Metallurgists urged the government to abandon the averaging of UZ tariffs to the ports of Great Odesa

The changes will actually give Ukrzaliznytsia the right to “manually” determine tariff distances during martial law.

The Federation of Metallurgists of Ukraine appealed to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba with an appeal to prevent the introduction of a mechanism for averaging tariff distances to the ports of Great Odesa, writes “RBK-Ukraine”.

According to the Federation, the amendments to the Railways Charter and Government Resolution No. 774 proposed to the Ministry of Development will actually give Ukrzaliznytsia the right to independently determine the features of tariff distances during martial law, which will create a mechanism for “manual” regulation of tariffs.

“Such an approach contradicts the basic principles of economically justified tariff formation in railway transport, where the cost should directly correlate with distance and costs, and has significant corruption risks,” the appeal states.

Given the monopoly position of UZ in the Federation, there are fears of abuse of dominant position, distortion of competition and hidden subsidization of some cargo owners at the expense of others. The industry emphasizes that a significant part of the products of the mining and metallurgical complex is export-oriented, and the seaports of Great Odesa remain the key logistics direction.

This is not the first appeal of the industry on this issue. Previously, Ukrmetallurgprom and the National Association of the Extractive Industry of Ukraine opposed the initiative, which also pointed out the risks of cross-subsidization and selective discrimination of shippers.

Also, as USM previously reported, the “shadow” export of scrap metal will harm Ukraine’s European integration.