WTO rules in favor of Ukraine in railway case

An appellate body of the World Trade Organization has
ruled in favor of a complaint filed by Ukraine in a case involving alleged
restrictions by Russia against Ukrainian exports of railcars and railway
equipment, the eurointegration.com.ua news site reported on Feb. 4, citing its
anonymous sources. The Russian side argued that the security situation in
Ukraine between April 2014 and December 2016 worsened, resulting in limited
trade, which the first-tier body agreed with. The Ukrainian side argued there
were systemic restrictions on imports, which the appellate body found to be
true. In the same case, the first-tier court also ruled that Russia’s decision
to halt its recognition of Ukrainian certificates issued to producers in CIS
countries – other than Russia – was in violation of its WTO obligations. The official
ruling will be published on Feb. 11.

Zenon Zawada: In its
hybrid war with Russia, Ukraine has achieved many impressive victories in the
international courts and institutions, in light of Russia’s flagrant violations
of international law in various spheres that include trade. And Ukraine
continues to enjoy a high potential for future victories in the hundreds of
cases related to the Russian aggression. The challenge for the government to
organize and coordinate the slew of complaints so that they present the most
effective legal arguments.