Balancing Between Legality and Illegality: Russian Import of Japanese Used Cars and Unauthorized Export of Russian Marine Bioresources to Japan

Abstract

This article focuses on two main issues: the ability of informal cross-border entrepreneurs to avoid restrictions imposed by a government, and governmental capacity to make these restrictions work efficiently in the long term. Two kinds of informal trade activities between Russia and Japan—import of used cars and trafficking of marine bioresources—are taken as case studies. I argue that in both cases informal cross-border traders have tried to exploit cross-border differences to their benefit, balancing between legal, low-punishable, and heavily punishable practices. Both kinds of informal trade proved to be highly resistant to suppressive government policies and highly capable of exploiting legal and law enforcement loopholes. Still, suppressive government policies proved to be at least partially successful in the long term.

The import of used cars to Poland after EU accession

“…The import of used cars to Poland after EU accession 141 Kahn, 2010) and from Japan to eastern Russia (Golunov, 2018). In each of these examples, the state authorities slowed down the scale of imports by introducing institutional restrictions to protect new car makers.…”

“…Data on the export of used cars from Japan published by the United Nations (UNECE, 2017) for 2014-2015, in turn, show that the largest importers of cars from this country were New Zealand (about 220 000), the United Arab Emirates and Burma (about 190 000) and Russia (about 165 000 cars in two years). The text by Golunov (2018) shows, however, that the import of used cars from Japan to Russia reached its highest level (about 500 000 cars) in 2008, and in the period 2009-2017 did not exceed 200 000 per year. Of course, the numbers cited do not exhaust the full spectrum of used car imports in the world, but they show the scale and order of magnitude of this phenomenon in the countries where it is most common.…”

From systemic to sustainability transitions: An emerging economy perspective on urban sprawl and the automobile revolution

“…In 2014–2015, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Russia imported 220,000, 190,000 and 165,000 cars from Japan per year, respectively (Kołsut, 2020). In the record year of 2008, Russian imports amounted to some 500,000 vehicles, but even by 2009–2017, imports did not exceed 200,000 per year (Golunov, 2018). On the other hand, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2020) report shows that, outside the EU, the largest secondhand car importers in 2018 included Serbia (approximately 260,000 cars), Nigeria (237,000), the United Arab Emirates (230,000), Ukraine (175,000) and Libya (161,000).…”

Przegląd ekonomiczno-przestrzennych badań rynku samochodów osobowych = A review of economic and spatial research on the market for passenger cars

“…Przesłanki podejmowania takich decyzji są bardzo różne. Wśród nich można wymienić: wsparcie sprzedaży nowych aut i utrzymanie miejsc pracy w krajowym sektorze motoryzacyjnym (Davis i Kahn, 2010), ochronę środowiska i ograniczenie emisji zanieczyszczeń pochodzących ze starych samochodów (Root, 2006) oraz podniesienie poziomu bezpieczeństwa drogowego (Golunov, 2018). Na te okoliczności nakładają się jednak dość często zobowiązania wynikające z umów międzynarodowych oraz funkcjonowania unii celnych.…”