Brussels indicates the current tariff-free arrangement for Ukraine is set to lapse in June.
The EU is planning to reduce the volume of agricultural goods it imports from Ukraine, according to EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen, who spoke with AFP. The temporary measure that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural products to the EU without tariffs is due to expire in June, as member states are reportedly unwilling to extend it.
The EU suspended tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural products following the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, with the aim of facilitating the shipment of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural goods to global markets. However, these imports led to an oversupply in Eastern European countries, triggering farmer protests.
Hansen stated that the EU is expected to revise this temporary scheme. “Import quotas won’t remain the same as in this temporary liberalization. So, indeed, there will be fewer imports,” he told AFP on Friday.
The commissioner urged member states to find an alternative solution before the deadline. “Discussions will have to be swift. The European Union is ready to negotiate, and it should happen in the coming weeks,” he said, without specifying any concrete plans from Brussels.
Hansen acknowledged that there is a “clear” lack of support among EU members for extending the free-trade arrangement with Ukraine. “We’ve seen that this has caused problems, especially in certain member states.”
Several Eastern European countries, including Poland and Bulgaria, which experienced significant farmer protests, have repeatedly threatened unilateral measures against Ukrainian agricultural imports at the national level if their concerns are not addressed. Bulgaria, for example, called for a complete ban on Ukrainian eggs in September 2024.
Last week, Reuters reported that the EU plans to cut Ukrainian sugar imports “sharply”, with future supplies from Ukraine expected to be “well below” current levels, citing a meeting between Hansen and leaders of French farm unions.
Ukraine has warned that ending the free-trade agreement would have serious repercussions. “The European Union is our key trade partner, and that’s why it would be really damaging for us if we [found] ourselves in the situation we had before the war,” Ukrainian finance minister Sergey Marchenko told the Financial Times on Monday.
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