Large parts of food and goods going to Northern Norway are transported from Alnabru near Oslo, via rail in Sweden, and up to Narvik. From here it is moved by wagon train to large parts of the northern part of the country. Every year, 25 million tonnes of goods are transported on rails between south and north through Sweden. Measured in tonnes, this is more than all other freight traffic by rail in Norway combined. Now a new customs directive in the EU is sticking sticks in the wheels for this important freight traffic. From 21 January 2025, all goods that are on a train or lorry – and that are transported through another country – must be customs cleared with a separate number. Today, when a freight train goes from Oslo via Sweden to Narvik, the containers are sealed and the entire shipment is given a number. These are the new requirements As early as January 2025, the Swedish Customs Administration will introduce requirements for a description of goods with a customs tariff number. Goods sent from Oslo by train via Sweden to Narvik must then state the customs tariff number for each individual item, which the industry does not have access to. For a train, this will amount to approximately 10,000 toll tariff numbers, in total this will be approximately 200,000 numbers per week. The same applies to all truck transport through Sweden. Source: NHO – A disaster for Northern Norway The new customs rules will affect train operators such as CargoNet and logistics players such as Schenker, truck transport, PostNord and Posten Bring, which are now preparing to move goods from rail to road in Norway. Karl Henrik Karlsen sits in Narvik. He is the district manager of Posten Bring and manages the huge terminal where mail and goods arriving via Sweden are sorted. Karl Henrik Karlsen in Posten bring sends out 20 wagon trains every day. From next year, there may be many more. – This will mean a cost increase of NOK 60 million just for us at Posten Bring. Photo: Frida Brembo / Frida Brembo The consequences of the new customs rules will be enormous, in the form of extra work and customs bureaucracy, he believes. – Today, the goods we send receive a simplified customs declaration. Following the new rules will be neither realistic nor time-wise possible. Goods that are already subject to tax will incur large tax costs. Everything becomes more expensive, and the ones who have to pay are those who buy transport services. I would describe this as a disaster for Northern Norway. Karlsen is also concerned about the consequences for the climate of more lorry trains on the roads. NHO has calculated that the rule change could lead to 1,000 more truck trains on the roads per week. This comes on top of the 2,800 wagon trains that cross Saltfjellet on the E6 every week. – The extra wagon trains mean increased climate emissions of 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year, says Karlsen. Every year, 25 million tonnes of goods are transported between south and north through Sweden. Here, a freight train in Narvik is ready for departure south through Sweden. Photo: Vy NHO concerned NHO claims that the Swedes’ bureaucracy is becoming so extensive that transporters have no other choice but to use the road in Norway instead of the Swedish railway. – We are facing a massive transfer of goods from rail to road for goods to Northern Norway. This will go beyond goods delivery and postal delivery in Northern Norway. The prices of many different goods will increase in Northern Norway, including groceries. That’s what Are Kjensli, who is managing director of NHO Logistikk og Transport, says. – We have to get the government on board to clarify the matter, says managing director Are Kjensli of NHO Logistikk og Transport. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news NHO is also concerned about the strain that more truck trains will have on the E6, especially between Fauske and Narvik, he says. – The section north of Fauske in particular will be congested. Nordlandsbanen is more or less full, so there is a limit to how much of these goods can be put on trains. Then you have to go by car along the E6. And even if you use the Nordlandsbanen, you have to go by car from Bodø, says Kjensli. And adds: – This will also have an impact on preparedness and security of supply, as the Norwegian Armed Forces are a major user of rail transport today, says Kjensli. Here at Postens central in Bjerkvik, enormous amounts of goods come through every week. A great deal of it comes by train through Sweden. Photo: Frida Brembo / news Asking for help Norwegian customs authorities must be in contact with the Swedish authorities, but the parties have not agreed on a solution. Kjensli says that the freight industry has several proposals for how the customs tangle can be resolved. And it is urgent, according to the NHO director. – We believe that this must be resolved politically. The Norwegian politicians must contact their Swedish colleagues to influence them in this matter. If this is not achieved, the consequence is that all this must be done internally in Norway. Freight train at the Alnabru terminal in Oslo. Some of them are going all the way to Narvik via Sweden. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB – Crisis for Narvik Narvik is the terminus of the Ofotbanen. From here, food and other goods are transported on wagon trains before being transported north to Troms and Finnmark. The county council for transport in Nordland is also concerned about the consequences. – The signals we are getting now are very worrying. The last thing we want is to burden our roads even more when you have good means of transport, such as Ofotbanen, says Marianne Dobak Kvensjø (H). She is excited to hear what the government intends to do. This is the answer of the Swedish Customs Administration • Why is the Swedish Customs Administration introducing these new requirements?– The Swedish Customs Administration itself is not introducing any new requirements. The basis for the requirements that come into force from 21 January 2025 lies in the convention on a common transit procedure. This convention applies to all EU countries as well as eight other negotiating parties, including Norway. The Swedish customs service follows the requirements developed jointly by the countries that use this convention.• The parties say that this solution is unnecessary and cumbersome. Do you understand the concerns from the Norwegian side? – The Customs Service understands the problem for the players, but the requirement that comes from January 2025 is nothing new. There is a reason why there are increasing demands for product knowledge and to enter the product code in the declaration, i.a. from a restriction and risk management perspective. In addition, the rules apply to all parties who use the transit procedure, so they are mandatory, regardless of where the goods are transported from or which route they take.• What kind of dialogue has the Swedish Customs Administration had with the Norwegian authorities?– The Norwegian Customs Authority has taken up the matter with the Swedish The Swedish Customs Service and we are now looking at the matter jointly. • Why have you not been able to come to a solution? – It is a very complex problem and the Swedish Customs Service has an ongoing dialogue with the Swedish Customs Service about the issue, where, among other things, legal and technical aspects need to be investigated further. As a member state of the EU, Sweden is obliged to relate to the EU. In addition to that, the Swedish Customs Service has a limited opportunity to take a position on this matter, it is also required that the European Commission be involved. – I think we all have the same objective, namely that goods should be transported by rail where possible. New meeting next week State Secretary Erlend Grimstad (Sp) in the Ministry of Finance tells news that he shares the transport industry’s concern. – The Norwegian Customs Service has on several occasions taken up the Norwegian views with the Swedish customs authorities, most recently in October this year. Our experience is that the Swedes share our understanding of the problem. And that they also see the need for a more flexible solution. We will put pressure on this matter and a new meeting is therefore scheduled next week between the Norwegian and Swedish customs authorities. Published 30.10.2024, at 19.45 Updated 30.10.2024, at 20.27
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New customs rules can stop all Norwegian freight traffic through Sweden – news Nordland
