22 September 2014
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a resolution on Sept. 19 imposing import duties on goods from Ukraine, reported the RIA Novosti news agency. They will take effect if the Ukrainian government begin to implement its free trade area with the EU earlier than Jan. 1, 2016, he told an international business forum in Sochi. Previously, Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksei Uliukaev said the opposite about the import duties on Ukraine: that they will be imposed and lifted only if the Ukrainian and European governments agree to uphold their end of the Sept. 12 Brussels agreement. Uliukaev has also requested that Ukraine and the EU approve a legal act by the end of October that “demonstrates we identically understand the Brussels agreement,” particularly the postponement of the free trade area until 2016. The Russian government wants to establish a legal mandate for the trilateral consulting group to amend the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, Uliukaev said, which takes effect Nov. 1.
Zenon Zawada: We expect many headaches imposed by the Russians regarding the Ukraine-EU free trade area in the form of such complaints, as well as punitive and retaliatory measures. The Ukrainian government thought it could avoiding a fierce trade war in reaching the Sept. 12 Brussels agreement, but it looks as though it might happen regardless.