Moldova and Ukraine may re-consider two trade disputes at WTO

Moldova and Ukraine may repeatedly examine two trade disputes, at the World Trade Organization (WTO), said the director of the Trade Policies Department of the Ministry of Economy, Inga Ionesii, at a news conference held on January 15.

She said that Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada [Parliament] adopted in second reading some legislative amendments. Yet, the new provisions do not envisage the management of the excise duties on Ukrainian and Moldovan brandies.

«This draft law has not been promulgated yet. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is insisting on the withdrawal of this draft law, as it does not meet the norms of the World Trade Organization,» said Ionesii.

The representative of the Ministry of Economy said that Moldova has also left unfulfilled the undertaken commitments and did not make legislative amendments on decreasing the environmental fees on the import of goods in plastic packing.

As already reported by Infotag, in February 2011, Ukraine submitted a request to the WTO, seeking official consultations on the need to collect ecological dues from Moldovan importers who use Tetra Pak packages (except the producers of dairy). In retort, in March 2011, Moldova filed its claims against Ukraine, at the WTO, accusing the neighboring country on discriminating the imports of brandy.    

Yet, the examination of these trade disputes in the WTO has been ceased, as Moldova and Ukraine expressed their willingness to conclude a peaceful agreement and to settle this issue through mutual consensus. In exchange for Chisinau’s consent to decrease the ecological dues for imports of goods in plastic packages, Kiev agreed to equal the excise duties for Ukrainian and Moldovan brandies.

Adapted from Infotag