Ukrainian exports to the EU could once again be subject to the tariff quotas of the EU/Ukraine trade agreement (DCFTA) from 6 June. The European Commission submitted an implementing regulation along these lines to the Council of the EU and the European Parliament a few days ago. According to the European Commission, this solution is only intended to be temporary while it reaches an agreement with Kyiv on the revision of the DCFTA.
At present, and up until 5 June, the EU’s Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) suspend a large part of the quotas for Ukrainian products. Over the past year, the European Commission has been tasked with finding a long-term solution to support Ukraine’s exports, while taking into account the sensitivities of several Member States with regard to certain agricultural products.
It is unlikely that a solution will be found by 5 June, admitted Léon Delvaux, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate for Trade and Economic Security (DG TRADE), during an exchange with members of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA).
The implementing regulation provides for tariff quotas to be applied until 31 December, even though the European Commission would like to have a long-term agreement well before that date, explained Léon Delvaux.
He also pointed out that, in the context of the consultation that the Commission had held on this subject in recent months, the responses had been in favour of DCFTA quotas rather than total liberalisation.
Another argument put forward in favour of the return of tariff quotas is that it is important to address the concerns that several Member States have about agriculture, so as not to risk weakening support for Ukraine within these countries with a view to future accession.
The rapporteur on this issue at the European Parliament, Karin Karlsbro (Renew Europe, Swedish), expressed her anger at the European Commission during a debate in the Committee on International Trade that was held on Wednesday 14 May. “Instead of offering Ukraine a soft landing aimed at a long-term solution, you are offering it a hard landing”, she insisted, pointing out that the European Parliament had repeatedly called for a long-term solution.
Her colleagues Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Swedish), Pekka Toveri (EPP, Finnish) and Bernd Lange (S&D, German) supported this approach: in their opinion, it was not right that the European Commission had not been able to find a solution that would continue to support Ukrainian exports.
However, Belgian MEP Benoît Cassart (Renew Europe) contradicted his colleagues on the impact of agricultural imports from Ukraine: “Wheat has fallen from €200 a tonne in Europe to €170 a tonne in three weeks. This is due to pressure from the Ukrainian market. That is not why we don’t want to find a solution. This should not be seen as a strategic choice on the part of agricultural lobbies to cause difficulties for Ukraine”. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)