The Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization of Moldova has announced that Ukraine will cancel the anti-dumping duty on imports of Moldovan cement by the end of 2023, InfoMarket reports.
It is noted that the Ukrainian side announced such a possibility following constructive discussions held during a meeting of the co-chairs of the Moldovan-Ukrainian intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation held in Odesa, which was also attended by State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization Vadim Humene.
One of the main topics discussed at the meeting was Ukraine’s imposition of an anti-dumping duty on cement imports from Moldova, which affects the operations of cement production companies in Moldova and has negative consequences for bilateral trade between the countries.
In this regard, Vadim Ghumene insisted on a request to cancel the anti-dumping duty on imports of cement of Moldovan origin to Ukraine in the near future in order to avoid Moldova initiating trade defense processes in sectors affected by massive imports from Ukraine.
According to the Moldovan side, Ukraine has expressed its readiness to cancel the anti-dumping duty on imports of cement from Moldova by the end of 2023. In addition, the parties expressed their openness and readiness to help remove barriers to trade, in particular, to simplify border controls to optimize the flow of goods, review environmental duties and ensure transparent, uniform application of legislation by both countries.
As reported, in 2019, the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (hereinafter – the ICIT) applied anti-dumping duties on imports of cement to Ukraine at the level of 57.03% for cement from the Republic of Belarus; 94.46% for cement from the Republic of Moldova; 114.95% for cement from the Russian Federation. The application of such high duty rates indicated the existence of a violation of competition by these three countries and the need to protect Ukrainian producers. The measures were imposed for a period of five years and are valid until June 2024. They may be extended if the national producer initiates a review procedure, during which the Ministry of Economy and the ICIT will determine whether it is expedient or inexpedient to extend them.
In the summer of 2023, the ICIT terminated the interim review of anti-dumping measures against imports of cement produced by Rybnytsia Cement Plant originating in the Republic of Moldova, arguing that the extension of the final anti-dumping measures against imports of cement originating in Russia, Belarus and Moldova, in particular, produced by Rybnytsia Cement Plant, is necessary to level the playing field.
In the first half of 2023, Ukraine ranked second among Moldova’s main trading partners, accounting for about 14.6% of Moldova’s total trade. In January-June 2023, the trade turnover between Moldova and Ukraine amounted to approximately $929.5 million. At the same time, exports of Moldovan products to the Ukrainian market increased by 44% to $359.3 million, and imports of Ukrainian products increased by 42.6% to $570.2 million.
Sweden will provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth 2.2 billion kronor (approximately $199 million), which will consist mainly of ammunition and spare parts for previously transferred systems, Reuters reports, citing a statement by Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson.
In addition, according to the minister, the Swedish government has instructed the armed forces to analyze whether Sweden will be able to transfer Jas Gripen fighters to Ukraine.
It is noted that the new aid package will be the 14th since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with the total amount of aid from Sweden amounting to more than 22 billion kronor (about $2 billion).
Oil prices are recovering on Friday after updating their lows since August in the previous session.
The cost of December futures for Brent on the London ICE Futures exchange at 8:09 a.m. on Friday is $84.2 per barrel, which is $0.13 (0.15%) higher than at the close of the previous session. On Thursday, the price of these contracts fell by $1.74 (2%) to $84.07 per barrel, the lowest since August 24.
Futures for WTI for November in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have risen by $0.21 (0.26%) to $82.52 per barrel by this time. At the end of the previous session, the value of these contracts decreased by $1.91 (2.3%) to $82.31 per barrel, the lowest since August 30.
The day before, oil fell in price on the prospects of weakening global demand, which outweighed concerns about limited supply. In particular, data from the U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday showed a significant decline in demand for gasoline. Its stocks jumped by 6.48 million barrels in the United States last week, the ministry said. At the same time, oil reserves decreased by 2.22 million barrels.
The consensus forecast of analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights was for gasoline reserves to remain unchanged and for oil stocks to decline by 1.4 million barrels.
German authorities intend to send additional air defense systems to Ukraine to protect the country’s grain exports, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
“They said on condition of anonymity that Berlin will supply an additional IRIS-T air defense system and more than a dozen Gepard systems to provide cover for shipments along Ukraine’s southern coast to Romania,” the agency reports.
These weapons are expected to arrive in Ukraine by the end of the year; Kyiv is to receive more IRIS-Ts as they are produced by Germany.
The sources did not disclose what routes these air defense systems will cover or what other capabilities Berlin may include in the new aid package for Ukraine.
German MP Markus Faber confirmed that Ukraine will receive additional IRIS-T and Gepard systems, as well as ammunition, but did not provide details.
According to Bloomberg, Gepard has a range of 4 km, and IRIS-T – up to 40 km. The air defense systems can be used to protect port infrastructure, the process of loading grain onto ships, and when they are at sea.
As part of the visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Kingdom of Spain, the Head of State had an audience with His Majesty King Philip VI in Granada, the President’s press service reported on Thursday evening.
The President expressed gratitude to King Philip, the royal family of Spain and the entire Spanish people for their continued support for Ukraine.
“We appreciate the assistance provided by Spain from the first days of the full-scale invasion of the aggressor state in Ukraine’s struggle for our common European values,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
He also emphasized the significant humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people and the great attention paid to Ukrainians who came to Spain to escape the Russian war.
According to the press service, His Majesty King Philip VI expressed his admiration for the Ukrainian people who are resisting Russian aggression. He emphasized that Spain’s support for Ukraine in this struggle is based on fundamental respect for the sovereignty of countries and the inadmissibility of armed aggression.
The UK will provide a new winter aid package to Ukraine worth more than half a billion dollars, the British government’s website reported on Thursday, October 5.
“The new aid allocations to Ukraine announced today include £34 million (over $41 million) for the UN and charities providing shelter and warm winter clothing,” the statement said.
In addition, 10 million pounds (over $12 million) will be allocated to restore energy supply to household consumers after Russian attacks on Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure.
A fourth UK loan guarantee of $500 million, provided through the World Bank, has also been announced. This funding should ensure that the Ukrainian government can provide vital winterization payments to three million households.
