Today, the European Parliament’s international trade committee is set to adopt a regulation to suspend all duties on imports from Ukraine, lift remaining tariff-rate quotas, and suspend collection of anti-dumping duties for the duration of one year after adoption. This concerns industrial goods such as steel, fruits and vegetables subject to the entry-price system, and agricultural products subject to tariff-rate quotas.
In 2021, total imports from Ukraine amounted to €24 billion, of which around €5 billion worth of imports would now fall under liberalised trade rules (e.g.€2,5 billion worth of Ukrainian steel imports were subjected to the anti-dumping duties). When entering into force, the regulation would result in a €65,6 million gain for Ukrainian exporters. The full plenary of the European Parliament will vote on the regulation this week following the adoption in the committee.
Marek Belka, S&D vice-president on trade and responsible for Ukraine, said:
“Lifting import duties on all Ukrainian products is an act of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Russia’s unprovoked aggression is costing countless lives, creating a humanitarian catastrophe and devastating the economy. The import duty and quota suspension facilitates the export of Ukrainian industrial and agricultural goods to the EU. The hard-hit Ukrainian economy requires an inflow of foreign currency and a working trading lifeline with the EU. Granting Ukraine zero tariffs-rate quotas is a strong and positive message to our Ukrainian friends as this may be one of the starting points for the future recovery of the Ukrainian economy.”
Inmaculada Rodríguez-Piñero, S&D spokesperson on trade, said:
"Faced with Russia’s aggression, these measures will help to keep Ukraine’s access to the world open and boost the Ukrainian economy. This is why we are doing our utmost to deepen trade relations between Ukraine and the EU.”
