Latvians Detouring Through Estonia with 'Legal Contraband'
Residents of the eastern Latvian Latgale region have taken to bringing home their cheap Russian fuel, cigarettes and alcohol via Estonia to circumvent new import restrictions introduced in their country at the beginning of the year.
Locals in the economically troubled region had been in the habit of saving money by crossing the border into Russia or Belarus for these excise goods, which they could import perfectly legally in small quantities. One such cross-border shopping trip was allowed per day.
The availability of such bargains to the east had also given rise to an illegal trade in the products.
The new law, which came into effect January 1, was an attempt to cut down on the trade by limiting Latvians to one goods-import trip per week. It was this restriction that gave rise to the Estonian alternative.
This border loophole may soon be closed, however. Latvian officials have been pushing their Estonian brethren to introduce an analogous law, thereby shutting down the Estonian detour, Telegraf.lv reported. At a joint committee meeting in the Latvian parliament this week, news came that Estonian representatives had informally pledged to bring up the matter with their government.
Steve Roman