The second
half of August 2013 was not easy for Ukrainian trade with Russia: the latter
has suddenly started to apply very strict control measures for Ukrainian goods
at the Ukrainian-Russian border. As a result, thousands of tons of goods stood
at the border and waited for completion of customs administration procedures. Some
Ukrainian sources called this “an economic war against Ukraine”, but both
Russian and Ukrainian officials said it was just a difficult situation with
customs administration. The situation was deescalated after political contacts
at the highest level had taken place. It is reported that the customs is
working in a normal regime, also for Ukrainian goods.
A little
bit earlier, the production of a big Ukrainian candy producer was tested and
prohibited for sale in Russia (as tests indicated that there were dangerous
substances in the sweets). There were
also other disputes between Russia and Ukraine earlier this year.
Many
experts believe that Russia wanted to show Ukraine that it could lose the big
Russian market if it did not pursue its cooperation with the Customs Union (of
Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia) and instead strengthened cooperation with the
EU. The best position for Ukraine would be to intensify cooperation with both
trade partners. This, however, seems not to be easy: if Ukraine joined the
Customs Union, an EU-Ukraine Association Agreement with DCFTA would not be
possible. Will Ukraine be able to balance these interests?