The issue about import duties changing or their temporary cancellation for rye and buckwheat imports should be considered in the long-term prospects, due to the fact that the changes may need to come to agreement with all the countries-participants of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The opinion was announced by Oleg Malskiy, the partner of the International Juridical Group AstapovLawyers, while commenting the initiative of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to impose the zero duties for the above stated commodities groups.

O.Malskiy explained that during the duties decrease there may appear the issue about the necessity to come to agreement about the tariff increase in the case of its return to the initial point.

According to O.Malskiy, if the measure is temporary, and the tariff is decreased, then Ukraine will face the necessity to come to agreement about the issue again, and to confirm the new plan of approved tariffs with other members of the WTO in accordance with the art.28 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT from 1994), suggested the lawyer.
At the same time, according to the art.2 GATT the countries should follow the tariffs level, which was approved between all the WTO members, noted the lawyer.

As it was previously announced, the Government of Ukraine offered to the Parliament to impose the zero duties for rye and buckwheat imports.
On his turn Nikolay Prysiazhnyuk, the Minister of Agrarian Policy, opposed the decision of the duty temporary cancellation, offered by the Government, motivating it by the fact that the biggest danger for the national consumer and agrarians, is if the consumer gets accustomed to the import food products.