The CEPM, which brings together trade and inter-trade organisations representing and defending the interests of all or part of the maize chain, argued on Friday 5 May against the proposal that offers Ukraine new maize tariff quotas in order to increase trade flows from that country into the European Union.
On 4 May, the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade approved implementation of this new maize quota (see EUROPE 11781). The Commission is proposing a new zero-duty quota of 650,000 tonnes of maize, in addition to the concessions already granted by the EU under the EU-Ukraine association agreement (450,000 tonnes at zero duty in 2017, 650,000 tonnes in 2021).
“The CEPM is strongly opposed to this fresh concession, which once again sacrifices the interests of EU maize producers”, states a press release. The organisation points out that Ukrainian maize exports to the EU are already sizeable (8 million tonnes in 2015, representing 60% of imports from third countries). By granting this new quota, “the European authorities would weaken their producers, who have already had to contend with a price crisis for the past three years”, the CEPM states. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)