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WTO rejects Ukraine’s claims, hands Russia victory in railway court battle

The World Trade Organization released its key findings by the Arbitration group that had reviewed the dispute between Ukraine and Russia on railway rolling stock, railroad switches and equipment

GENEVA, July 30. /TASS/. Kiev failed to prove that Moscow consistently put up obstacles for Ukrainian-made imports, as the WTO’s dispute panel struck down the bulk of Ukraine’s key claims.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) released its key findings by the Arbitration group that had reviewed the dispute between Ukraine and Russia on railway rolling stock, railroad switches and equipment on its website on Monday.

According to the Organization, Ukraine requested consultations with the Russian Federation "concerning certain measures imposed by the Russian Federation on the importation of railway equipment and parts thereof" in October 2015.

"The result of inquiry may be considered as a win of the Russian side in the dispute," Russia’s permanent representative in WTO Gennady Ovechko told TASS.

In particular, the report says, "Ukraine had not demonstrated the existence of the alleged systematic prevention of imports of Ukrainian railway products into Russia." On the other hand, the judges acknowledged that Kiev had good reasons behind complaints on certain claims.

"Out of 17 reasons used by Ukraine to initiate the dispute in 2015, its arguments on twelve of them were acknowledged as unproved, unjustified and out of WTO regulation," Ovechko told TASS.

According to the data provided by the Ukrainians, exports of rolling stock and switches to Russia dropped from $1.7 bln in 2013 to $51 mln in seven months of 2015.

The restrictions hit the Kryukov carriage-building plant and the Dnepropetrovsk switch-building plant, as well as other enterprises.