Ukraine is considering liberalizing its special safeguard measures for vehicles, which applies to products from Russia, among other countries. Ukraine’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Ihor Prasolov announced this to reporters in Moscow on Wednesday, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports.
"Right now, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine is considering the issues of stages and sizes regarding liberalization of this measure," he said, adding that there are three possible options for softening these measures without specifying the options.
As reported, Ukraine introduced special import duties of 6.46% on new cars with engine capacities of 1,000-1,500 cubic centimeters and 12.95% on those with engine capacities of 1,500-2,200 cubic centimeters on April 14, regardless of the country of origin.
This decision has caused concern in the United States, South Korea, Turkey, Russia, and Japan. In late October, the government of Japan initiated consultations with the government of Ukraine under the WTO agreement over these import duties. Russia and the European Union later joined these consultations.
In response, Ukraine joined the consultations that the European Union initiated with Russia over the vehicle recycling tax that Russia introduced in 2012, which sharply reduced the export of Ukrainian vehicle. Following these disputes, Russia amended its legislation to create equal conditions for Russian manufacturers and importers.
