News in brief: Ukraine intends to sue Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia for maintaining restrictions on its agricultural product imports, despite the European Commission lifting the ban. Its Trade Representative, Taras Kachka, said their actions were illegal and casts doubt on the trustworthiness of the European Union as a trade partner.
Ukraine will sue Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia for refusing to lift their restrictions on importing its agricultural products.
In a POLITICO interview with Ukraineâs Trade Representative, Taras Kachka, the country is responding to the three nationâ stance against its grain sales, despite the European Commission lifting the ban, last Friday.
Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia had explained that they were taking the unpopular stance to protect their farmers from surge in imported Ukrainian grains, which would compete with locally-produced ones and lead to price cuts as well as losses.
One report had drawn a parallel between Poland’s ruling party’s decision to uphold the ban and a forthcoming election on October 15 2023. It claims that the party hopes to rally rural support, which accounts for the bulk of its farmers who would have been adversely affected by Ukrainian agricultural imports.
Taras Kachka, however, noted the illegality in the actions of the countries. He revealed that legal proceeding will begin against the action on Monday, September 18 2023.
The trade representative further said that the open defiance against Brussels was not just an internal matter for the European Union (EU), but raised the ‘biggest systemic concern’ on whether international trade partners can trust that Brussels speaks for the EU.
Ukraine also plans to sue the countries at the World Trade Organization (WTO) not through its trade accord with the EU. Kachka explained that it was important that the rest of the world witness how member states in the EU behaved towards trade partners and their own union, because it could influence other states as well.
