The European Union agreed Wednesday to extend for a further year trade liberalization measures aimed at supporting Ukraine's agricultural exports amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion, pending approval of member countries and the European Parliament. File photo by Sergey Kozlov/EPA-EFE
March 20 (UPI) -- The European Union agreed Wednesday to extend for a further year trade liberalization measures aimed at supporting Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion, pending approval of member countries and the European Parliament.
The deal to renew the temporary suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural goods through June 5, 2025, empowers Brussels to swiftly act in the event of "significant disruption to the EU market or the markets of one or more EU countries," the parliament said in a news release.
There will also be an "emergency brake" for particularly sensitive agricultural products including poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, maize, hulled grains and honey. MEPs also secured commitments from the European Commission to act if there is a significant rise in imports of Ukrainian wheat.
The reimposition of tariffs would be triggered by imports surpassing average volumes in 2022 and 2023 with the period within which the commission must act slashed from 21 days to 14 days.
However, negotiators resisted pressure from a bloc led by Poland and France for a tougher deal that called for the reference period for calculating the caps to include 2021 when EU imports from Ukraine were much lower.
Benchmarking three years' worth of imports, the commission estimates, would have slashed Ukraine's export revenues by $1.3 billion.
"Tonight's agreement reinforces the EU's continued commitment to stand by Ukraine in the face of Russia's brutal war of aggression until Ukraine's victory," said Sandra Kalniete, a Latvian MEP from the umbrella European People's Party, who represented lawmakers in the negotiations.
"Russia's targeting of Ukraine and its food production also impacts EU farmers. The Parliament heard their concerns, and bolstered safeguard measures that would alleviate the pressure on EU farmers should they be overwhelmed by a sudden surge in Ukrainian imports."
The deal, which has the backing of the EPP, the Socialist and Democrats Progressive Alliance, Renew Europe and the Greens, must now get approval from the EP and European Council, comprising the heads of state of all 27 member countries.
The EU lifted all tariffs on Ukraine imports two years ago in a bid to boost the country's agriculture and steel-dependent economy after Russia invaded in February 2022 and specifically targeted Ukraine's export economy.
The issue has been a source of internal tension and disagreement in the EU with the bloc going see-sawing between efforts to allow free market access and protecting its internal market and producers from being flooded with cheap Ukrainian produce.
After Russia withdrew in June from a "grain corridor" deal allowing Ukraine grain exports to be shipped out to international markets via the Black Sea to ease global shortages, the EU imposed an import ban to protect producers in neighboring EU countries.
In September, Poland refused to end what was supposed to be a temporary four-month block on Ukraine grain exports to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria -- despite a decision by the EU to end its own similar measures.
Right after the EU officially lifted its own grain import ban in mid-September, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki insisted Poland would not re-open its borders. despite Brussels' demand it fall in line with the rest of the bloc.
