Freer road freight transport between Switzerland and Russia
On October 15, Bern and Moscow repealed the permit requirement, which had existed since 2015, for bilateral and transit deliveries
In the future, Swiss and Russian road transport companies will not need a permit to transport goods or to ensure their transit between the two countries.
Representatives of the Swiss Confederation and the Russian Federation have signed an adaptation of the bilateral agreement to this effect.
International road traffic between Switzerland and Russia is governed by a bilateral agreement in force since February 2015, under which both bilateral transport and transit are subject to authorization.
The number of annual permits is limited. In recent years, demand from freight carriers has exceeded this limit.
For this reason, the two countries have agreed to relax the regulation and to supplement the agreement with a protocol: the permit requirement for bilateral and transit transport is abolished.
Good offices and economic agreements at the Russia-Switzerland summit
Bilateral meetings of Switzerland with the USA and Russia
Only stops: triangular traffic, coach traffic and cabotage
Neither triangular traffic nor coach travel (road passenger traffic) will be liberalised. The new regulations were signed in Moscow on 15 October 2021 by representatives of the Swiss Confederation and the Russian Federation and will enter into force as soon as the respective national procedures have been completed (ratification).
For many years, Switzerland has been committed to permit-free market access in cross-border road freight traffic.
The land transport agreement with the EU states already contains provisions to this effect, while with many other European and Near Eastern states permits are waived on the basis of agreements similar to the one signed with Russia.
Cabotage, i.e. the transport of goods by foreign companies between two destinations within Switzerland, remains prohibited.
There is a customs memorandum of understanding between Russia and Switzerland
Belarus: considerable tightening of Swiss sanctions
