BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
17/06/2009
Belarus tightens custom rules for Russian cargo
By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press
Belarus tightened customs rules on all cargo from Russia and recalled a high-level trade delegation from Moscow on Tuesday, escalating a trade dispute between the two countries.
All cargo coming from Russia by truck or railroad will be subject to the new rules, including more stringent inspections, beginning Wednesday, Belarusian customs chief Alexander Shpilevsky told reporters.
The move comes as relations between Belarus and Russia continue to spiral downward, with officials in both countries exchanging unusually harsh rhetoric in recent weeks.
"The introduction by Belarus of tightening customs crossings is a symmetrical response to actions by Russia," said Yury Zhadobin, chief of Belarus' Security Council.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Belarusian trade officials was recalled from Moscow, where they had been meeting with Russian officials in an effort to persuade Moscow to lift a ban on all imports of Belarusian dairy products, imposed earlier this month.
Russia cited alleged regulatory problems with Belarusian dairy products in imposing its ban. But the timing was suspicious, coming just days after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko accused Russia of trying to wrest control over his nation's milk factories.
Lukashenko also angrily boycotted a Moscow summit over the weekend to protest the Russian dairy ban. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev responded by suggesting Russia might consider banning Belarusian meat imports as well.
Russia is by far Belarus' most important market for agriculture and industrial goods.
Russia and Belarus have an accord envisaging close political, economic and military ties, and they have declared a joint goal of building a single state. Belarus removed its customs posts on its border with Russia in 1995; Russia has 15 posts that mainly function to inspect cargo coming from European Union.
But Lukashenko has resisted Russian attempts to take control of key Belarusian industrial assets, and has criticized Russia for shutting its market to Belarusian goods and for failing to reward Belarus for its role as Moscow's main military and political ally.
Moscow has also raised prices for energy supplies to Belarus in recent years, pinching in particular the country's refineries which sell higher-value refined petroleum products to European markets.
Moscow has also tied up the last $500 million installment of a $2 billion loan to Minsk, to help it cope with the global economic crisis.
Lukashenko accused Moscow of making that final payment conditional on Belarus' agreement to follow Moscow's lead and recognize the independence claims of two breakaway provinces of Georgia.
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