The government in Kiev plans to file a case today with the World Trade Organization against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The three countries announced that they would continue the blockade of Ukrainian agricultural products on their own, after the European Commission decided on Friday not to extend it.
“It is important to prove that these actions are legally wrong. That is why we will start legal proceedings on Monday,” Acting Ukrainian Economy Minister Taras Kashka told Politico last night. The World Trade Organization monitors whether countries adhere to the rules in trade disputes. .
The European Commission imposed an export ban on Ukrainian agricultural products in May, saying grain supplies from Ukraine were having a devastating impact on domestic markets in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. After researching the markets of those five countries and Ukraine’s commitments to regulate exports, Brussels found no reason to extend the ban on Friday.
Currently, Bulgaria is the only neighboring country that has agreed to resume trade. Poland was the first to impose an emergency law on Friday to prevent agricultural products from Ukraine. It was followed by Hungary and Slovakia. Ukraine accuses the government in Warsaw, usually an ally of Kiev, of “political populism.” The ruling Law and Justice party is said to be using the issue to appease voters, a month before the Polish parliamentary elections.
Tom Kieft
Read also Arnot Le Clercq’s analysis on this issue: Poland alone stops Ukrainian grain: During the election period, the Polish farmer takes precedence over support for Kiev
