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Ukraine urged to withdraw request for renegotiation of tariff commitments

At the Council for Trade in Goods meeting on 26 November, 23 delegations issued a joint statement urging Ukraine to withdraw its request to renegotiate tariff commitments on a wide range of products. Several delegations expressed concern over trade actions by the Russian Federation and Brazil.

Australia introduced a joint statement by 23 delegations (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, the European Union, Guatemala, Iceland, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Paraguay, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States and Hong Kong, China) urging Ukraine, in the interest of the multilateral trading system and the global economy, to withdraw its notification to re-negotiate its tariffs on a large number of products. They said that Ukraine’s notification covers 371 tariff lines, and that this goes beyond the intended scope of the WTO provision on tariff negotiations (Article XXVIII of GATT 1994). They said it is unclear to what extent Ukraine would be able to compensate other members, as required by that provision. They also expressed concern about what they said was lack of transparency on this matter by Ukraine.

Egypt, Uruguay, Mexico, El Salvador, Israel, China, Dominican Republic, Peru and Pakistan supported the statement. Ukraine said that it was following the established procedures in a transparent manner, and that its notification is normal practice and should not be seen as protectionist. It has held meetings on this matter with many delegations, and would continue the negotiations. Ukraine added that it strongly believes in the ability of the WTO to accommodate the needs of its members.

The EU expressed concern over what it described as a surge of protectionist measures taken recently by the Russian Federation. It criticized two measures in particular: the ban on importation of live animals, especially slaughtered pigs; and the recycling fee for automobiles, which imposes fees on imported cars but gives a choice of non-payment to domestic cars. The EU said it is consulting with Russia on these measures.

Japan also expressed concern that the recycling fee discriminates against foreign car companies. The US shared the concern about the recycling fee. In addition, it urged Russia to take the final step to join the WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA), and to notify its Customs Union to the WTO. Norway expressed concern over Russia’s system of permits subject to veterinary control.

Russia requested all comments in writing so it could respond in writing.

www.wto.org, 26 November 2012