The new agreement will provide for mutual liberalization of trade, that is, benefits for both parties.
The European Commission will not continue the unilateral abolition of duties on Ukrainian agricultural products, established three years ago, which is valid until June 5.
This is reported by the Polish publication RMF FM.
Instead, the European Commissioner for Agriculture Christoph Hansen announced a new trade agreement within the framework of the DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area), which is part of the 2016 EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
We are talking about a literal return to pre-war trade rules, because this would be too strong a blow to Ukraine.
The new agreement will provide for mutual trade liberalization, meaning benefits for both sides. There may be quotas on sensitive agricultural products and new safeguards.
The DCFTA agreement will also mean that Ukraine will have to adhere to EU standards on food safety and animal welfare. The aim is to gradually integrate Ukraine into the EU single market, with a view to its future membership.
According to RMF FM sources, the volume of support for Ukraine may decrease, and quotas for agricultural products will be lower than they are now.
The European Commission has already begun preparing negotiations with Ukraine at the technical level.
Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič from Slovakia, which has the same views on agricultural trade with Ukraine as Poland, will be responsible for the negotiations. His predecessor, Valdis Dombrovskis, was a representative of Latvia, which supports Ukraine “at any cost”.
The publication's interlocutors in the EC emphasized that the negotiations will be difficult and very sensitive.
“We cannot leave Ukraine, but Ukraine cannot threaten the interests of European agriculture,” concluded Polish Agriculture Minister Czesław Sekierski.
Recall that in May 2022, the EU abolished duties and quotas on Ukrainian exports. Since 2024, quotas for “sensitive” agricultural products from Ukraine have been added to the duty-free regime, and in this form the EU has extended the suspension of duties on Ukrainian exports until mid-2025.
