Ukraine has no intention of even discussing the return to the permit system demanded by the Polish carriers. This was announced by the head of the Ukrainian State Agency for Reconstruction and Development, Mustafa Nayem.
All EU members ratified and signed with Ukraine the Agreement on the Liberalization of Transportation. It was not an initiative of an individual country. The main reason for signing the Agreement on freight transportation by road was the violation of the Agreement on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Zone between Ukraine and the EU. The war only accelerated this process.
Nayem explained that the Free Trade Agreement prohibits worsening the conditions of mutual access to the market. Thus, Poland granted Ukraine a quota of 200,000 permits in 2016, and only 120,000 in 2021. This is despite the increase in total trade with EU countries by almost 45%.
At the same time, Poland, with the strike of Polish carriers, directly violated the rights of Ukraine, in particular Article 5 “Freedom of transit” of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. It provides for freedom of transit through the territory of each party along the routes most convenient for international transit.
Nayem emphasized that the permit system was an artificial barrier to free trade, limiting not only trade with Poland but also the transit of Ukrainian goods to other EU countries.