As far as I can tell a lawyer with the law firm Volkov and Partners is the first to publicly question the validity of Ukrainian grain export quotas.
“The only possible reason to introduce quotas may be for critical want of foodstuff in the exporting country, but the draft decree does not identify such critical deficiency prevention as the purpose for its adoption,” said Iryna Polovets.
This is what the WTO said to me back in September.
"...a member of the WTO can impose export prohibitions or restrictions on condition that they are temporarily applied to prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other products essential to that country."
So what constitutes a “critical shortage”?
