Kyiv insists economic reasons behind initiative to review WTO duties
KYIV. July 26 (Interfax) - Ukraine insists that economic reasons alone are behind its initiative to review duties within the World Trade Organization (WTO) and it is unacceptable to consider them in a political context.
"First of all, I would like to say that the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade stipulates that if a country's balance of trade is in jeopardy, then that country can take certain preventive measures," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara said in an exclusive interview with Interfax.
When Ukraine was joining the WTO, its desire to join it often prevailed over its desire to protect its market, Kozhara said. "And the imbalance in foreign trade, especially in late 2012, has put Ukraine's overall foreign trade balance at risk. As you know, we had a record deficit of $16 billion last year, which we have never had before," he said.
This is why Ukraine has to protect itself and it will do so within the legal framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Kozhara said. "And the most undesirable thing here is that some countries are trying to put an absolutely trade-related agreement in various political contexts. This is incorrect," he said.
It is an unusual practice, Ukraine's proposing to review tariffs on 371 items but this move concerns the economic situation in the country, Kozhara said.
"The Ukrainian government is successfully leveling its foreign trade balance. You know that in the past six months we showed positive results in some aspects, though negative trends and trade balance deficit still remain," the minister said.
