Economy

The fate of free exports of Ukrainian goods to the EU is being decided: who is against?

As early as tomorrow, 16 January, the European Commission may extend the preferential trade regime with Ukraine, which, among other things, provides for free and quota-free imports of Ukrainian products into the EU. However, this norm is disliked by too many EU members, which may influence the outcome of this decision, citing Reuters, reports .

In particular, Reuters reports that a number of Eastern European countries are demanding that the EU impose an import duty on Ukrainian grain, citing unfair competition. The agriculture ministers of Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia have sent a letter to the European Commission requesting action, saying that cheaper agricultural products from Ukraine are eating into their export markets. This was revealed by the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture.

The five signatories are among the six EU member states that produce significantly more wheat and maize than they need, which is key to food safety in Europe and the EU’s strategic sovereignty, the ministers said.

“This is why Brussels needs to introduce measures that will protect the markets of Member States bordering Ukraine while helping them to utilise their export potential to its full potential. One such measure could be the introduction of import duties on the most sensitive agricultural products,” the letter signed by the ministers reads.

According to the ministers, the large size of Ukrainian farms makes it cheaper to export grain from the country and this pushes EU farmers out of their traditional export markets. Farmers in the countries in question “suffered significant losses” after the EU suspended import quotas and duties on grain from Ukraine last year, they claim.

The ministers also call on the European Commission to check whether Ukrainian production guidelines meet EU standards.

Western mass media are convinced that the European Commission will still continue the favourable trade regime with Ukraine, but given the position of many member states, the relevant document will have to spell out tougher conditions for this regime. According to the Financial Times, the document envisages a norm that will allow to quickly stop imports of specific Ukrainian products if they flood the market of certain member states.

As a reminder, Russia’s blocking of Black Sea ports after the 2022 invasion forced Ukraine to look for alternative ways to export grain, which turned out to be neighbouring EU countries. Farmers in these countries protest against this practice, arguing that these supplies affect local markets. Poland, Slovakia and Hungary imposed restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports last September after the European Commission refused to extend the import ban for Ukraine’s five EU neighbours. It is important to note that these restrictions only apply to domestic imports and have no impact on transit to other markets. Polish farmers have been blocking the border with Ukraine for more than two months , demanding that the preferential regime for trade in any goods with Ukraine be cancelled altogether.