Ukraine will seek arbitration at the World Trade Organization (WTO) if Poland extends its ban on imports of Ukrainian grain after September 15.
This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
"Despite the war and the Russian blockade of our ports, Ukraine is fulfilling its obligations under both the Association Agreement with the EU and WTO law. We have no intention of harming Polish farmers. We greatly appreciate the support of the Polish people and Polish families! But in case of violation of trade law in the interest of political populism before the elections, Ukraine will be forced to turn to WTO arbitration to obtain compensation for violation of GATT norms.," Shmyhal wrote.
The Polish government will officially appeal to the European Commission to extend the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain after 15 September. If this does not happen, Poland will make such a decision on its own.
Because of Russia's withdrawal from the grain deal and missile attacks on Ukraine's logistics infrastructure, the EU has resumed discussions on how to ensure the export of Ukrainian grain to world markets through the land transit corridors of Ukraine's neighboring EU member states. In particular, part of the exports falls on the Polish-Ukrainian border.
However, the Polish authorities have a different priority: protecting their own market, and therefore Warsaw prefers to extend the ban on grain imports beyond the 15 September deadline agreed with Brussels. This puts Ukraine, which is suffering from full-scale Russian aggression, in a very difficult position.