The Council of the European Union (EU) has adopted a regulation allowing for temporary trade liberalisation and other trade concessions with regard to certain Ukrainian products.
“We proposed it as a temporary measure, and it will make it easier for Ukraine to continue trading in the face of Russia’s aggression and will provide overall support to the Ukrainian economy,” Executive Deputy Chairman of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis said, commenting on the decision adopted by the EU Council on Tuesday.
The decision will suspend tariffs, which are still in place under the 2017 the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine establishing a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA), which liberalized much of the trade.
The suspension covers notably: industrial products subject to duty phase out by the end of 2022, fruits and vegetables subject to the entry-price system, and agricultural products and processed agricultural products subject to tariff-rate quotas, the collection of anti-dumping duties on imports originating in Ukraine, and the application of the common rules for imports with respect of imports originating in Ukraine.
The European Commission’sproposal has already been approved by the European Parliament, the law will enter into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Dombrovskis also said that the ministers of economy and finance of the EU countries discussed the European Commission’s proposal for short-term relief and long-term reconstruction, and more specifically, our proposal for an exceptional macro-financial assistance programme of EUR 9 billion. He said that “there was broad – in fact unanimous – support for a continued need to provide necessary support to Ukraine to face this aggression.”
