EU extends trade benefits for Ukraine

On 5 June, the EU extended for another year the suspension of import duties, quotas and trade protection measures for Ukrainian exports to the European Union – known as Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs). 

“This strong testament to the EU’s unwavering support for Ukraine will help alleviate the difficult situation faced by Ukrainian producers and exporters because of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression,” the European Commission said in a press release, EU NeighboursEast reports.

At the same time, the EU is phasing out by 15 September 2023 the exceptional and temporary preventive measures adopted on 2 May 2023 on imports of wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed from Ukraine under the exceptional safeguard of the Autonomous Trade Measures Regulation. The scope of these measures is further reduced from 17 to 6 tariff lines for the four products covered. 

These temporary and targeted measures were adopted due to logistical bottlenecks and limited grain storage capacity ahead of the harvest season experienced in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, and on the condition that member states do not maintain any restrictive measures. “The phase-out will allow for significant improvements to be made to the Solidarity Lanes and to address challenges to get Ukrainian grain out of the country for this harvest,” says the EU.

To coordinate these efforts, the EU, its above-mentioned Member states, and Ukraine have set up a Joint Coordination Platform. Its first kick-off meeting took place at a technical level on 2 June.

In force since 4 June 2022, the ATMs to liberalise trade with Ukraine have had a positive effect on Ukraine's trade with the EU. Together with the Solidarity Lanes, the ATMs have ensured that trade flows from Ukraine to the EU have been preserved in 2022 despite the disruptions caused by the war and against the general trend of a strong decrease of Ukraine's trade overall.

Unilateral and temporary in nature, the ATMs significantly broaden the scope of tariff liberalisation under the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) by suspending all outstanding duties and quotas, as well as duties on anti-dumping and safeguard measures on Ukrainian imports in Ukraine's hour of need.

The exceptional and temporary preventive measures on imports of a limited number of products from Ukraine entered into force on 2 May 2023 and were set to last until 5 June 2023.

The measures concern only four agricultural products – wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed – originating in Ukraine. The exceptional measures are more targeted in terms of scope and will also not apply to sowing seeds. During this period, these products can continue to be released for free circulation in all the Member States of the European Union other than Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The products can continue to circulate in or transit via these five Member States by means of a common customs transit procedure or go to a country or territory outside the EU.