The Verkhovna Rada has supported a bill to introduce a 10% export duty on soybeans, kohlrabi and rapeseed (crushed and uncrushed) with an annual 1% reduction in the rate by 2030, to 5%, MP Serhiy Labaziuk (For the Future parliamentary faction) said in a telegram channel.
The MP added that at the same time a special fund will be created – the State Fund for Support of Agricultural Producers, which, given the existing export volumes (without adjustment for a 10% decrease in value/volumes) of oilseeds, will amount to almost $500 million.
“But with the increase in processing, changes in export prices, and a decrease in the volume of raw materials, revenues will fall. And it will be difficult not to give part of the revenues to the state budget. Therefore, if we manage to raise UAH 3-5 billion for the fund, it will be a victory,” Labaziuk said.
MP Oleksiy Honcharenko (European Solidarity faction) clarified in a Telegram that 245 MPs supported the draft law.
“This is just a shame. They sneaked in the draft law on industrial pollution – duties for farmers. They promised to serve the people, but they serve schemes,” he commented on the document.
As reported, the “soybean amendments” are changes to the Tax Code of Ukraine introduced at the end of 2017. They concerned the procedure for VAT (value-added tax) refunds for soybean and rapeseed exports.
For several years in a row, Stepan Kapshuk, CEO of the Ukroliyaprom association, proposed to ban the export of 50% of the rapeseed crop from the country to increase the utilization of Ukrainian processing capacities, which, in particular in 2024, were significantly short of raw materials.
Subsequently, Dmytro Kysylevskyi, deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee on economic development, prepared draft law No. 13134, which, with amendment No. 40, provided for the introduction of a 10% export duty on rapeseed and soybeans. He argued that Ukrainian soybean and rapeseed processing plants are underutilized by 35%, and if they are used, Ukraine will receive an additional UAH 7.3 billion in state budget revenues to finance the Armed Forces, and an additional $238 million will allow for the construction of dozens of plants and the creation of thousands of new jobs.
A number of associations criticized the idea of the draft law “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on Expanding Patient Access to Medicines Subject to Procurement by a Person Authorized to Make Procurement in the Healthcare Sector by Concluding Managed Access Agreements”, which provided for the imposition of duties on the export of soybeans and rapeseed from Ukraine. According to the business associations, they are discriminatory towards small and medium-sized producers, aim to increase the profits of processors at the expense of small and medium-sized farmers and violate the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
On June 18, the Verkhovna Rada did not support this initiative.
Ukraine continues to strengthen its position in the European transit space. Thus, in the second quarter of 2025, the State Customs Service of Ukraine issued almost 34 thousand transit declarations under the common transit procedure (NCTS). This is 8 thousand more than in the previous quarter and 9 thousand more than in the second quarter of 2024.
This is the highest quarterly increase since Ukraine joined the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure.
More than 23 thousand movements initiated by Ukrainian customs have been successfully completed in the countries party to the Convention. In turn, 10.7 thousand transit movements initiated in other countries were completed in Ukraine, which is almost 50% more than in the previous quarter.
In total, since the start of the international application of the joint transit procedure on October 1, 2022, the State Customs Service has issued almost 196 thousand declarations, of which 149 thousand were issued as a customs office of departure and 47 thousand as a customs office of destination.
In addition, domestic companies are actively using Ukrainian general guarantees in T1 declarations to move transit goods in other countries party to the Convention. For example, in the second quarter of 2025, general guarantees were used in almost 106 thousand T1 declarations transported through the customs territory of the European Union (since January 1, 2025 – more than 183 thousand such declarations).
Regarding guarantees under the common transit procedure, in the second quarter of 2025, the State Customs Service registered 28 general guarantees in the NCTS guarantee management system. As of the beginning of July 2025, 94 general guarantees totaling more than EUR 320 million and 4,947 individual guarantees totaling EUR 218.45 million were in force.
Such dynamics confirms the growth of business confidence in the common transit procedure and demonstrates an increase in the number of foreign economic operators seeking to work in accordance with EU standards.
Europe should be prepared for a possible increase in tariffs on imports of goods to the United States, as promised by President Donald Trump, said European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde. The fact that Trump has not yet signed a decree to impose additional duties on all imports was “a very sensible approach, as total tariffs will not necessarily lead to the expected results,” Lagarde said in an interview with CNBC in Davos.
In her opinion, the new US tariffs will be more “selective and focused”.
“We in Europe need to prepare and wait in advance to see what will happen in order to respond to it,” Lagarde added.
At the same time, the ECB President noted that the regulator is “not too concerned” about external risks to inflation.
In response to a journalist’s question about the possible consequences of a new wave of inflation in the United States, Lagarde said that “accelerating inflation in the United States will be a problem for the United States, and that is where the main effects will be felt first.”
The ECB has cut rates by a total of 100 basis points in 2024, with the key deposit rate now at 3%. Economists expect four rate cuts of 25 bps each in 2025. Earlier, the Experts Club think tank, Brian Mefford and Maxim Urakin, released a video analysis on what changes are expected in US domestic and foreign policy under Trump, the video is available on the Experts Club YouTube channel – https://youtu.be/W2elNY1xczM?si=MM-QjSqGce4Tlq6T
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed laws on VAT and duty exemption for imports of copters, thermal imagers, collimators, radios and night vision devices.
As noted in the cards of the corresponding bills № 8360 and № 8361-d, posted on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, both documents were returned to Parliament with the signature of the head of state on February 22.
At the same time, a member of the faction “Golos” Yaroslav Zheleznyak in his telegram channel reminded that the possibility of preferential imports will also apply to express shipments.
“The laws come into force from the day following the day of its publication. That is, in a couple of days will already work, “- added the parliamentarian.
As it was reported, the Verkhovna Rada on February 6, adopted as a basis and as a whole the draft law № 8360 and № 8361-d on exemption from VAT and import duties of copters, thermal imagers, collimators, radios and night vision devices. On February 13, they were submitted to the president for signature.
Ukraine’s Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICIT) decided on November 2 to apply a provisional anti-dumping duty of 31.37% to imports into Ukraine of glass containers originating from Belarus, Ilyashev & Partners law firm said on Friday.
“The application of such measures is the result of the Ukrainian government’s timely response to the unfair competition of Belarusian manufacturers in the glassware market in Ukraine and will allow national manufacturers to resume work more quickly to eliminate the consequences of dumping imports of goods,” firm partner Olena Omelchenko said in the release.
“Ilyashev and Partners clarified that they represented the interests of the Association of glass industry enterprises “Glass of Ukraine”, as well as its members.
According to the message, the duty will be charged on the following goods: glass vessels (canning jars, bottles) for food and beverages of 0.15 liters or more, but less than 2.5 liters, which are classified according to the UKTVED by codes 7010 90 41 00, 7010 90 43 00, 7010 90 45 00; colored glass jars of nominal capacity of over 0.33 liter, but less than 1 liter, which are classified according to UKTVED under the code 7010 90 53 00.
This decision is the first decision of the Commission on the application of restrictive measures on imports to Ukraine after February 24, 2022, the law firm said. It has noted that application of provisional anti-dumping measures is an extremely rare interim result in the practice of anti-dumping investigations in Ukraine. The last time such measures were applied by the ICMT was in 2020.
Preliminary antidumping duty is applied for a period of four months and will accrue from the date of publication of the ICMT’s decision in the Uriadovyi Kurier newspaper.
The decision on the violation and anti-dumping investigation based on the results of consideration of the complaint filed by Glass Ukraine, prepared by Ilyashev & Partners, was made by the ICMT on December 22, 2021.
The Association of Glass Industry Enterprises “Glass of Ukraine” is a public organization that unites Ukrainian manufacturers of glass containers, flat glass, glassware, art glass, as well as suppliers of equipment, materials and services for the glass industry. The Association was founded in 1997. Members of the Association produce more than 80% of glass products in the country.
The United States will temporarily suspend the 25% duty on Ukrainian steel imposed by President Trump under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 for 12 months, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo said.
“For steel mills to continue to be an economic lifeline for the people of Ukraine, they must be able to export their steel. Today’s announcement is a signal to the Ukrainian people that we are committed to helping them stand up in the face of Putin’s aggression,” the minister said on the ministry’s website. .
The report states that each of the 13 Ukrainians is employed in the steel industry of Ukraine, and their work is well paid.
“We are talking about stopping the 25% tariffs imposed in 2018 by the Trump administration,” Yulia Sviridenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister, commented on the decision of the US Department of Commerce.
According to her, the Ministry of Economy has been working on this project for several years.
“The abolition of these duties will be a turning point in trade relations between Ukraine and the United States,” she stressed.
According to the State Statistics Service, in 2021, the export of ferrous metals from Ukraine to the United States increased by 50.5% compared to the previous year – up to $70.76 million, and ferrous metal products – 11 times, up to $16.85 million. In total, these two articles accounted for 55.4% of all exports from Ukraine.
The US Department of Commerce also recalled that some of Ukraine’s largest steel mills have suffered the most from Putin’s barbarism, and Azovstal in Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine’s determination to resist Russian aggression. The agency added that many Ukrainian steel mills continued to pay workers, feed and shelter their employees during the fighting, and some resumed production despite nearby fighting.
“Creating export opportunities for these factories is essential to their ability to continue hiring and supporting one of Ukraine’s most important industries,” the statement said.
It also states that following the sanctions, U.S. exports to Russia of categories of goods subject to new U.S. export licensing requirements decreased by 97% in value terms compared to the same period in 2021 (February 24-April 29), and total exports fell by about 79%.