Grain dispute escalates
Ukraine is suing Poland, Hungary and Slovakia at the WTO
September 18, 2023, 9:47 p.m
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The dispute over the import of cheap grain from Ukraine has reached a new level: Since Hungary, Slovakia and Poland refuse to import it again, Kiev is now suing the WTO. However, Warsaw’s ruling party remains calm.
In the dispute over grain import restrictions, Ukraine has filed a lawsuit against its neighboring states Poland, Slovakia and Hungary at the World Trade Organization (WTO), as announced. It is “crucially important” for Kiev to establish that individual EU member states cannot ban the import of Ukrainian goods, explained Ukrainian Trade Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. However, her government hopes “that these countries will lift their restrictions and that we will not have to spend a long time resolving the matter in court,” the minister added.
Shortly afterwards, the government in Warsaw said it was unimpressed by the lawsuit. “We are sticking to our position,” government spokesman Piotr Müller told the Polsat News television station. This is “fair” and in accordance with EU law and international law. Grain imports are a particularly sensitive issue amid the election campaign in Poland. The right-wing national ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) enjoys strong support in the agricultural regions. The dispute is straining relations between Kiev and Warsaw, which is one of Ukraine’s most important allies against Russia’s war of aggression.
The EU removed tariffs on Ukrainian exports after the Russian attack on Ukraine. However, farmers in Ukraine’s neighboring countries protested against the resulting drop in prices. In June, Brussels allowed Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania to temporarily impose import restrictions on Ukrainian grain. Although transport through the five EU countries remained possible, the grain was no longer allowed to be sold on the domestic market. Ukraine sharply criticized the import restrictions.
Last week, the EU Commission finally lifted the import ban – on the grounds that the “market distortions” in the affected countries had disappeared. According to Brussels, in return Kiev had committed itself to introducing measures to control exports of wheat, corn, sunflowers and rapeseed in order to avoid future market distortions in neighboring EU states.
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary had already opposed the EU Commission’s decision last week. However, unlike Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU decision.