European Union and Ukraine have agreed on trade terms

The European Commission (EC) and Ukraine have reached an agreement in principle on the revision of the bilateral Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement under Article 29.

As stated in the press service of the EC, this agreement opens a new chapter in trade relations between the EU and Ukraine.

“It establishes a long-term, predictable and reciprocal system that benefits exporters, businesses and farmers on both sides, and strengthens Ukraine’s path to EU membership,” the agency said.

Today’s agreement is balanced, fair and realistic, and it represents the best possible outcome in a difficult geopolitical context, the European Commission stressed.

Key elements of the agreement include:

• Ukraine’s commitment to gradually bring its agricultural production standards up to EU standards by 2028, in line with its accession objectives.
• The EC has also provided a robust safeguard mechanism to protect EU markets, especially where imports could cause serious difficulties at EU or Member State level.
• The agreement expands trade opportunities for agri-food products.
• For sensitive products such as eggs, sugar and wheat, quotas are increased but remain below historical trade levels to ensure the stability of the EU market.
• For less sensitive products, quotas are increased moderately, while some products will be fully liberalised.

As EU Agriculture Commissioner Christoph Hansen stated, Ukraine will receive an increased quota for pork, poultry and sugar exports. This will increase export opportunities for European farmers, especially in Member States bordering Ukraine.

“We also agreed to review this agreement in the coming years, taking into account Ukraine’s economic integration and progress in meeting EU standards. While the main outlines have already been agreed, the technical details will be finalized in the near future,” he added.

The decision requires the EU Council’s approval to enter into force.

According to Euractiv, the updated system, structured in three tiers, offers Ukraine modest opportunities to import products that EU countries consider “sensitive,” such as eggs, poultry, sugar, wheat, corn or honey – all limited by a slight increase in quotas.

Quotas for the second tier of goods, including butter, skimmed milk powder, malt, gluten, oats and barley, will be increased to the highest levels reached since the start of the war.

A third group of goods will be fully liberalized, including whole milk powder, fermented milk, mushrooms and grape juice.

Tags: oats, eggs, Ukraine, corn, EU, sugar, wheat, butter, honey