EU-Ukraine: provisional agreement on the extension of temporary trade measures

Confirmation of the provisional agreement to extend the suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports to the EU until 5 June 2025

The regulation will apply from 6 June 2024 till 5 June 2025 and concerns the continued suspension of all customs duties and quotas due under Title IV of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine (Deep and Comprehensive FTA).

Parliament’s position is due to be adopted at the second plenary session in April.

The Regulation will then be adopted by the Council, signed by the representatives of the Council and the European Parliament and published in the Official Journal, before coming into force on 6 June 2024.

The agreement will include two safeguard mechanisms to protect the EU market.

  • a strengthened version of the existing mechanism, which will apply on the basis of regular monitoring, allowing the Commission to impose any measure provided specific conditions are met;
  • a new automatic safeguard mechanism, which will oblige the Commission to reintroduce tariff quotas if imports of poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, maize, groats and honey exceed the arithmetic average of the quantities imported in the second half of 2021, in 2022, and in 2023.

The main elements of the provisional agreement are as follows:

  • the extension of the scope of the automatic safeguard mechanism to include four additional products (oats, maize, groats and honey);
  • shortening the deadline for activating the automatic safeguard measure from 21 to 14 days;
  • the extension of the reference period for determining whether imports exceed a certain threshold (addition of the second half of 2021 to the period 2022-2023);
  • the Commission’s commitment to strengthen the monitoring of cereal imports, in particular wheat, and to use the tools at its disposal in the event of market disturbances, as well as to take the necessary steps under the Association Agreement with Ukraine, as soon as the new autonomous trade measures are adopted, to continue, through consultations with Ukraine, the process of reciprocal tariff liberalisation.

For more information, please see here.