News date: 14 September 2021
The International Trade Practice of Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, headed by Partner Olena Omelchenko, managed to protect the interests of the national manufacturers – Odessa Cable Factory ‘Odeskabel’ PJSC and Yuzhcable Works PJSC – and achieved the imposition of safeguard duties on imports of cable and wire products to Ukraine, regardless of country of origin and export.
On 23 April 2021, the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade adopted Decision No. SP-491/2021/4411-03 on the imposition of safeguard duties on imports of goods to Ukraine, regardless of country of origin and export, of the following description: insulated wires, cables and other insulated electrical conductors without connecting parts; fiber optic cables made up of individually sheathed fibers, classified under the Ukrainian Classification of Goods for Foreign Economic Activity (UCGFEA) codes 8544 49 20 00, 8544 49 91 00, 8544 60 10 10 8544 60 10 98, 8544 60 90 10 8544 60 90 90, 8544 70 00 10 8544 70 00 90.
The safeguard measures were imposed for a three-year period in the form of a safeguard duties in the amount of: 23.5% – from the date of imposition of the safeguard measures, 22.3% – after 12 months from the date of imposition of the safeguard measures and 21.2% – after 24 months from the date of imposition of the safeguard measures. The safeguard measures will not apply to the imports of goods to Ukraine originating from the countries in the list of which was determined on the basis of the Commission’s decision.
The decision of the Commission comes into force 30 days after the publication of information about its adoption in the Uryadovy Courier newspaper.
“This is an unprecedented case, since it has taken almost five months to publish the decision of the Commission due to pressure exerted by certain People’s Deputies and state officials who lobbied the interests of importers, – pointed out Olena Omelchenko. – Thanks to the lawful actions of the Ministry of Economy, Ukrainian producers will be protected from growing imports of goods from China, Belarus and the EU countries. This will enable the Ukrainian enterprises to retake their historical share of the domestic market, save jobs and increase the amount of the tax payments to the budgets of all levels.”
Further to the results of the nine-month safeguard investigation the Commission established that the growing imports cause significant harm to Ukrainian manufacturers of cable and wire products, which require the state protection to save jobs and attract investments into the industry. Safeguard duties will be imposed only to a similar and interchangeable product to avoid problems with the products shortages.
The imposition of the safeguard measures will have a positive effect on the improvement of competition and will lead to the elimination of the negative impact of the disproportion in the trade in the Ukrainian domestic market.