The European Commission proposes to continue duty-free trade with Ukraine with certain restrictions

The European Commission proposed to extend the cancellation of quotas and import duties for the supply of Ukrainian products to the EU for another year, but at the same time to strengthen the protection of sensitive agricultural products of its own production, the press service of the agency reported yesterday.

"This proposal is based on the EU's commitment to support Ukraine within the required period. The autonomous trade measures (ATM), introduced since June 2022, are a key pillar of the unwavering support of Ukraine and its economy by EU countries," the message reads.

At the same time, it is noted that the ATZ take into account the interests of EU farmers and other interested parties, therefore the updated measures will contain strengthened protection mechanisms, given the significant increase in the import of certain types of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU in 2022 and 2023. This will make it possible to quickly correct the situation in the event of disruptions on the EU market in one or more member states.

Thus, the ATZ envisages an emergency stoppage of supplies from Ukraine of the most sensitive products - poultry meat, eggs and sugar, which will allow them to stabilize their import at the level of the average indicators of 2022 and 2023. That is, if the import of these products exceeds the specified indicators, they will be reimposed tariffs were introduced to reduce the volume of supplies to the level of previous years.

Now the proposals of the European Commission must be considered by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. The innovation should ensure a smooth transition from the current regime of ATZ application, which will be in effect until June 5, 2024, to the new regime.