Agreement has been reached between the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to impose duties on specific agricultural products imported from Ukraine if the import volume surpasses the average from mid-2021 to the end of 2023. These duties will come into effect on June 6, 2024, and will remain in place until June 5, 2025, as announced in a press release from the Council of the European Union.
The decision aims to safeguard vulnerable agricultural sectors within the EU, considering the potential negative impact on individual member states rather than the entire EU. Despite this, the measures seek to maintain trade relations with Ukraine to support its economy, highlighting the importance of the EU-Ukraine trade partnership.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in May 2022, the European Union temporarily waived duties on Ukrainian agricultural products for a year to provide economic assistance to Ukraine. This led to an influx of Ukrainian goods into the EU market, causing price fluctuations and discontent among European farmers. Subsequently, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia imposed temporary bans on Ukrainian grain imports.
Following these events, in May 2023, the European Commission decided to limit the import of specific agricultural products from Ukraine to certain EU countries. Despite these restrictions, protests by Polish farmers persisted, with demonstrations involving blockades and disruptions at border crossings with Ukraine, as reported by The Insider.
Source from theins.ru