Ukraine’s claims against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in WTO now “on pause”

Ukraine’s lawsuits against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in the WTO are “on pause” while the parties are looking for a “constructive solution within the whole EU”. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of economy, trade representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka.

“This is generally a question of the functioning of trade between Ukraine and the EU. We see that this problem (export of Ukrainian agricultural products. – Ed) will be eliminated in the coming weeks and months. There will be a lot of news about how the licensing regime is changing, etc. It will be very active work . Therefore, while we are looking for a practical solution, our disputes in the WTO are on pause today,” he explained.

Kachka emphasized that now Ukraine is holding consultations, but not a dispute as such. “We are not in a dispute – we have not formalized a working body to conduct a dispute, we are at the stage of consultations. We have sent (to the WTO) this case, and there are 60 days for consultations.”

In this regard, he stated that it is important for the Ukrainian side to find a “constructive solution within the whole EU”. “Despite the fact that the complaints we have sent are against specific member states, including Poland, this is a systemic issue of our relations with the EU. Our aim is to emphasize that the EU and Ukraine have the same approach to trade agreements. Therefore, we see how to solve this problem in a complex way so as to show the unity between us and Poland, between us and the EU and between Poland and the EU,” Kachka emphasized.

According to him, Kiev has already settled the customs clearance of goods in transit through five neighboring countries. “We see that no country prohibits this transit. This is a great joint achievement. The only sensitive point left for us is the question of when the markets of neighboring countries can be opened for Ukrainian goods. This is a minimal problem, because we do not sell a lot of grain products there. But this is generally a question of the functioning of trade between Ukraine and the EU”, – said Kachka.

Speaking about the situation with Poland, Kachka expressed hope that the parties will be able to return to the discussion after the elections. “I don’t see any systemic obstacles to solve this problem. It is a matter of time. Besides, as of now there are no requests for export licenses from Ukrainian companies to Poland, which is an additional indicator that there is no massive export pressure on the Polish domestic market. We are using this time to show that in reality the clear interest of Ukrainian exporters is simply to export to those EU member states where the demand for Ukrainian goods is really high,” he said.

Kachka expressed the opinion that “this fall the market will calm down.” “We are all returning to normal trade flows, which will allow us to return to a situation that is convenient for local farmers in neighboring EU member states and for Ukrainian farmers,” he added.

In addition, the “lion’s share” of Ukrainian agricultural products go through the Black Sea ports in Romania, Baltic ports, by rail and road.

As reported, on September 15, the European Commission refused to extend the temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian wheat, corn, sunflower seeds and rapeseed to five EU countries neighboring Ukraine. At the same time, Ukraine agreed to introduce certain legal measures (e.g., an export licensing system) within 30 days to avoid spikes in grain exports to these countries.

However, Slovakia continued the EU’s preliminary ban on imports of four types of grain, Poland imposed additional bans on Ukrainian flour and feed, and Hungary banned 25 other products not previously discussed, including meat.

In response, Ukraine filed demands for consultations with Slovakia, Poland and Hungary under the rules and procedures for dispute settlement under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Tags: Hungary, Slovakia, restrictions, Ukraine, Poland, WTO