Ukraine will limit imports from Poland, Hungary if they don’t lift grain embargo - Shmyhal
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated this, Ukrinform reports.
"Ukraine will file a lawsuit with the WTO against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia for unilateral restrictions on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products. At the same time, our government is offering a compromise scenario to the EU and neighboring countries. We have already submitted to the European Commission an action plan to control the export of four groups of agricultural products from Ukraine," the Prime Minister said.
According to him, the control will help prevent any market distortions in neighboring EU member states. It is planned to adopt a resolution stipulating that goods exported to five neighboring countries will be subject to verification and approval by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
The Prime Minister noted that Ukraine has already submitted a formal request to Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia on violations of the WTO rules. An anti-discrimination investigation is also being launched against the unfriendly actions of these countries in the trade sector based on 2023 statistics.
"If Poland and Hungary do not agree to the measures agreed with the European Commission and do not lift their unilateral bans on our goods, we will decide to ban imports of certain categories of goods from these countries to Ukraine," he emphasized.
Shmyhal stressed, "Russia attacks Ukrainian ports every day, destroys infrastructure, elevators, attacks agricultural enterprises, and mines fields. Further blocking of agricultural exports by neighboring countries will hit the Ukrainian economy, finances, tax revenues and jobs. Such a blockade would also play into the hands of Russia's plan to create another global food crisis.”
"We once again call on our neighbors to abandon harmful and unlawful restrictions, political populism, and embark on a constructive dialogue that will actually benefit everyone," the head of the Ukrainian government said.
As Ukrinform reported, in May 2023, the European Commission (EC) banned imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania at the insistence of these countries. On June 5, the ban was extended until September 15, 2023.
On September 15, the EC announced that the EU would not extend temporary restrictions on Ukrainian grain. Following this, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia announced their decision to block imports of Ukrainian agricultural products and stopped participating in the Coordination Platform established under the auspices of the EC to resolve this issue.
On September 18, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said that in accordance with the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism, Ukraine had requested consultations with Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary within the WTO.
