Epress.am News from Armenia
Ukraine temporarily postponed a decision to create a special WTO (World Trade Organization) group to address the trade dispute with Armenia, yesterday said Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Economy Valery Piatnitsky.
“Since we are at the consultations stage with Armenia, we have agreed to extend it, and until the next round of talks, we will not insist on creating a group,” he said, reports Kommersant-Ukraine.
Thus, consultations with Armenia will continue until mid-December. The dispute between Armenia and Ukraine is tied to discriminatory excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco products imported into the Armenian market. Imported goods are taxed 6,500 drams (about $18.14 US) per 1,000 cigarettes, while Armenian producers pay 4,750 drams (about $13.25 US). Armenia also requires higher excise taxes on imported alcoholic beverages, including beer.
After a series of consultations, Armenia only made partial concessions. Excise taxes on tobacco products will be equalized gradually (until 2014), while taxes on alcoholic beverages will be reduced only for spirits (such as vodka), beginning from 2011.
After informal consultations, on July 20, Ukraine appealed to the WTO with a request for formal consultations on the trade disputes, and on Oct. 25, with a request to consider the issue to resolve the trade dispute. But at that time, Armenia had made use of its right to extend the consultation period by one month, as a result of which the special group wasn’t organized. This time Ukraine agreed to extend the consultation period. “We are still waiting for a proposal that will suit us,” said Piatnitsky.
Armenia’s ambassador to the Ukraine yesterday said that during the Kiev delegation’s recent visit, the “trade misunderstandings” had been settled, but the details of the arrangements haven’t been specified.