EU Commission offers to cancel customs duties for Ukrainian import for another year

The European Commission has officially proposed to extend the suspension of import quotas and duties for Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year while including safeguards for agricultural products as demanded by several EU countries.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated this, the European Pravda reported.

The publication noted the European Commission proposed to extend preferential trade terms for Ukraine with the suspension of import duties and quotas for another year to support the Ukrainian economy amid the war.

At the same time, the proposal includes a "strengthened safeguard mechanism" to protect the interests of European farmers.

"To this end, and in view of the significant increase in the import of certain agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU in 2022-2023, the renewed autonomous trade measures include a reinforced safeguard mechanism," the statement explained. "This allows for a rapid response in case of significant market distortions in the EU market or the market of one of the Member States."

An "emergency brake" mechanism is proposed to "stabilize imports at the level of average imports in 2022-2023 for three types of products, namely poultry, meat, eggs, and sugar." This means that if these import volumes are exceeded, import tariffs will be applied.

The same proposal by the European Commission also suggests extending the suspension of tariffs on imports from Moldova for another year. The European Parliament and the EU Council will now consider the proposal.

As previously reported, the new agreement on trade preferences between Ukraine and the EU, which the European Commission intends to extend until June 6 next year, includes restrictions on exporting Ukrainian sugar, poultry meat, and eggs to the European market.

What we know about the EU's preferential trade regime with Ukraine

The EU's preferential trade regime with Ukraine has been in effect since June 4, 2022, and was extended in 2023.

In September, the European Commission announced that it would not extend restrictions on importing agricultural products from Ukraine after September 15, and Kyiv agreed to take measures to limit imports on its side.

However, due to dissatisfaction among EU farmers, temporary restrictions on certain types of agricultural products were introduced for several months in 2023. Some countries, including Poland, extended them unilaterally after their cancellation at the EU level.

The European Commission stated that they did not see significant negative consequences from Ukrainian agro-exports for European markets.

However, the Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Czesław Siekierski, stated that the Polish-Ukrainian border will not be opened for Ukrainian goods, and the embargo on their export to Poland will be indefinite.

The current extension of the tariff and quota-free trade regime for Ukraine expires on June 5, 2024, and for Moldova on July 24, 2024.

The European Commission notes that total imports from Ukraine to the EU from October 2022 to October 2023 increased to €24.3 billion, compared to €24 billion in October 2021.