The Council of the European Union has adopted a decision, allowing temporary trade liberalization and other trade concessions on certain Ukrainian products. The statement announced this on the Council’s website.
“This means that for one year, import duties on all Ukrainian exports to the European Union will not be due. Thanks to these measures the EU will be able to significantly support Ukraine’s economy,” the statement said.
Brussels stressed that russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine had a devastating effect on the country’s production capacity, transport infrastructure, access to the Black Sea, and broader trade opportunities with the rest of the world.
Today’s decision will be valid for one year and will suspend, in particular:
- tariffs under Title IV of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine establishing a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) that had not yet been liberalized.
The suspension covers, in particular:
- industrial products subject to duty phase-out by the end of 2022,
- fruits and vegetables subject to the entry-price system,
- agricultural products and processed agricultural products subject to tariff-rate quotas,
- the collection of anti-dumping duties on imports originating in Ukraine
- the application of the common rules for imports with respect to imports originating in Ukraine.
Earlier, the EU began to take action on the ground to facilitate land goods transportation to help export Ukrainian products.
For example, the European Commission has already begun liberalizing conditions for Ukrainian truck drivers transporting goods between Ukraine and the EU.
The decision has facilitated transit and the use of EU infrastructure to direct Ukrainian exports to third countries.