EU to roll back Ukraine trade perks to protect its farmers

BRUSSELS — The European Commission is preparing to reintroduce pre-war tariff quotas for some Ukrainian farm products sold into the EU market as of June 6, after the bloc’s wartime tariff waivers expire.

In a draft implementing act circulated this week and seen by POLITICO, the European Commission lays out plans to reinstate pre-war levels of import caps for the rest of the year on sensitive commodities such as eggs, maize, poultry, dairy, beef, pork and wheat. 

In the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion, the EU adopted special rules — called Autonomous Trade Measures — to keep Ukraine’s big farm sector afloat by waiving import duties and quotas on a wide range of farm produce.

Those measures expire on June 5. Brussels wants to replace them with adjusted limits under Ukraine’s existing trade agreement with the bloc, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, rather than having to roll them over every 12 months. 

Granting this favorable access became politically impossible in the last few months, with several governments, including Poland and France, urging stricter controls under pressure from their farmers. Poland’s upcoming presidential election has also gotten in the way of extending Ukraine’s broad tariff-free access to the EU market.

Under the draft proposal, Ukraine will be granted access to 7/12ths of its annual quota under the DCFTA — reflecting the seven months remaining in the year — for each product line impacted. 

“Instead of offering Ukraine a soft transition, the European Commission risks delivering a hard crash landing at the worst possible time,” said MEP Karin Karlsbro (Renew), the lead rapporteur on Ukraine in the European Parliament. 

“Reintroducing harsher trade restrictions now would damage Ukraine’s economy and send the wrong political message about the EU’s commitment.”

The documents are part of the Commission’s “transitional measures” to tide over Ukraine after the tariff waivers expire next month. 

Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill said last week that the EU executive was looking at those to buy time to update the existing free-trade agreement between Brussels and Kyiv while the two sides renegotiate the terms of the DCFTA.