Hungary plans to extend ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products after September 15

Hungary has reported that it has reached an agreement with Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria to impose national bans on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to protect their markets if the European Union does not extend the ban, which expires on September 15. Hungarian Agriculture Minister István Nagy announced this on Facebook.

According to him, the new bans will cover a wider range of Ukrainian products than the current ones.

“We have agreed with my Romanian, Slovak and Bulgarian colleagues that if Brussels does not decide to extend the existing moratorium, we will take national measures on an individual basis,” the minister said.

Five countries insist on extending the current EU ban after it expires on Friday, and Poland and Hungary have said they will unilaterally extend the ban if the European Commission does not extend it.

In May, the European Commission announced “temporary safeguard measures” that prohibit imports of certain Ukrainian agricultural products to these five countries, while allowing transit to other markets. The measures are set to expire on September 15.

As reported, the day before, the Polish government supported the initiative of the Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus to extend the ban on grain imports from Ukraine to Poland unilaterally after September 15, when the embargo agreed with the European Commission expires.

At the same time, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) if Poland does not abandon its intention to impose unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports after September 15.

Tags: Ukraine, grain, Hungary, restrictions