This seems important, but I don't quite know what to make of it:
Ukraine has told its trading partners it wants to raise maximum tariffs on hundreds of imported goods, a move that could unleash protectionist forces and may even pose a threat to the $18 trillion (11 trillion pounds) global trade system.In a document marked "secret" sent to members of the World Trade Organisation last week and seen by Reuters, Ukraine says it intends to raise the limit on the tariffs it can legally impose on more than 350 goods. Based on figures in the proposal, Kiev's plan would hit overall imports worth more than $4.6 billion in 2011.
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Trade ministries have until December 12 to respond to Kiev's proposal, but several diplomats said Ukraine's document had not given them enough information and nobody from Ukraine has yet replied to their many questions such as what new tariff ceilings Ukraine seeks, and what it might offer in return.
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The latest proposal uses an area of WTO rules known as Article 28 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
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Two lawyers said it was impossible to challenge Article 28 under the WTO's dispute settlement system. Hoda said he needed to study the case in depth before being sure.
Article 28 dates from the 1940s and was used often until the creation of the WTO in 1995 cemented efforts to liberalise global trade. Since then, it has been used about 30 times, mostly for small or technical adjustments to a country's tariffs, and almost always for fewer than 10 tariffs at a time.
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Under Article 28, Ukraine should "pay" for tariff increases by lowering tariffs on other goods.
But Clancy said Ukraine's list was so long it could prove difficult to find enough areas where other tariffs could be cut.
