The European Union banned Russian and Belarusian trucks from working in the bloc in response to the war in Ukraine, causing a rush to the borders for thousands of drivers.
The line of Russian and Belarusian trucks hoping to leave the EU before sanctions took effect stretched for 80 kilometers at the border of Poland and Belarus.
Russian and Belarusian freight road operators have been banned from working in the EU, except for those transporting essentials such as food, mail, medicine, and energy.
As the midnight deadline passed on April 16th, as many as 400 vehicles were still waiting at border crossings, with some stuck at the border for up to 33 hours, and thousands more believed to be in the EU. There were long lines in Bobrowniki.
The war in Ukraine has caused a shortage of truck drivers, as Ukrainians leave jobs in western Europe to return home and fight. More than 100,000 Ukrainian truck drivers could be drafted into military service according to the Federal Association of Freight Transport, Logistics and Disposal.
The loss of Ukrainian drivers may be more disruptive than the European ban on Russian and Belarusian vehicles. The deadline has passed so it is not clear what will happen to the thousands of Russian and Belarusian vehicles that are trapped in the EU.
The head of the trade body for Polish transport groups told the Financial Times that Russia could retaliate against Polish trucks if Europe seized their trucks.
The sanctions against Russia and the pileup of trucks at the Polish border show how the Western sanctions are affecting economic borders and forcing countries to turn inward. The EU imported more than $150 billion worth of goods from Russia before the war began. Even if Europe tries to retain access to essential commodities, the trucking ban will further cripple trade. Europe is cutting off trade with Russia by land as well as cracking down on Russian ships entering its ports in an effort to wean itself off energy imports from the country. In the US, the government is trying to make up for the loss of Russian oil by turning to its own strategic supply, while the auto industry is rushing to secure their own supplies of raw materials used to make electric vehicle batteries.
The lines of the globalized world are being redrawn as Putin's war in Ukraine continues, and they are unlikely to go back to the way they were.
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