Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Tariffs on Ukrainian goods in US have risen to 10%, and even higher for other countries

Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s leading express delivery service from the Nova Group, has updated its delivery rules to the US due to Washington’s cancellation of the $800 duty-free threshold: the cost of delivery has increased by at least 10% due to the duty applied to goods from Ukraine.

According to a press release from Nova Poshta on Wednesday, if the sender is the payer, customs clearance services are included in the tariff, while if the recipient is the payer, they will have to pay, in addition to 10% of the cost of the shipment, customs brokerage services starting at $25 per shipment upon receipt.

It is noted that the recipient will be sent an email with a link to pay the customs duty and customs brokerage services. Delivery of the shipment will be carried out after payment, and the final amount of customs duty and customs brokerage services will be determined during customs clearance upon delivery in the United States.

The company emphasized that it is important to correctly indicate the country of origin of the goods in the shipment. The 10% duty rate applies only to goods produced in Ukraine. Rates may vary for goods from other countries.

It is also indicated that a technical solution has been developed for Nova Post API users to select the payer of customs duties for the United States.

On the eve of the announcement, Ihor Smelyansky, CEO of Ukrposhta, Nova Poshta’s main competitor, said that his company would also continue commercial mail deliveries to the US after the country introduced a 10% duty on shipments worth up to $800, and delivery rates to the US will increase by an average of $1.5-3.

According to the CEO of Ukrposhta, Ukrainian senders will have an advantage over competitors from most other countries, as the rate for Ukraine is the lowest at 10%, while for EU countries it is 15% and for Switzerland 39%. In addition, most European countries are pausing shipments to the US until the 10% duty collection procedure is settled.

 

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China imposes 76% tariff on canola from Canada

The Chinese authorities will impose a temporary duty of 75.8% on imports of canola seeds (a type of rapeseed) from Canada starting August 14, according to the Xinhua news agency.

This decision was made following an anti-dumping investigation launched in September 2024.

The Ministry of Commerce preliminarily concluded that rapeseed imports from Canada were dumped, that the domestic rapeseed industry suffered material damage, and that there is a causal link between dumping and actual damage.

In this regard, it was decided to introduce temporary anti-dumping measures in the form of safeguard payments.

Quotations for November canola futures on the ICE exchange fell by more than 4% to $650.3 per tonne after the announcement of import duties, according to Reuters.

China is the world’s largest importer of canola and Canada’s main buyer. In 2024, Canada supplied canola worth about $3.6 billion to China.

 

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Parliament introduces 10% duty on soybean and rapeseed exports

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.

 

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Results of “customs visa-free regime” in Q2 2025: record-breaking almost 34 thousand transit declarations

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.

 

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European Central Bank President: Europe needs to prepare for increase in duties on imports of goods to United States

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

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President of Ukraine signed laws on VAT and duty exemption for copters, thermal imagers, collimators and walkie-talkies

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.

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