EU gradually lifts safeguard measures against Ukrainian agricultural imports by September 15

The European Union is gradually lifting by September 15 this year the exceptional and temporary preventive measures taken on May 2 against imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine in accordance with the exceptional safeguards of the Regulation on Autonomous Trade Measures. This is stated on the website of the European Commission.

“The scope of these measures is further reduced from 17 to 6 tariff lines for 4 products. These temporary and targeted measures have been taken due to bottlenecks in the logistics of these products in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and provided that Member States do not maintain any restrictive measures. The phasing out will make it possible to make significant improvements to the solidarity pathways and solve the problems associated with the export of Ukrainian grain from the country for this harvest,” the EC decision states.

In addition, the European Union is suspending import duties, quotas and trade remedies on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year.

“This is a strong indication of the EU’s continued support for Ukraine and will help alleviate the difficult situation faced by Ukrainian producers and exporters due to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression,” the European Commission said.

In order to improve trade flows between the bloc and our country, a Joint Coordination Platform has been established to coordinate the efforts of the Commission, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Commission will also monitor the transit of agricultural products through solidarity routes. The process will be managed at the political level by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis.

“If the transit of Ukrainian goods is impeded by unreasonably burdensome requirements in one or more of the five Member States, the Commission will review whether the essential conditions for the introduction of these preventive measures remain,” the EC said.

The restrictive measures apply to only four agricultural products – wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds – of Ukrainian origin. They can still be freely traded in all EU member states, except Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

As a reminder, it has now become known that the regulation prepared by the European Commission extending the ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural exports will apply to a smaller number of products.

In late April, the European Commission reached an agreement with the five countries and proposed an import ban for four types of products. Sunflower oil was not included in the list. In addition, the EU was to allocate a support package of EUR 100 million for the affected farmers.

In early May, the European Commission adopted exceptional and temporary import measures. But later, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary announced that they would apply to the EU to extend the restrictions on imports from Ukraine, which are in effect until June 5.

On May 11, the agriculture ministers of five EU countries wrote another letter to the European Commission. The countries argue that the import ban does not apply to goods imported under contracts that were concluded before the EU regulation came into force, i.e. before May 2.

Tags: sunseed, rapeseed, Hungary, Ukraine, Slovakia, Bulgaria, restrictions, corn, Romania, EU, Poland, seeds, wheat