Ukraine accuses Russia of violating WTO rules

Ukraine has accused Russia of violating the fundamental principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the introduction of a recycling tax on imported vehicles and is insisting on the cancellation of this tax.

This issue was discussed during consultations held between the EU and the Russian Federation in the building of the European Commission in Brussels on July 29-30 regarding the introduction of a vehicle recycling tax in Russia, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine reported.

"During the consultations Ukraine presented its vision of the situation, focusing on the violation by Russia of fundamental WTO principles, in particular, ensuring the non-discriminatory nature of trade and not complying with the provisions of the relevant free trade agreements, and insisted on the cancellation of the tax," reads the statement.

In addition, on July 29, Ukraine, according to the procedure, sent a respective request on its joining similar consultations between Japan and Russia as a third party.

Involved in the consultations are Japan, the United States, China and Turkey, which also expressed their concern about the negative impact of the tax on trade and its discriminatory nature.

"It's good that Ukraine has allies in defending its interests regarding the recycling tax imposed by Russia, which contains explicit signs of discrimination, in particular, the United States, Japan, the EU, and China. Perhaps, there will be other countries, but at the stage of the consideration of disputes by a group of experts if the matter is not resolved during consultations," Deputy Director of the Department for Cooperation with WTO on Trade Protection at the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Svitlana Zaitseva said.

In her opinion, participation in the dispute between global automakers gives reason to hope that deliveries of Ukrainian cars will soon resume and that obstacles in the form of a recycling tax in Russia will be canceled.

As reported, the introduction of a vehicle recycling tax in Russia caused a dramatic (more than a two-fold) reduction in vehicle output in Ukraine in 2013 and a drop in exports of domestic cars to Russia by 75% compared to the first half of 2012.

Adapted from Ukrinform