EU Council Finally Extends Special Trade Terms with Ukraine for Another Year with Certain Restrictions

Today, after a long and tense negotiation process, the Council of the European Union finally approved the extension of preferential trade with Ukraine for another year, but with certain restrictions on certain product groups. The new rules will come into force on 6 June and will remain in force until 5 June 2025, according to the European Commission's website.

"The suspension of customs duties and quotas for Ukrainian exports to the EU will be extended for another year following today's decision of the EU Council and the vote in the European Parliament on 23 April. Thus, the EU has reaffirmed its commitment to support Ukraine for as long as necessary," the statement said.

The conditions take into account certain European restrictions. In particular, given the significant increase in imports of certain agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU in 2022 and 2023, the updated rules contain enhanced safeguard mechanisms. This allows for rapid corrective measures to be taken in the event of significant disturbances in the EU market, or in one or more of the Community member states. Additional safeguards may be applied to products such as chicken eggs, chicken, sugar, oats, corn, cereals and honey. The safeguards will be automatically applied if the volume of imports of these products reaches the average annual volume of imports from Ukraine to the EU in the period from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2023.

The European Commission is also holding consultations with Ukraine under Article 29 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement to agree on a longer timeframe for further tariff liberalisation on reciprocal terms.