Belarus is introducing an individual licensing regime for a number of Ukrainian goods for six months, Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka has said.
“According to recent information, Belarus has introduced an individual licensing regime for the import of a number of Ukrainian goods: confectionery, chocolate, juice, beer, chipboard and fiberboard, wallpaper, toilet paper and packaging, bricks, ceramic tiles, glass ampoules, agricultural machinery for sowing, washing cars and furniture. This decision was approved by resolution of the Council of Ministers of Belarus No. 292 dated May 26,” the trade representative wrote on Facebook on Friday. He said that the decision will enter into force ten days after its publication and is designed for six months.
“Such actions are groundless and discriminatory. The individual licensing regime means manual control over the import of Ukrainian products to Belarus. The government is consulting with manufacturers to eliminate the negative consequences of the discriminatory actions of the Belarusian government,” Kachka said.
At the same time, the trade representative of Ukraine said that these actions of Belarus are related to trade restrictions introduced earlier.
“Everyone is asking not to tie all the events together,” Kachka wrote amid comments that such a decision by Belarus could be the answer to the ban on flights in its airspace of Belarusian airlines imposed by Ukraine.
According to him, this also applies to news about a possible interruption in the supply of A-95 gasoline to Ukraine from Belarus.
“News on gasoline, according to operational information, is associated with technological processes at the refinery of the Belarusian manufacturer and without long-term consequences for the import of gasoline from Belarus. The policy to diversify supplies will be strengthened. But do not panic now,” Kachka said.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended that EU air carriers and non-EU airlines avoid Belarusian airspace, Western media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing the EASA.
Non-EU airlines authorized by the EASA when conducting operations to, from, and within the EU are advised to avoid operating in Belarusian airspace, it said.
The agency cited safety reasons following the May 23 Ryanair flight incident, which called into question the ability of the Belarusian authorities to provide safe air navigation services.
A Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius was forced to land at the Minsk airport while passing through Belarus’s airspace on May 23. It was reported that the plane landed after the Belarusian security services were warned of a bomb threat. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered that a MiG-29 fighter jet be scrambled to shadow the passenger plane, which was carrying Roman Pratasevich, editor of the Telegram channel Belarus Golovnogo Mozga (Belarus of the Brain) and former editor of the Telegram channel Nexta, both designated as extremist in Belarus, and his girlfriend Sofia Sapega, a Russian citizen and student of the European Humanities University based in Vilnius. The Belarusian authorities have detained both of them.
As of the end of May 2021, direct flights to and from Belarus to Ukraine are operated by Motor Sich (Ukraine) and Belavia (Belarus) airlines.
According to the data of the State Air Traffic Services Enterprise (UkSATSE), Belavia in 2020 was the third in terms of the number of flights operated in Ukraine’s airspace (10,644 flights) after the Turkish Türk Hava Yolları (14,623 flights) and Ukraine International Airlines (14,406 flights).
Belavia flies from Minsk to Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Odesa and Kherson.
Motor Sich operates flights on the Minsk-Zaporizhia route twice a week.
Ukraine stops air traffic with Belarus from May 26, the relevant decision was made at a government meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
“From 00:00 on May 26, Ukraine will stop air traffic with Belarus,” Shmyhal wrote in the Telegram channel.
The prime minister said the government instructed the Infrastructure Ministry, the the State Air Traffic Services Enterprise (UkSATSE) to take the necessary measures for this.
In addition, Ukrainian airlines and aircraft will be prohibited from flying in the airspace of the Republic of Belarus.
The State Border Guard Service also received an order to stop the registration of passengers traveling from Belarus or to Belarus at the customs points of airports.
“The situation with the forced landing of Ryanair’s aircraft in Minsk is a violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The decision of our government is aimed at ensuring the safety of flights and passengers,” Shmyhal said.
Ukraine in January-March 2021 imported 1.812 million tonnes of petroleum products (according to foreign economic activity code 2710: petrol, diesel fuel, fuel oil, jet fuel, etc.), which is 10.4% more year-over-year (1.642 million tonnes). According to the State Customs Service, petroleum products were imported to the tune of $894.99 million, which is 8.2% less than in January-March 2020 ($ 975.061 million).
Fuel was imported from Belarus for $416.163 million (the share is 46.5%), Russia for $283.626 million (31.69%), Lithuania for $85.767 million (9.58%), other countries for $109.434 million (12.23%).
In addition, Ukraine exported 113,426 tonnes (49.4% compared to January-March 2020) of petroleum products for a total of $53.49 million (17.4%). The cost of fuel delivered to counterparties from Turkey amounted to $12.338 million, the Czech Republic some $11.778 million, Latvia some $10.936 million and other countries to $18.438 million.
The Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICIT) has initiated an anti-dumping investigation into the import of wood chipboard originating from the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation to Ukraine.
The decision of the commission made on February 16, 2021 on the initiation of an investigation comes into force from the moment of its publication, indicated in the report published in the Uriadovy Kurier newspaper dated February 20.
According to the report, the commission received a corresponding complaint from Svisspan Limited LLC (Kostopil, Rivne region)
According to the applicant, during the study period (H2 2017 – H1 2020), the share of dumped chipboard imports from Belarus and the Russian Federation exceeded half of the total imports, while the share of consumption ranged from 6.8% to 12.29% , in relation to production – from 5.03% to 11.72%. At the same time, the prices of dumped imports were significantly lower than the applicant’s price level for the entire study period and below the cost price level in H2 2019 – H1 2020.
Analysis of the dynamics of the main indicators of the applicant’s financial and economic activities during the study period showed a decrease in sales volumes, a loss of market share with an increase in consumption in the domestic market, a decrease in production volumes and deterioration in other financial indicators.
Having considered the complaint, the ICIT came to the conclusion that the import of chipboard from Belarus and the Russian Federation to Ukraine could be carried out at dumping prices and the level of the dumping margin cannot be considered minimal, and the volume of imports cannot be considered insignificant. The commission also said that the chipboard originating from these countries into Ukraine was imported in such volumes and on such conditions that it may harm the national manufacturer.
The investigation concerns wood chipboard, with the exception of chipboard panels covered with decorative laminated plastic, which are classified according to the Ukrainian Foreign Economic Activity Commodity Nomenclature as 4410 10 11 10 00, 4410 11 30 00 and 4410 11 90 00.
The Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture has been charged with carrying out the anti-dumping investigation. Interested parties are registered within 30 days.
Swisspan Limited is one of the leaders in the production of furniture boards in Ukraine, specializing in the production of sanded and laminated chipboards of its own trademark Swisspan by Sorbes. The company was founded in 2003 by the Swiss group Sorbes AG and, in addition to Swisspan Limited, owns LK Interplyt Nadvirna in Ivano-Frankivsk region, as well as the Repo Vabrikud plant in Estonia.
