Prime Minister Shmyhal offered Poland, Hungary and Slovakia a compromise regarding the export of grain

Ukraine will appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia due to the unilateral embargo on the import of Ukrainian grain. At the same time, the Ukrainian government offers the EU and neighboring countries a compromise.

This was reported by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.

According to him, Ukraine has already submitted an action plan to the European Commission regarding control over the export of four groups of agricultural products. The government also plans to adopt a resolution that provides that goods that are exported to five neighboring countries will receive verification and approval from the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy.

At the same time, Ukraine has already submitted a formal request to Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia for violation of the norms of the World Trade Organization. An anti-discrimination investigation will also be launched against the unfriendly actions of these countries in the trade sphere based on this yearʼs statistics.

"If Poland and Hungary do not agree to the measures agreed with the European Commission and do not cancel unilateral bans on our goods, we will make a decision to ban the import of certain categories of goods from these countries into Ukraine," Shmyhal noted.

• On April 28, 2023, the European Commission reached an agreement with Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia regarding the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU. From May 2 to June 5, there was a ban on the free circulation of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds in these five countries. Then the agreement was extended until September 15. The embargo was introduced due to the fact that farmers from Poland and other countries went to protest actions. Agrarians complained that Ukrainian grain settles in countries, it is not exported further, due to which the purchase prices for grain fell sharply.
• Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia advocate banning the import of Ukrainian grain until the end of 2023. Bulgaria canceled the ban on the import of Ukrainian grain.
• On September 15, the European Commission did not extend the embargo on Ukrainian grain. Poland has declared that it will extend it unilaterally. Subsequently, Hungary and Slovakia announced the same steps.
• The European Commission reacted to the unilateral bans on the import of Ukrainian grain from three countries and called on them to be constructive.
• Ukraine is preparing a lawsuit against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in World Trade Organization arbitration over the grain embargo. After this statement, a source in the EU informed the PAP agency that Poland, Hungary and Slovakia will stop participating in the work of the platform regarding Ukrainian grain.