Ukraine to File Complaint to WTO Over Grain Bans by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary

Europe|Ukraine says it is bringing a ailment to the W.T.O. astir atom bans by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

Ukraine said connected Monday it was filing a ailment with the World Trade Organization against Poland, Slovakia and Hungary aft the 3 countries broke with the remainder of the European Union to prohibition imports of Ukrainian grain.

The countries instituted their bans implicit the weekend, saying they were indispensable to support their ain farmers, who had complained that inexpensive atom from Ukraine — 1 of the world’s largest exporters — had inadvertently flooded their ain markets, pushing down prices. Hoping to quell the unrest, the European Union had temporarily banned Ukrainian agriculture imports successful immoderate countries, including the 3 that aboriginal imposed their ain bans successful the hours aft the European Union prohibition expired.

Ukrainian officials person protested the caller bans, saying they threatened solidarity wrong the bloc and forced further losses connected Ukraine’s suffering exporters.

“It is crucially important for america to beryllium that idiosyncratic subordinate states cannot prohibition imports of Ukrainian goods,” Ukraine’s system minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said successful a statement connected Monday. She added that Ukraine needed “solidarity with them and extortion of farmers’ interests.”

Although Ms. Svyrydenko’s connection announced that Ukraine had already filed its complaint, a spokesperson for the World Trade Organization said helium was not alert of immoderate filing connected the substance having arrived connected Monday.

Ukraine’s atom exports halted successful the contiguous aftermath of the Russian invasion, but immoderate exports resumed past twelvemonth via the Black Sea nether an statement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. Russia pulled retired of the woody successful July, erstwhile much raising the value of overland export routes for Ukraine.

Despite Ukraine’s overtures to the W.T.O., Poland intends to basal by the prohibition and believes it is justified to support the interests of Polish farmers, a spokesperson for the Polish government, Piotr Muller, told the Polish authorities quality bureau PAP connected Monday.

Other Ukrainian allies successful the bloc denounced the bans. Germany’s agriculture minister, Cem Ozdemir, criticized what helium called “part-time solidarity” with Ukraine.

The French agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, said successful a station connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter, that the unilateral measures “threaten our corporate efforts to sphere planetary nutrient security.”

Nataliia Novosolova and Steven Moity contributed translation.