This European Union completed the last official step to extend it by one year this ThursdayUntil June 6, 2024, exemption from tariffs, quotas and other trade barriers Planned for imports from Ukraine, it’s a gesture the bloc wants to help Kiev save trade routes abroad under the weight of Russian occupation.
The measure was endorsed by the trade ministers of the European Union at a meeting in Brussels and It will come into effect on June 6th.Once initialed by the EU institutions and published in the EU Official Journal.
” war “Russia’s unjustified aggression against Ukraine has had a devastating effect on the country’s economy,” he said.Sweden’s Trade Minister Johan Forssell, who holds the EU term presidency; While emphasizing that the extension is evidence of “definitive support” for Ukraine, it also allows the EU to “protect the internal market from significant increases in agricultural imports, if necessary”.
The exemption, which will last for another year, includes a complete suspension of tariffs for industrial goods, entry prices for fruits and vegetables, and anti-dumping measures, and safeguards for steel imports for the anus period.
Despite this clarity, the European Commission allowed five Member States – Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia – to temporarily and exceptionally veto grain imports from Ukraine, although they were required to allow grain transit to other EU countries. This veto is scheduled until June 5 this yearWhen the tariff exemption for Ukrainian imports has expired and Brussels is open to reviewing an extension.
The European Union and Ukraine have had a free trade union since 2016 to promote trade between the two regions, but this is a staggered implementation agreement and there are still sectors that do not benefit from the principle. “zero quota and zero tariff” that the EU grants to Ukrainian trade with this exemption.
Zelensky seeks permanent release
After the extension was approved, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky reacted with satisfaction, but wanted the liberalization of trade between the European Union and his country in the future to be “permanent, without exception”.
“As we move towards the European Union andThis temporary liberalization should be permanent without exemptions or restrictions.“, Zelenski wrote in a statement on his social networks.
He also thanked the support of “all members of the EU”, an endorsement that Zelensky interpreted as another gesture that led to Ukraine. “closer to EU membership”.