On Wednesday 27 April, the European Commission proposed a regulation to suspend tariffs on all EU imports from Ukraine for the duration of one year. This also includes existing tariff quotas on certain products, anti-dumping duties and quotas relating to EU steel and aluminium safeguard measures.
The Association Agreement concluded between the EU and Ukraine has been in place since 2016 and establishes a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA). It has allowed for the gradual reduction of tariffs on industrial products, certain fruit and vegetables, and agri-food products through a reduction schedule due to last until 2023. Some of these goods, however, remain subject to tariffs and quotas to date and even beyond 2023 in some cases. The President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry called on the EU to abolish these in an interview with EUROPE in March (see EUROPE 12917/12).
For these reasons, the European Commission wants to put in place a suspension that is applicable to all exports, which “will greatly facilitate the export of Ukrainian industrial and agricultural goods to the EU”, according to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Exports of steel and aluminium as well as agri-food products will benefit the most from the one-year suspension.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal has welcomed the announcement: “I am grateful to the European Commission and Valdis Dombrovkis (EU Trade Commissioner) for this unprecedented gesture of support for Ukraine during the war. This step will help producers and exporters during the Russian aggression!”, he said.
The regulation still needs to be approved by the European Parliament and Member States. The European Commission has asked them to proceed so that it can be rapidly adopted, according to an EU source.
See the regulation proposed by the Commission: https://aeur.eu/f/1do (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)