WT/DS621/1  
G/L/1489  
G/AG/GEN/226  
 
21 September 2023  
(23-6286) Page: 1/3 
  Original: English  
 
SLOVAK REPUBLIC  – MEASURES CONCERNING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS  
FROM UKRAINE  
REQUEST FOR CONSULTATIONS BY UKRAINE  
The following communication, dated  18 September 2023 , from the delegation of Ukraine  to the 
delegation of the Slovak Republic , is circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body in accordance with 
Article 4.4 of the DSU.  
 
_______________  
 
 
 
I have been instructed by my authorities to request consultations with the Slovak Republic pursuant 
to Article XXIII of the General Agreem ent on Tariffs and Trade of 1994 ("GATT 1994"), Article 19 of 
the Agreement on Agriculture, and Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing 
the Settlement of Disputes ("DSU") concerning measures of the Slovak Republic affecting the 
importation of certain agricultural products from Ukraine.  These measures adversely affect exports 
that are of key significance for Ukraine's economy, at the time when Russia's illegal, unjustifiable, 
and unprovoked war of aggression has had a devastating impact on Ukraine's economy and its ability 
to trade with other WTO Members.  
Pursuant to Article 4.4 of the DSU, Ukraine describes below the reasons for this request, including 
the identification of the measures at issue and an indication of th e legal basis for the complaints.  
I. BACKGROUND TO THE DISPUTE  
On April 13, 2023, the Slovak Republic applied a temporary prohibition on processing and introducing 
Ukrainian wheat into its feed and food chain, allegedly because a non-authorised pesticide 
(chlorpyrifos) had been detected in a sample of this product.1 Furthermore, on April 17, 2023, the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic submitted to the Government 
of the Slovak Republic a proposal to ban the importation of selected agricultural products and 
foodstuffs originating in Ukraine and to introduce a special regime for the transit of these goods 
through Slovak territory.2 
 
The measure of the Slovak Republic was subsequently replaced by cer tain import prohibitions at the 
EU level. In particular, on May 2, 2023, the EU Commission decided to prohibit the importation of 
four categories of Ukrainian agricultural products into the Republic of Poland, Hungary, the Slovak 
Republic, Romania, and the  Republic of Bulgaria until June 5, 2023, with the possibility of extending 
this measure. This prohibition was introduced through Article 1 of Regulation (EU) 2023/903 of May 
2, 2023, which stated as follows:  
 
Except for the execution of contracts that we re signed before the entry into force of 
this Regulation, the release for free circulation or placing under the customs 
warehousing, free zone or inward processing procedures of the products listed in the 
 
1 https://www.mpsr.sk/v -mene -ochrany -zdravia -sprisnujeme -pravidla -narabania -s-ukrajinskym -
obilim/52 ---18667/?fbclid=IwAR3InU3sYgvljGYa -Goul3ond3JT9y9ok4SJQnsIION7WF9LvLN6phZLPgA . 
2 https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Negotiation/1276 . WT/DS621/1 • G/L/1489 • G/AG/GEN/226  
 
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  Annex to this Regulation originating in Ukraine, sh all only be allowed in Member States 
other than Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania or Slovakia.3  
 
The EU Commission subsequently extended this prohibition until September 15, 2023 through 
Regulation (EU) 2023/1100 of June 5, 2023.4  
 
The EU's import pro hibition is not currently in force. On September 16, 2023, the EU Commission 
concluded that the temporary measures introduced on May 2, 2023, had contributed sufficiently to 
the elimination of the market distortions in the five EU Member States bordering U kraine. The EU 
authorities thus decided not to extend the measure.5  
 
However, despite the decision of the EU Commission the Slovak Republic announced on September 
16, 2023, that its own ban on a list of Ukrainian products came into force on September 15,  2023, 
through the Resolution № 466/2023 of the Government of the Slovak Republic  applying the 
prohibition on import of four commodities — wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds — from 
Ukraine.6 This Resolution expires on December 31, 2023.  
 
II. IDENTI FICATION OF THE MEASURES AT ISSUE  
The measure at issue is the import prohibitions on various agricultural goods originating in Ukraine, 
as described in Section I above, whether applied by the national authorities of the Slovak Republic 
through the instrume nts referred to in Section I above or any other applicable instruments.  
Ukraine's request for consultations  also concerns any other instrument , modifying, supplementing, 
complementing, developing, or in any manner relating to the measures at issue.  This r equest is 
intended to address current laws, regulations, policies and practices, as well as any changes or 
amendments to those laws, regulations, policies or practices that may be in process or may be 
implemented in the future by the  Slovak Republic , or at  the EU level.  
 
III. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE COMPLAINT  
The measures at issue, as described in Section II above, appear to be inconsistent with several 
provisions of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization ("WTO Agreement"). In 
particular, these measures would appear to be inconsistent with:  
(i) Article XI:1 of the GATT 1994, as they prohibit or restrict the importation of agricultural 
goods from Ukraine to the territories of the Slovak Republic;  
(ii) Article V:2 of the GATT 199 4 to the extent that Slovak Republic's measure either de jure  
or de facto  restricts freedom of transit of Ukrainian agricultural goods through the 
territory of Slovak Republic to other EU Member States;  
(iii) Article X:1 of the GATT 1994, as the Slovak Rep ublic failed to publish its regulations at 
issue promptly in such a manner as to enable the Government of Ukraine and traders to 
become acquainted with them;  
(iv) Article 4.2 of the Agreement on Agriculture, as the Slovak Republic has maintained, 
resorted to, or reverted to measures of the kind which have been required to be 
converted into ordinary customs duties, such as import prohibitions and restriction on 
Ukrainian agricultural goods; and  
(v) Article 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture to the extent that  it is applicable, because, 
inter alia , neither the EU, nor the Slovak Republic does not appear to have reserved their 
 
3 The goods at issue are: wheat and meslin (1001), maize (corn) (1005), rape or colza seeds (1205), 
and sunflower s eeds (1206). See Article 1 and Annex of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/903 
of 2 May 2023 introducing preventive measures concerning certain products originating in Ukraine, OJ L 114 
I/1, 2.5.2023 (Regulation 2023/903).  
4 Commission Implementi ng Regulation (EU) 2023/1100 of 5 June 2023 introducing preventive 
measures concerning certain products originating in Ukraine, OJ  LI 144/1, 5.6.2023 (Regulation 2023/1100).       
5 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_23_4497.  
6 https: //rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/Resolution/21091/1.  WT/DS621/1 • G/L/1489 • G/AG/GEN/226  
 
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  right to apply measures that fall under the scope of this provision to most of the products 
at issue in their Schedule of Concessions und er the GATT 1994; these measures take 
the form of a ban instead of a duty; and these measures are discriminatory as they apply 
only to Ukrainian imports and not also to other WTO Members' imports.  
Ukraine notes that these consultations might give rise to other matters having legal implications 
that are not expressly stated in this request but relate to other WTO obligations of the Slovak 
Republic. With a view to facilitating a wide -ranging exchange of views, Ukraine notes that, if such 
were to be the case,  these matters would also be covered by the scope of this request for 
consultations.  
 
Ukraine remains a reliable and predictable trading partner. Despite destruction of traditional 
agricultural supply chains due to the Russia's war of aggression against Uk raine, Ukraine is poised 
to continue guaranteeing Europe's and global food security and providing European and world 
consumers with high -quality Ukrainian products. In this context, it is critical that the Slovak Republic 
does not take any steps to restrai n or restrict trade and continues to pursue an open and predictable 
trade policy vis -a-vis Ukraine, based on the provisions and principles of the WTO Agreement.  
 
I look forward to receiving your reply to this request and to fixing a mutually convenient date for 
consultations.  
 
__________