Ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products requires serious dialogue with Brussels – MFA
The issue of the ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products requires a serious dialogue with Brussels and with the national governments of those countries that have imposed this ban.
This was stated by Olga Trofimtseva, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, coordinator of the Council of Exporters and Investors, during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine - Ukrinform.
"Unilateral import bans have been adopted, and they are quite harsh and include products on unclear grounds. As for me, now all this requires a serious dialog, including between Ukraine and Brussels. I believe that we should enter into multilateral negotiations and talk to the European Commission and the governments of these countries in order to ensure a solution to this situation that is beneficial for everyone," she said.
Trofimtseva noted that the EU has clear rules for determining when excessive imports of a product threaten local producers. According to her, producers and governments of the countries where such cases occur must prove the connection between the bankruptcy of producers of certain agricultural products and the growth of imports of these products from other countries.
Trofimtseva emphasized that Ukraine is not aware of a situation where local producers have actually gone bankrupt due to excessive Ukrainian exports. Instead, countries have simply resorted to strict bans, including on the import of various agricultural products from Ukraine and transit restrictions.
The Ambassador noted that the list of goods banned from import raises questions. For example, Poland has banned imports of goods that Ukraine has never transported to the EU. In particular, these are beef and pork.
As Ukrinform reported, on April 15, 2023, Hungary and Poland imposed a temporary ban on the import of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. On April 19, 2023, a ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products to Slovakia will take effect. At the same time, Poland has also suspended the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through its territory, but plans to resume it on April 21.
Hungary and Slovakia did not stop transit. Bulgaria temporarily banned imports of agricultural products from Ukraine on April 19, 2023, but did not restrict transit.
On Wednesday, April 19, the European Commission announced a plan to implement measures to respond to the excessive supply of Ukrainian agricultural products to EU member states, in accordance with the rules of the EU's common market. In particular, this includes support for affected farms and the application of restrictive measures on the supply of Ukrainian grain and other food products to the EU market.