Compromise: the relevant EP committee supported the updated terms of preferential trade with Ukraine

Representatives of EU member states and the European Parliament approved a compromise and extended the agreement: some agricultural goods from Ukraine, if import quotas are exceeded, will be subject to duties.

At its meeting on April 9, the European Parliament's International Trade Committee approved extension for a year of the agreement on duty-free trade in food products with Ukrainebut subject to the introduction of additional restrictions.

How reports “European Truth”, 26 members of the relevant committee of the European Parliament voted for the extension of preferential trade regime between Ukraine and EU taking into account protections for agricultural goods, eight were against.

The agreed agreement provides for the extension until June 5, 2025 of the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU and contains two protection mechanisms to protect the European market:

1. First – This is a strengthened version of existing restrictions, which will be applied on the basis of regular monitoring by the EC.
2. Seconda new mechanism, will oblige the European Commission to reintroduce tariff quotas on imports from Ukraine of eggs, poultry, sugar, oats, corn, cereals and honey if they exceed the arithmetic average of the volumes imported from mid-2021 to the end of 2023.

Quotas do not yet affect wheat – but this could be done if its imports to the European Union from Ukraine “increase sharply,” it was previously reported. The action of this measure starts automatically 14 days after the detected excess export volume, and not after 21, as previously assumed. The mechanism now takes into account import data for pre-war 2021, and not just 2022 and 2023.

The European Parliament must finally approve the agreement at a plenary meeting on April 24, the last for this term. The EU Council must then provide formal consent and the document will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The agreement will enter into force on June 6, 2024 for a period of one year.

Brussels decided to cancel duties and quotas on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of the neighboring country in 2022 in order to support the Ukrainian economy. However, this caused dissatisfaction European farmers in a number of countries that claim that duty-free import of cheaper Ukrainian products undermines their business, reminds D.W. In particular, Polish farmers regularly protest block the border with Ukraine.

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