of Kazakh activities in Russia.
Over the past year, five thousand trucks from Russia and Belarus were re-registered in Kazakhstan, after which they were given the opportunity to enter EU territory according to Kazakh quotas. Matyagin called the re-registration ban to protect Kazakh carriers, but believes Russia can also take action in response.
“How are they going to find out it’s a Russian carrier?” Anyone can invest in any country, open a business. If completely Russian citizens are banned from doing so, there will be a backlash. For example, in Russia, Kazakhs are prohibited from doing business. It will be absurd,” Matyagin said.
The NSN interlocutor noted that the delivery of goods from Europe through Kazakhstan is not very convenient, which is why Russian carriers are registered in Turkey and Serbia.
“To travel through Europe, Russian carriers are registered in Turkey, Serbia and Kazakhstan. To a greater extent, parallel imports of goods pass through Turkey. Logistics through Kazakhstan from Europe is very important. As for Kazakhstan, the mayor decided to accept it so that Kazakh carriers would have the priority right to work – this is normal. They protect business,” Matyagin explained.