MOSCOW: Ukraine’s government will adopt 2 decrees related to “mirror-image actions” regarding trade with Russia at its meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
One decree concerns “the ban on import of goods made in the Russian Federation within the customs territory (of Ukraine), another will be related to customs rates on goods made in the Russian Federation,” PM said.
According to Yatsenyuk, each Russian action will be followed by Ukraine’s counter-action and counter-measure.
“Related decrees will be published on the first day after virtual actions by the Russian side regarding introduction of restrictive measures for Ukrainian goods,” he said.
On December 24, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) passed the law, which enables the government to impose economic sanctions against Russia. Particularly, the government will have the right to impose “a ban on foreign economic operations or their restriction” as well as abandon tariff preferences.
Earlier Yatsenyuk said that in case the Russian Federation imposes trade embargo starting from January 1, 2016 Kiev will be prepared to impose “counter mirror-image measures.” On Tuesday, he said that the Ukrainian government will enact a regulation on introduction of anti-Russia sanctions after the country’s President Pyotr Poroshenko signs the law “On external economic activity”.
Ukraine’s parliament passed the document in response for Russia’s law “On suspension of the force of Agreement on free trade zone regarding Ukraine by the Russian Federation,” which implies suspension of the force of preferential trade regime with Ukraine for preventing threats to Russia’s economic stability due to implementation of the trade and economic section of the agreement on Ukraine-European Union association from January 1, 2016. On November 18, the Russian government also made a decision to impose food embargo against Ukraine starting from January 1, 2016 due to Kiev’s joining anti-Russian sanctions.
