Eu ukraine for the time being deprives customs advantages

The European Union has expired trade advantages for Ukraine, with which the country attacked by Russia was supported for three years. At midnight of our time, according to the EU Commission, transitional rules came into force on Friday that should apply until negotiations on a new trade agreement have been concluded.

What does that mean for Ukraine?

According to Ukrainian agricultural organizations, preliminary estimates indicate that the changes in Ukraine could give a loss of billions. They fear a loss of foreign exchange income of up to 3.3 billion euros and a decline in economic output by around 2.5 percent this year.

When asked whether the EU must now support Ukraine with more financial aid, a spokesman for the EU Commission recently said, it was too early for an answer. « These are exactly the questions we have to get to the bottom of our conversations with our Ukrainian partners, » said the speaker.

What reliefs are now eliminated?

The EU had excluded Ukrainian goods from import duties around 100 days after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022. This should strengthen the country’s economy, because at the center of the measures is agricultural products. The Eastern European country has a comparatively large agricultural sector that made up more than seven percent of economic output in 2023. For comparison: in Germany it is not even one percent.

Last year, trading reliefs were extended, but at the same time stricter requirements for certain food imports were introduced into the EU. It was about poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, corn, coarse semolina and honey.

Why are the relief controversial?

The support of the Ukrainians through customs exemption was a thorn in the side of many European farmers, especially in neighboring countries such as Poland and Hungary. They complained disproportionate competition from cheap agricultural imports from Ukraine. Calls also came from France according to stricter customs rules. According to information from EU diplomatic circles, national interests in the agricultural sector also played a role in the current debate on the expiry of trade releases.

The chairman of the commercial committee in the EU Parliament, Bernd Lange (SPD), described it as « unspeakably » that it was not possible to find a mutually acceptable solution before the trading easier expired. He considered the elimination of the customs exemption as inappropriate consideration for state of state in Poland.

There, the right-wing conservative EU skeptic Karol Nawrocki won the presidential election on Sunday with a narrow lead. Nawrocki also made election campaign with anti-European slogans and wants to make life difficult for the ruling center-left alliance of the pro-European Donald Tusk.

Which rules apply now?

According to the EU Commission, the customs contingents of an agreement applied since 2016 have been in effect since midnight. Since almost half of the year is already over, there are seven twelfth of the annual quantities from the old trade agreement by the end of 2025.

The Commission announced that it quickly worked towards a new agreement. The concerns of the concerns and a few EU member states are also concerned.

What’s next?

The EU and Ukraine negotiators are talking about a permanent new agreement. The pressure on Ukraine to get a result as quickly as possible has increased with the expires of previous relief. How long the talks will take is still unclear. Trade politicians Lange hopes to « get a result quickly ».