EU to cap Ukraine agri-imports, extends quotas pause

A new provisional agreement will cut a further €330mn/yr off the value of "sensitive" Ukrainian agricultural imports into the EU of poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, groats, maize and honey. But the temporary suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural exports has been extended beyond 6 June for another year.

The revised deal, reached by negotiators for the European Parliament and EU member states, is estimated to cut the total value of Ukrainian imports into the EU by €1.82bn/yr, a diplomat said.

Parliament will have to formally approve the deal on 22-25 April, the last plenary before members break off to campaign for EU elections in June. Any difficulties in formally approving the legislation by EU states would endanger its entry into force immediately after current trade measures expire on 5 June. A previous provisional agreement reached by negotiators had to be tweaked to ensure approval by member states and parliament.

The new deal confirms the emergency brake allowing for tariffs to be reimposed for "sensitive" agricultural products. And average import volumes recorded in the second half of 2021 are added to the reference period that is used as the base for triggering the emergency brake, together with relevant imports throughout 2022 and 2023. The time period for safeguard activation is also shortened from 21 to 14 days. The commission further commits to increased monitoring of grain imports, particularly wheat.

Under a review process, the European Commission will study permanent tariff liberalisation for Ukraine. The commission had proposed the measures in January with the safeguard mechanism estimated as cutting the value of Ukrainian exports to the EU by €240mn/yr from an overall estimated annual value of the measures of €2.15bn.

By Dafydd ab Iago