Ukraine postpones imposing special duty on imports from Belarus

Ukraine on Friday announced a decision to to postpone the imposition of a special custom duty of 39.2 percent on certain products imported from Belarus.

The decision was adopted as government departments of both countries have entered a dialogue on the issue, said the Ukrainian Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICIT) Friday.

The restrictive measures, which were due to take effect on Jan. 20, were adjourned until May 1, the ICIT said in a statement published by the state-run newspaper The Government's Courier.

According to the ICIT statement, the imposition of the new import tariffs was delayed after the Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Ministry has started consultations with Belarusian authorities regarding the settlement of the contentious issues in bilateral trade.

The ICIT announced in November that it would impose the special custom duty on Belarusian-made goods in response to Minsk's decision to introduce the compulsory sanitary and hygienic examination for beer and confectionery imported from Ukraine.

The Belarusian-produced dairy products, confectionery, bakery, malt beer, vodka, cleaning supplies and tools, automobile tires, as well as some types of refrigerators and farm tractors would be subject to the new levy if the restrictive measures become effective. Endit