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Ukraine is contemplating legal action and reciprocal measures against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia following their bans on Ukrainian agricultural products, according to Politico.
Taras Kachka, Ukrainian Trade Representative, indicated that reciprocal measures could include banning the import of fruits and vegetables from Poland, terming the bans imposed by the countries as “ridiculous.” Kachka stated, “We would be forced to retaliate on the additional products and would prohibit the import of fruit and vegetables from Poland.” He emphasized Ukraine’s readiness to “take on the responsibility to ensure that export from Ukraine is not creating any tsunami in neighboring countries” by introducing a real-time export licensing system for grains.
These remarks come after the three countries justified their actions, citing a desire to shield their domestic markets from a surplus of Ukrainian grain, asserting it was to safeguard their economies and support local farmers.
Digging Deeper:
In May, the European Union allowed member countries, including Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia to restrict the sales of Ukrainian agricultural products such as wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds while permitting their transit for external exports. This restriction was lifted last week, but Warsaw, Bratislava, and Budapest have chosen to maintain their bans, causing heightened tensions and leading Ukraine to consider raising the issue at the World Trade Organization, separate from its trade accord with the EU.
Kachka noted that Budapest, in particular, appears to be “making a political statement that it wants to block trade with Ukraine and as well disregard Brussels completely.” He also expressed severe concerns over the countries enforcing their bans without EU support, identifying it as “the biggest systemic concern” if the member nations can’t rely on Brussels to represent the union uniformly.
