Sergii Koziakov, Anna Gladshtein and Viktoriia Kotsiubska
Sergii Koziakov & Partners
Overview
1. What is the main domestic legislation as regards trade remedies?
The main domestic legislation regarding trade remedies is as follows:
- Law No. 959-XII on Foreign Economic Activity, 16 April 1991 (last amended 5 July 2012), articles 1, 9 and 31;
- Law No. 330-XIV on Protection of Domestic Industry against Dumped Imports, 22 December 1998 (last amended 5 July 2012);
- Law No. 331-XIV on Protection of Domestic Industry against Subsidised Imports, 22 December 1998 (last amended 13 March 2012); and
- Law No. 332-XIV on Application of Safeguard Measures against Imports to Ukraine, 22 December 1998 (last amended 5 July 2012).
2. In general terms what is your country’s attitude to international trade?
Ukraine became a member of the World Trade Organization in 2008. Since then Ukraine has participated in four WTO disputes, three as a complainant (Armenia – Measures Affecting the Importation and Internal Sale of Cigarettes and Alcoholic Beverages; Moldova – Measures Affecting the Importation and Internal Sale of Goods (Environmental Charge); and Australia – Certain easures Concerning Trademarks and Other Plain Packaging Requirements Applicable to Tobacco Products and Packaging) and one as a respondent, namely Ukraine – Taxes on Distilled Spirits. None of these cases has proceeded to the panel stage so far; however, it is likely that the complaint against Australia regarding plain packaging requirements for tobacco products and packaging will be considered by a WTO panel.
Apart from liberalisation at multilateral level, Ukraine pursues liberalisation at regional level.
One of the most notable examples of free trade agreements (FTAs) recently concluded by Ukraine is the 24 June 2010 agreement between Ukraine and European Free Trade Association states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). The agreement covers trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, institutional provisions and dispute settlement. It is the first comprehensive and modern free trade agreement concluded by Ukraine. Previously concluded FTAs are limited mostly to trade-in-goods issues.
In October 2011 the EU and Ukraine concluded negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement, and in July 2012 the parties initialled the text of the FTA, which is an integral part of the future EU–Ukraine Association Agreement.
Ukraine is a party to Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Free Trade Agreement of 1994, aimed at creating a free trade area between the parties. In 2011 the CIS free trade agreement was finally signed. The parties to the agreement are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine. The agreement shall take effect after 30 days from the date of receipt by the depository of the third notice on ratification. At the time of writing, the agreement has been ratified by Russia (28 March 2012), Belarus (8 May 2012) and Ukraine (30 July 2012). Thus, the CIS FTA will come into effect soon.
Up till now the free trade regime of Ukraine and other CIS countries has been carried out in accordance with bilateral free trade agreements providing for exemption of customs duties, taxes and charges having the equivalent effect on exports and imports. Particularly, Ukraine is a party to bilateral free trade agreements with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Ukraine also has a free trade area with Macedonia and is a party to the GUAM Freee Trade Agreement concluded in 2002 between Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Trade defence investigations
3. Which authority or authorities conduct trade defence investigations and impose trade remedies in your jurisdiction?
In Ukraine trade defence investigations are conducted by:
- the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine (the Ministry), (www.me.gov.ua); and
- the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (the Commission), (www.me.gov.ua).
The Ministry, namely its department that deals with cooperation with the WTO and trade defence matters, is entitled to conduct trade defence investigations, but not to adopt preliminary or final determinations. Upon results of the conducted investigation the Ministry prepares a report, which forms the basis for the Commission to make a determination regarding imposition or non-imposition of preliminary or final measures.
The Commission adopts decisions regarding: (i) initiation of the investigations; (ii) positive or negative determinations on dumping, injury and causal link; and (iii) imposition of anti-dumping measures. The Commission is an interdepartmental body that consists of representatives of various ministries and governmental agencies, such as the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agricultural Policy and Food, the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the State Customs Service, the Antimonopoly Committee, etc. The minister of economic development and trade is the head of the Commission by virtue of his or her office.
4. What is the procedure for domestic industry to start a trade remedies case in your jurisdiction? Can the regulator start an investigation ex officio?
In order to start a trade remedies case, domestic industry must submit an application with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. At the same time, anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigations can begin, upon an application submitted by trade unions of employees and governmental bodies, if they possess relevant evidence of dumping/subsidisation and material injury. Safeguard investigations can also be initiated upon information collected by the Ministry itself. In practice, however, nearly all trade remedies cases are initiated upon application made by domestic industry.
The Ministry examines the application and forwards to the Commission a report on the results of such examination with recommendations either to launch the investigation or to deny the application. The Commission will take a decision on whether to initiate a trade remedies investigation generally within the 30-day period from the date of submission of the application.
The application to start an anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigation shall contain the evidence of dumping/subsidisation, injury and causation. The application shall include the following information:
- general information regarding the applicant;
- data on the applicant’s production of the products concerned (by volume and value);
- a list of all known domestic producers of like products (or associations of domestic producers of like products) and, if possible, of the volume and value of production of like products by these producers;
- products (including their full description) that are stated to be the subject of dumping/subsidisation, and the name of the country (or countries) of origin or export that is the subject of the application;
- a list of known exporters, foreign producers and importers of products under investigation;
- for anti-dumping investigations: prices at which products under investigation are sold for consumption in the domestic market of the country or countries of origin or export (or, where such information is available, prices at which the products are sold from the country of origin or export to a third country or on the constructed value of products) and information on export prices, or prices at which the products are first resold to an independent buyer in the importing country;
- for anti-subsidy investigations: evidence with regard to the existence, amount and nature of the subsidy in question, and evidence that a subsidy is actionable; and
- volumes and dynamics of allegedly dumped/subsidised imports, and the effect of these imports on prices of like products in the importing country market and state of domestic industry.
The application to launch an anti-dumping/anti-subsidy investigation also usually includes information on public interest.
The application to start a safeguard investigation shall include information regarding volume and prices of the allegedly surged imports. It normally also includes general data regarding domestic industry, evidence regarding serious injury caused to domestic industry, a description of the products concerned, causation and public interest.
5. What is the procedure for foreign exporters to defend a trade remedies case in your jurisdiction?
Foreign exporters participate in a trade remedies case as interested parties, but they do not acquire this status automatically. Foreign exporters can enjoy all rights of the interested parties if they inform the Ministry of their desire to participate in the investigation within the established time limit.
After taking a decision to initiate a trade defence investigation, the Commission publishes a notice in the official gazette. The public notice aims to inform all parties concerned, including foreign exporters, about a launched investigation. As a standard practice the notice sets a term of 30 days for the registration of foreign exporters and producers (as well as other parties concerned) as an interested party to the investigation.
Once a company is registered as an interested party, it enjoys all relevant rights prescribed by law to defend its interests, such as submitting commentaries, participating in the hearing, submitting a post-hearing brief, reviewing a case record, etc. If the deadline for the registration is missed, the right to enjoy such opportunities is forfeited.
Normally a public notice also sets a deadline of 60 days (45 days in safeguard investigations) for submitting an initial commentary regarding the investigation. This commentary can be submitted by both interested parties ‘registered’ with the Ministry and ‘nonregistered’ parties.
Shortly after the initiation of the investigation, the Ministry sends a questionnaire to known foreign exporters and producers.
The Ministry usually considers foreign producers and exporters as being known if they are registered as an interested party. Sometimes the Ministry sends the questionnaire to ‘non-registered’ foreign exporters. Foreign producers (exporters) usually have to reply to the questionnaire within 37 days from the date of the Ministry’s sending of the questionnaire. They can also request an extension, which is granted by the Ministry in the majority of cases. The standard duration of extension is two weeks.
In almost every investigation the Ministry holds public hearings with the participation of all interested parties (namely, domestic industry, foreign producers and exporters, embassies of exporting countries, importers, etc). After the public hearings the participants in the hearings submit post-hearing briefs, which are taken into consideration by the Ministry during the investigation.
A foreign producer or exporter also has a right to request consultation with domestic industry, where both parties can present and discuss their arguments. After the consultation, the written briefs are submitted to the Ministry.
In addition, the Ministry, in the course of the investigation, may send additional requests for information or clarification of previously submitted information.
All information submitted to the Ministry by one interested party shall be sent promptly by this interested party to all other participants in the investigation. The interested parties are also entitled to review the public case record in the Ministry.
In practice, interested parties can comment on written information submitted by other interested parties.
The period of an anti-dumping/anti-subsidy investigation shall not exceed one year from the date of publication of the notice on its initiation. The Commission may prolong the term of an investigation for up to 18 months. The duration of a safeguard investigation shall not exceed 270 days from the date of initiation of such investigation. Under extraordinary circumstances this term may be extended by the Commission to up to 330 days.
6. Are the WTO rules on trade remedies applied in national law?
Ukraine belongs to the list of countries where international treaties ratified by the parliament become a part of domestic legislation. In particular, pursuant to article 9 of the Constitution of Ukraine, international
treaties that are in force, agreed to be binding by the parliament, are part of the domestic legislation. Article 19.1 of the Law on International Treaties of Ukraine additionally says that international agreements ratified by the parliament are a part of domestic legislation and shall be applied under the procedure provided for the norms of domestic legislation. Furthermore, if the international agreement, duly ratified by the parliament, sets rules other than those envisaged in Ukrainian legislation, the rules of the international agreement shall apply (article 19.2 of the Law on International Treaties of Ukraine).
Thus, WTO trade remedies agreements have direct effect in Ukraine. They are applied by the Ministry in the course of the investigation along with domestic trade remedies laws (ie, the Ministry directly refers to WTO rules in its requests, letters and reports). If there is a contradiction between a domestic rule and a corresponding WTO rule, the latter shall be applied. Finally, the compliance of national measures with international treaties ratified by the Ukrainian parliament can be challenged before national courts.
Foreign producers and exporters often refer to WTO trade remedies agreements while presenting their position before the investigating authority in the course of investigations. They can also litigate final or preliminary determinations on imposition of trade remedy measures before national courts invoking provisions of the WTO Agreements.
7 What is the appeal procedure for an unfavourable trade remedies decision? Is appeal available for all decisions? How likely is an appeal to succeed?
Any final or preliminary determination in a trade remedies case can be challenged in the administrative court within 30 days after the imposition of an unfavourable measure. Trade remedies cases, however, are often quite complicated and their consideration may continue for several years.
8. How and when can an affected party seek a review of the duty or quota? What is the procedure and time frame for obtaining a refund of overcharged duties? Can interest be claimed?
Review
Foreign producers or exporters can seek a review of anti-dumping/countervailing measures imposed after a period of one year from the date of their application. Such a request shall be submitted to the Ministry and should provide sufficient evidence and proof of the necessity of an interim review. The interim review shall be launched if the request proves that:
• continuation of application of anti-dumping/countervailing measures is no longer necessary for the prevention of dumping/subsidisation;
• continuation or resumption of injury is unlikely, should the antidumping/countervailing measures be cancelled or altered; or
• applied anti-dumping/countervailing measures are not or shall not be sufficient for the prevention of dumping/subsidisation that causes injury.
In the course of the interim review the Ministry examines whether the circumstances of dumping/subsidisation and injury have considerably changed, whether the applied measures have had the desired effect and whether there is prevention of injury previously established during the original investigation.
The domestic anti-dumping/countervailing duties law also provides for expiry review and newcomers’ review.
Refund
Importers may apply for a refund of anti-dumping/countervailing duties, provided an importer proves and the Commission takes a decision that the margin of dumping/subsidisation, on the basis of which the rate of the duty has been calculated, was decreased to a lower or zero rate than the initially calculated margin of dumping.
The application for refund is submitted to the State Customs Service. The application shall be supplemented with documents confirming importation of goods into Ukraine, their customs clearance and payment of the anti-dumping/countervailing duty within six months from the date of accepting the Commission’s decision on imposition of the duty. The Customs Service shall immediately forward the application to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. A copy of the application shall also be sent to the Commission and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.
The Commission, on the proposal of the Ministry, shall consider the application together with the conclusions of the Customs Service and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. The Commission shall take a decision based on the results of such consideration. The Commission may also take a decision on initiation of an interim review of the anti-dumping/countervailing measures.
The Commission shall generally take a decision regarding refund within 12 months, but not later than 18 months from the date of submission by an importer of the application. The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine shall refund the stipulated amounts within 90 days from the date of making a relevant decision of the Commission.
9. What are the practical strategies for complying with an anti-dumping/countervailing/safeguard duty or quota?
If a trade remedies measure is imposed, foreign producers or exporters can challenge the determination with the local courts or seek review of anti-dumping or countervailing duties measures in a year. If targeted foreign producers have factories in several countries, they may consider shipping into Ukraine products of another origin (in case of anti-dumping or countervailing measures).
Customs duties
10. Where are normal customs duty rates for your jurisdiction listed? Is there a binding tariff information system or similar in place?
Ukrainian Classification of Commodities of Foreign Economic Activity is constructed on the basis of the six-digit Commodity Description and Coding System (used for the purpose of accounting for the exports and imports of goods). Customs duty rates are listed in the Law No. 2371-III on Customs Tariff, 5 April 2001.
As a WTO member, Ukraine is subject to the Goods Schedule indicating bound rates. The information on binding tariffs and applied rates can be accessed at www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/
ukraine_e.htm.
11. Where are special tariff rates, such as under free trade agreements or preferential tariffs, and countries that are given preference listed?
Unlike the EU, Ukraine has no Generalized System of Preferences and consequently only those countries with FTAs with Ukraine benefit from the preferential tariffs. At the time of writing, Ukraine has FTAs with CIS countries, Macedonia and the EFTA states.
12. How can GSP treatment for a product be obtained or removed?
Only countries subject to FTAs with Ukraine have preferential tariffs. In order to benefit from the regime the company concerned has to provide customs authorities with a valid certificate of origin confirming that the product is produced in the territory of the FTA member state.
13. Is there a duty suspension regime in place? How can duty suspension be obtained?
Ukraine has no system where the company concerned can submit a request for a duty suspension regime. A general system of duty exemption is determined, however, by the Customs Code of Ukraine (article 282), where the goods subject to exemption are listed.
Among such goods are vehicles for commercial use, raw materials, oil, Ukrainian currency, foreign currency, securities, goods that are imported within the framework of international technical assistance under international treaties, goods for product-sharing agreements, archival documents, several types of pharmaceutical products, equipment for the purpose of alternative energy, etc.
14. Where can customs decisions be challenged in your jurisdiction? What are the procedures?
The Customs Code of Ukraine No. 4495-VI of 13 March 2012 (the Customs Code), has been in force since 1 June 2012. With regard to challenging the actions of customs authorities, the Customs Code
envisages two types of appeal. First is pre-trial appeal of the decisions, acts and ommissions of the customs authorities, and second (article 29 of the Customs Code) is a judicial procedure, which is regulated by separate law. Article 24 of the Customs Code contains the list of decisions, acts and omissions that may be challenged.
Moreover, in comparison to the previous version of the Customs Code, such list includes not only particular decisions of customs authorities on the customs issues that may be challenged, but also the decisions that satisfy or refuse to satisfy the complaints of legal or natural persons.
Decisions, acts and omissions may be appealed to higher authorities and officials. Higher authorities are the following:
for customs officials, heads of the customs authorities;
• for customs posts, customs heading the branch of customs posts;
• for customs of the specialised customs authorities and customs
organisations, the State Customs Service of Ukraine; and
• for the State Customs Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance
of Ukraine.
Requirements regarding the form and content of the complaints,
the terms of their submission, procedure and terms for their consideration,
as well as liability for illegal actions related to submission
and consideration of the complaints, are determined by the Law of
Ukraine on Public Appeals. The duly submitted complaint on the
decision, act or omission of the customs authority shall be considered
for not more than one month (may be urgently or within 15
days), but may be extended to up to 45 days. A complaint shall
be submitted within one year from the date of its adoption, but
not later than one month since familiarisation with such decision.
The judicial procedure envisages filing the case before the relevant
administrative court.
Trade barriers
15 What government office handles complaints against trade barriers in
the WTO or under other agreements?
Commonly the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is
responsible for handling complaints against trade barriers and relevant
WTO issues (see www.me.gov.ua). In addition, the Ministry
of Justice of Ukraine (www.minjust.gov.ua) has the authority to represent
Ukraine in foreign and international courts and jurisdictional
authorities. Consequently, if the WTO dispute enters the stage of a
panel formation, the Ministry of Justice cooperates with Ministry
of Economy.
16 What is the procedure for filing a complaint against a trade barrier?
A company concerned addresses the respective department within
the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade with the letter
outlining the scope of the trade barrier. The general term of response
to the complaint letter of the company concerned is one month.
Upon examination of the complaint, the Ministry may either initiate
a meeting with the company concerned to discuss the barrier in
question or refuse to initiate the proceedings.
17 What will the authority consider when deciding whether to begin an
investigation?
Formally, the Ministry first considers whether the application contains
all sufficient grounds for initiating the WTO case. Furthermore,
the authority normally considers trade policy and relationswith the member imposing the trade barrier, the volume of production,
the export or import of the subject merchandise, and the injury
that is caused by the trade barrier.
18 What measures outside the WTO may the authority unilaterally take
against a trade barrier?
Ukraine may establish facts of discriminatory or hostile actions of
non-WTO members. The procedure for establishing such facts (or
their absence) is set forth in the Law on Foreign Economic Activity
and in the ‘Order of Conducting Investigations Aimed at Establishing
Facts of Discriminatory and/or Hostile Actions of Other States,
Customs Unions or Economic Groups Concerning Legitimate
Rights and Interests of Business Entities of Ukraine’, adopted by the
Decree of Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, No. 2120, 22 November
1999. Such an investigation is conducted by the Ministry of Economy
of Ukraine upon application of a business entity of Ukraine.
Upon receipt of duly executed application followed by evidence and
documents, the Ministry conducts an investigation lasting 60 days.
The Ministry submits its report on the results of the investigation to
the Commission. The decision of the Commission is published in the
official gazette.
19 What support does the government expect from the private sector to
bring a WTO case?
Commonly, to bring a WTO case the companies concerned should
be prepared to handle lawyers’ fees, translations and supporting
documents. Having prepared the position paper, companies address
the Ministry of Economy with the issue. Trade statistics are ordered
either from the State Customs Service or from the State Statistics
Committee. More rarely, the Ministry engages other state enterprises,
including expert institutions or economic research institutes.
The fees for such state enterprises’ services are expected to be borne
by the company concerned.
20 What other notable trade barriers does your country impose?
The most notable barrier may be regarded as the practical realisation
of customs valuation of goods. Although the WTO Customs
Valuation Agreement has direct effect in Ukraine and provisions
of the Customs Code of Ukraine incorporate the procedures for
customs valuation, importers face the problem of declaring higher
prices for goods than their transaction value is.
Export controls
21 What general controls are imposed on exports?
The following general requirements shall be fulfilled to export products
from Ukraine:
• Exporters shall provide customs authorities with the required
set of documents for exporting products (customs declaration,
invoices, contracts, specifications, certificate of origin, bill of
lading, documents confirming payment of customs fees and
duties, various certificates, if necessary (ie, phytosanitary certificate,
ecological certificate, etc)).
• Exporters shall settle customs payments, if any are envisaged by
the legislation as of the day of exportation. The notion of ‘customs
payments’ includes customs duties, VAT and excise duty
(article 4.27 of the Customs Code of Ukraine).
• Export products are subject to zero VAT rate (article 195
of the Tax Code of Ukraine) and are not subject to excise
tax (article 213 of the Tax Code of Ukraine).
• Export customs duties can be introduced by laws passed
by the Ukrainian parliament. Currently, Ukraine applies
export duties to (i) barley, (ii) ferrous alloy scrap metal, non-ferrous scrap metal and semi-processed products
with their use, (iii) waste and scrap of ferrous metal, (iv)
seed grains of certain sunflowers, and (v) livestock and
certain leather primary products.
• Exporters shall fulfil requirements of non-tariff regulation if any
are envisaged by the legislation as of the day of exportation (eg,
licensing).
An exporter shall be registered with a local customs office in order
to perform export transactions.
In addition, pursuant to the Law on Foreign Economic Activity,
it is generally prohibited in Ukraine:
• to export goods considered as national, historical, archaeological
or cultural heritage of the Ukrainian people;
• to export natural resources which are exhausted, if this limitations
are also used to the internal consumption or production;
• to export products that infringe intellectual property rights; and
• to export goods subject to Resolutions of the UN Security Council
regarding limitations or embargoes on supplying with goods
in the proper state.
22 Which authorities handle the controls?
Export controls are predominantly handled by the following authorities:
• Parliament of Ukraine (http://iportal.rada.gov.ua/);
• Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (www.kmu.gov.ua);
• National Bank of Ukraine (www.bank.gov.ua);
• Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (www.me.gov.
ua);
• Customs Service of Ukraine (www.customs.gov.ua/dmsu/control/
uk/index);
• Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade; and
• State Service of Export Control of Ukraine (www.dsecu.gov.ua).
23 Are separate controls imposed on specific products? Give details.
Exports of military equipment and ‘dual-use’ equipment are subject
to Law No. 549-IV on State Controls for International Transfer of
Military and ‘Dual-Use’ Goods of 20 February 2003.
This law regulates international transfer (export, import, reexport,
temporary admission, temporary exports, transit, other
transfers) of military and ‘dual-use’ equipment, including providing
intermediary services; production, scientific and technical cooperation;
and transfer of goods for demonstration in international exhibitions
and fairs for the purpose of advertising, testing, trade and
exchange transactions.
In general terms export controls of military and ‘dual-use’
equipment include identification of products subject to such controls
and issuing of permits and determinations for its exports and for
conducting negotiations on such exports. Business entities intended
to transfer military and ‘dual-use’ equipment have to register with
the State Service of Export Control of Ukraine.
24 Has your jurisdiction implemented the WCO’s SAFE Framework of
Standards. Does it have an AEO programme or similar?
On 13 March 2012 the Ukrainian parliament passed a new edition
of the Customs Code of Ukraine in order to implement the WCO’s
SAFE Framework of Standards into domestic customs legislation
and harmonise it with several international treaties (in particular,
the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization
of Customs Procedures, the Convention on Temporary Admission
and the Customs Convention on the International Transport of
Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets).
According to the Compendium of AEO Programmes (2012), the
AEO programme has not been introduced yet in Ukraine; however,
there are developments regarding this matter at the parliamentary
level.
25 Where is information on countries subject to export controls listed?
Countries subject to export controls are defined by regulations
adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. These regulations
are based on Resolutions of the UN Security Council. For instance,
the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 302 on
Implementation of the Resolutions adopted by the Security Council
of the UN regarding the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 18 April 2012,
was passed to fulfil the Resolutions No. 1970 dated 26 February
2011, No. 1973 dated 17 March 2011, No. 2009 dated 16 September
2011, No. 2016 dated 27 October 2011, No. 2017 dated 31
October 2011 and No. 2022 dated 2 December 2011.
The following countries are currently subject to export control:
Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Iran,
Iraq, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, North Korea, Somalia,
Sudan and Syria. This list can be found on the website of the State
Service of Export Controls of Ukraine with the indication of the relevant
Resolutions of the UN Security Council and the Regulations
of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
26 Does your jurisdiction have a scheme imposing controls for exports to
named persons and institutions? Give details.
Ukraine does not have any specific schemes to impose export controls
on named persons and institutions.
27 What are the possible penalties for violation of export controls?
The most commonly used penalty for violation of export controls is
a fine. Individual licensing or temporary suspension of foreign economic
activity can be also applied for violation of export control
rules.
Trade embargoes
28 What government offices impose trade sanctions?
The Law on Foreign Economic Activity authorises the Parliament of
Ukraine to introduce trade embargoes (complete or partial) and to
cancel MFN treatment or special preferential treatment as a trade
sanction in response to discriminatory or hostile acts of other states.
Other types of sanctions regarding exporters and importers can be
also applied by Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (ie, the introduction
of licensing) and the Commission (ie, the introduction of extra
duties or quotas).
At the same time, the law says that if Ukraine and the state that
acted in a discriminatory or hostile manner towards Ukraine are
members of the same international intergovernmental organisation,
consideration and settlement of the dispute is carried out in accordance
with the rules and procedures of such organisation. In other
words, Ukraine cannot introduce these trade sanctions in response
to allegedly discriminatory or hostile actions of WTO members; it
must submit the matter to the WTO dispute settlement procedure.
29 What countries are currently the subject of trade embargoes by your
country?
Currently no countries are subject to trade embargoes by Ukraine
(except for those introduced based on the Resolutions of the Security
Council of the United Nations).
30 Are individuals or specific companies subject to financial sanctions?
Financial sanctions to individuals or companies (such as freeze
assets, ban on entrance to a country, embargoes on weapons, etc)
can be introduced in fulfilment of the relevant decision of the UN
Security Council.
Miscellaneous
31 Describe any trade remedy measures, import or export controls not
covered above that are particular to your jurisdiction.
All standard trade remedy measures and import or export controls
applied by Ukraine have been covered above. There are no measures
or controls particular to Ukraine currently applied.