The EU announced a new agricultural product import agreement with Ukraine

The EU announced on Monday that it has reached a "political agreement" with Ukraine on free trade, particularly on the sensitive issue of agricultural product imports. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic called it a "balanced, fair, and pragmatic" agreement and emphasized the quota system for "sensitive products" such as eggs, sugar, and wheat. To support Kyiv's resistance to the Russian invasion, the EU has exempted Ukrainian agricultural products from tariffs, effective from June 5, 2022.

However, European farmers often accuse Ukraine, an agricultural giant, of "unfair competition" and have demanded the restoration of the pre-war quota system according to a 2016 agreement. Brussels believes that the compromise reached with Kyiv over the weekend has achieved balance. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated in a statement that with this new agreement, "we are ensuring trade between Ukraine and Europe. [...] At the same time, we will continue to protect our farmers' interests."

To appease the industry, the EU has committed to quotas for products such as wheat, corn, sugar, honey, poultry, and eggs.

Christophe Hansen, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, said at a press conference in Brussels that these quotas will be higher than those in 2016 but lower than the record imports from Ukraine over the past three years. Other products, such as grape juice and fermented milk, will be fully liberalized.

The European Commission further explained: Overall, "the EU will be more open to the Ukrainian product market than before the war, while taking into account the sensitivity of certain agricultural food industries." Brussels insists on safeguard clauses during market instability. The Commission also mentioned that Ukraine has pledged to "gradually align its production standards with EU standards by 2028," especially regarding pesticide use.

Among European farmers, most trade unions, Copa-Cogeca, "urged the Commission to publish all details of the agreement as soon as possible." This agricultural lobby group welcomed the "standard coordination" and "safeguard mechanism" positively, but still "worried" about the impact of the agreement on "sensitive sectors and certain products (such as barley or ethanol) possibly being excluded from these mechanisms."

The agreement is still subject to technical discussions before it can be submitted to member states.

Since 2022, the trade openness with Ukraine has led to a significant increase in Ukraine's exports (such as sugar). According to data from the European Commission, in the 2023/2024 season, the EU imported more than 500,000 tons of Ukrainian sugar, compared to just 40,000 tons in the 2021/2022 season.

Since June 5, the EU implemented transitional measures to restore the 2016 quotas, which was strongly criticized by Kyiv.

Source: rfi

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836402240363528/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.