Ukraine should take no measures that are in contradiction with the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) commitments, such as exports duties for scrap metal and wood ban, Head of the Support Group for Ukraine Peter Wagner has said.

"The EU does not find the extension of the metals additional export duties appropriate. It is a fundamental, general issue, as is the case of the wood ban," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

These issues are being intensively discussed with the Ukrainian side, he said.

"Trade is very important for economic growth and both sides have to deliver on these issues and make sure that there are no new trade irritants," he said.

Commenting on the critics of the slow expansion of export quotas for some Ukrainian goods under the DCFTA, Wagner said that the EU has not many partners with whom, once the Association Agreement including the DCFTA is fully operational, we will be as open as we are with Ukraine. The recently decided quotas for agricultural produce are an important additional sign of continuing EU support. The recently decided quotas for agricultural produce are an important additional sign of continuing EU support, he said.

"They should however not distract attention from the fact that we should now put as much energy as possible in making the DCFTA work as efficiently as possible. We have to systematically integrate the markets, as only this will in the end boost the Ukrainian economy as a whole," Wagner said.

Once the Association Agreement is implemented, there are chapters which say explicitly that in certain areas there is full internal market treatment of Ukraine, he said.

"This means that such sectors will then be regarded as if they were part of the EU internal market. And in all other areas the current existing limits on exports will disappear over time," Wagner said.

"It requires a bit of time and it requires hard work. It is necessary to first prepare and adopt the corresponding laws. That includes technical regulations for many products as well as the big package of the phytosanitary legislation in the food sector that was passed recently," he said.

Commenting on the implementation of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement by Ukraine he said that I does not think that there are frustration or negative feelings on the European side.

"It is a fact that the ambitions are high; Ukraine has one of the most positive and open agreements the EU has ever concluded, and now we of course also expect that both sides use it in the optimum way," he said.

Peter Wagner's full interview is available at interfax.com.ua/news/interview/439894.html