Arbitration of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has recognized violations committed by Ukraine during an anti-dumping investigation on ammonium nitrate originating from the Russian Federation. Yevropeysʹka Pravda reports this information with reference to its own sources close to the government.

“Ukraine lost its controversy to Russia within the framework of the World Trade Organization for the first time... WTO complied with the requirements of the Russian Federation and demanded that Ukraine "remove the violation".  The text of this decision has already been prepared; it is expected that it will be announced in the near future,” - it is said in the newspaper.

According to Yevropeysʹka pravda, the WTO has already sent to the Ukrainian side a preliminary text of the decision. The official publication of this document on the WTO website will take place over the coming weeks. After that, the decision will be deemed to have come into force. Until the official publication, the parties are not allowed to comment on the case.

"WTO demands to remove the violation. This means that we must conduct a new anti-dumping investigation, without stopping the effect of protective duties. It is possible that after a new investigation conducted on the basis of WTO comments, it will be possible to prove the fact of dumping by the Russian Federation", - reported the newspaper.

Mikhail Sokolov, deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council (UAC), noted that the UAC defends for two years that the decision to restrict the import of nitrogen fertilizers from the Russian Federation is illegal.

"The WTO Dispute Settlement Body actually confirmed our position. Let me recall that the UAC is suing the government, demanding that the decision to introduce anti-dumping duties on nitrogen fertilizers is illegal. Moreover, we have been making it obvious for two years that they lead to the plunder of Ukrainian farmers by the company Ostchem, owned by Dmitry Firtash," he said.

Ostchem is a monopoly on the domestic fertilizer market, and therefore benefits from eliminating the main competitor - fertilizers from the Russian Federation in a situation where the prices of fertilizers on the domestic market exceed the world by 40-50%.

It is worth noting that limiting the import of fertilizers from the Russian Federation has nothing to do with protecting national interests. Raw material for fertilizer production in the country is, again, Russian gas and ammonia. At the same time, import restrictions lead to a shortage of fertilizers on the Ukrainian market and even higher prices.

Therefore, the only way out of the situation is to provide the plants with its own raw material base - by providing chemical support for domestic blue fuel at cost and construction of synthesis plants that will produce fertilizers from gas coals that are available in Ukraine in surplus.