Media: EU plans to increase tariffs on food from Ukraine

The EU plans to increase tariffs on imports of Ukrainian goods within a few weeks.

Unnamed diplomats have told the Financial Times.

The tariffs will specifically rise on goods from Ukrainian agriculture, the sources say. Nothing has been officially announced, but member states have received the proposal, the diplomats say.

Today, the EU imports a large amount of agricultural products from Ukraine without imposing tariffs on them. This is significant for the country’s economy.

Even before the war in Ukraine, the EU had a free trade agreement with the country, but after Russia’s invasion, tariffs on Ukrainian products were eliminated to an even greater extent. However, this is only temporary, as it is intended that a new free trade agreement will be negotiated with Ukraine.

The temporary tariff regulations are set to expire on June 6.

They will be replaced by “transitional rules,” which will contain significantly lower quotas for how many agricultural products can be imported tariff-free from Ukraine, the sources say.

These include poultry, wheat, and sugar, which Ukrainian farmers produce a lot of.

Politicians in several EU countries have said in recent years that the import of cheap food from Ukraine poses a threat to the EU’s own farmers, as the imports drive prices down.

Particularly in Poland, the issue has been prominent. The country has repeatedly tried on its own to limit the amount of food coming from Ukraine – in violation of EU law.

The question has also been debated in the EU Parliament, where conservative politicians have advocated for limiting imports.

The counterargument has been that the tariff regulations help support Ukraine’s economy, which is crucial if the country is to withstand Russia.

In the EU Parliament’s committee on international trade, there is criticism that a new free trade agreement has not been established.

The chairman of the committee, German Social Democrat Bernd Lange, does not believe it will be possible for the commission to reach an agreement by June 6.

He tells the Financial Times that it is unacceptable that the negotiations have stalled. It sends a bad signal to Ukraine, he says.