by A mass of luxury goods, whose deliveries to Russia are prohibited as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine, has accumulated in Belgian ports. Reselling them is also currently not allowed.
The cars fell under the luxury ban, which does not allow vehicles more expensive than 50,000 euros to be imported into Russia. In Zeebrugge, premium cars, including the latest models of Lexus, Cadillac, and Mercedes, have been present since the beginning of April.
As Euronews writes, 8,000 luxurious cars gather dust in an open parking lot and require large sums of money for security. There are also cheaper export brands stuck here because Russian ships are banned from entering EU ports. Director of the international terminal for new cars, Mark Adriennsens, oversees all this property:
“These cars, arriving from the Far East, are intended for Russia. But they are no longer exported there. Customs said they must remain here, they are blocked. We do not know how long they will be in this parking lot. I assume that we will look for alternative markets.”
Containers with goods for Russia are also accumulating in Zeebrugge, as in other EU ports.
