Russia accused of trade war against Ukraine

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Associated Press

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian politicians are accusing Russia of waging a trade war as a way to pressure the country against signing a cooperation pact with the European Union.

Late last month Russia banned popular Ukrainian confectionary products from its stores, citing safety concerns. This week, Moscow imposed tough restrictions on scores of other products.

Ukraine's government has shied from openly criticizing Russia, a big trade partner, but a business group says the restrictions amounted to a "complete halt of Ukrainian exports." Hundreds of cargo train cars were reportedly stuck at the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Thursday "this trade war has reached a threatening scale." Analysts see the move as an ill-disguised threat aimed at dissuading Kiev from signing a free-trade and political association agreement with the EU.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/russia-accused-trade-war-against-ukraine

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Ukraine–European Union relations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93European_Union_relations

[HumansAndResources]

1. If they were bucking Russia over the Betrayal of Nestor Makhno

... and supporting working-class autonomy, I'd be firmly in their camp. As they are cozying up with the North Atlantic Terror Organization's minions, however, I find it hard to blame Russia for their response.

[pampango]

2. No neighboring country has the right to tell others whom

they can sign 'cooperation agreements' with. If Ukraine wants to sign a trade agreement with the EU (or the US or Brazil or Japan), no other country gets to tell them they cannot do that.

When Russia joined the WTO last year, Ukraine had no right to complain since that was Russia's decision. The same principal applies to Ukraine's decision on trade with the EU.

[HumansAndResources]

5. Then Russia Can Choose to Trade with Whom They Choose

How does it work one way, and not the other?

[pampango]

6. That is certainly true. However, both Ukraine and Russia belong to the WTO and to the CIS FTA,

both of which require advanced notice and negotiation of actions that will harm trade. In this case I suspect Ukraine will have a good case against Russia and will probably be awarded significant compensation if Russia's actions do not comply with its commitments.

Russia has its own trade agreement with the EU in the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement which was signed in 1997.

As I understand it, Ukraine is not trying to modify its trade agreement with Russia (and other CIS countries) just expand their trade relations with other countries - indeed to countries with which Russia already has its own trade agreement. The US did not react this way when Mexico and Canada, in the years after NAFTA, expanded their trade agreements to other countries.

[SkyDaddy7]

3. WHATEVER!!

Russia is a mafia state!! To claim it is somehow better than NATO countries is laughable!!

[HumansAndResources]

4. Mafia State? Really?

The West's Transnational Corporate Mafia has it military in how many nations right now?

How many nations is Russia bombing / droning for Transnational Corporate Supremacy over a "Uni-Polar World" right now?

[Pterodactyl]

7. Those rascally Russians! I hope Ukraine has one of those cool reset buttons.