On November 13th, 2019, the house of representatives of the Belarus National Assembly ratified the Agreement between the Government of Belarus and the Government of China regarding the international automobile transportation of passengers and commodities (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) which was signed by both countries in April earlier this year.
The agreement shall apply to the transportation of passengers and goods which are carried out by cargo companies and vehicles registered in China or Belarus and falls under one of three following route types:
- Between Belarus and China;
- Transit through the territories of Belarus/China;
- Transportation from the territory of Belarus/China to third countries and back.
As we have discussed in one of our previous articles on the topic of developing the trade route from China to Europe, a similar agreement was concluded earlier this year between China and Russia and the first commodities have already been delivered by automobile transportation from China in early April this year. Belarus, located between Russia and several EU countries, is the last crossing point for the on-land China-Europe automobile commodities circulation and “gate” for automobile delivery of Chinese commodities to the European market that has not yet been opened.
China is currently the EU’s second-largest trading partner behind the US and some European companies (e.g., German brand Porsche) already use on-land transportation for the delivery of their products to China, however, currently only rail transportation is utilized. The enforcement of the Agreement will assist in the diversification of logistics as well as door to door delivery and further decrease delivery times, as delivery via road transportation is considered as the fastest way for short distance deliveries.
It should be noted that, the Agreement provides for a limited number of vehicles that could be permitted to execute such transportation. The number of permits transferred annually should be determined through negotiations during meetings of the joint commission on international road transport. There is a one-time valid round-trip permit for each carriage.
The agreement provides for its entry into force 30 days from the date of receipt through diplomatic channels of the last written notification of the parties’ implementation of the necessary domestic procedures, which are currently underway. D’Andrea & Partners will continue to keep you updated on the latest legal news for enforcement of the Agreement, if you have further questions regarding the subject of this article, we would be glad to receive them via the following e-mail address: russiadesk@dandreapartners.com.
