Belgium Transit Failure Halts Andorra's International Exports for Two Weeks

A technical failure in Belgium's transit system has blocked Andorra's international merchandise exports since at least 17 July, paralysing shipments to destinations beyond Spain and France.

The disruption affects all goods requiring international transit documents, such as those bound for Portugal, Italy or countries outside the EU. Routine dispatches to Andorra's neighbours continue without interruption. Businesses report two weeks of frozen orders, client cancellations and mounting pressure to explain delays caused by the informatics issue.

An administrator from one affected firm described the ordeal: orders have been completely stalled, customers are pulling purchases, and customs officials have offered no notice or explanation. Contacting authorities has proved futile, with queries shuffled between departments and no apparent knowledge of the problem. The executive called it astonishing that an entire country could be sidelined without activating manual emergency protocols, adding to internal stress from global client demands.

Experts in the customs sector attribute the outage to a fragile digital link under Andorra's EU customs agreement. Rather than integrating independently at high cost, the Principality relies on Belgium's infrastructure, effectively operating as a Belgian province for these processes. Transit agents must hand documents to customs officials, who then manually enter them into the Belgian network. The connection has now severed, leaving Andorran customs unable to validate any international shipments.

Impacts span small industrial suppliers considering order postponements until September to major exporters, including credit card manufacturers with disrupted supply chains. Transport professionals warn of alarming economic fallout as firms risk losing business to foreign rivals.

This is not the first such incident. Last January, a near-identical crisis lasted six to seven weeks after Europe mandated cybersecurity upgrades. While neighbours like Spain prepared in advance, Andorra's administration reacted late, overwhelming transporters' warehouses with detained goods.

Companies are demanding government intervention, transparency and immediate manual solutions to stem client losses. Customs has remained silent, with no restoration timeline provided.