New duties stop shuttle trade

RIGA - Stricter provisions of the Latvian law on customs duties introduced from the start of this year have put an end to massive shuttle trade in sugar and other commodities across the Estonian-Latvian border in the twin cities of Valga and Valka.

From Jan. 1 onwards, Latvian residents must pay a customs duty and 18 percent VAT on goods with a value exceeding 150 lats ($238), the newspaper Valgamaalane reports. The limit previously stood at 300 lats.

Shuttle trade in sugar across the border had caused irrevocable damage to the Latvian state over the past years.

The trade in sugar, which is substantially more expensive in Latvia than in Estonia, was mostly conducted by jobless and less well-off Latvian residents.

The Estonian regional newspaper observed that the number of Latvians crossing the border to Valga to buy electrical household goods and electronics had increased recently, with people coming from as far as Valmiera, Cesis and Riga. The Latvian buyers preferred more expensive devices and better-known brands.