European Commission will soon present Ukraine with a proposal for further trade liberalization – spokesperson

The European Commission is finalising a proposal for Ukraine on further trade liberalisation, which will soon be presented to Kyiv, European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said during a briefing on Monday, UNN reports.

Details

“I cannot say much at the moment, except to reiterate that the European Commission is fully committed to such consultations with Ukraine under Article 29 of our Association Agreement in the context of promoting mutual tariff liberalisation. We are now finalising a proposal and will present it to Ukraine soon,” Gill said in response to a question as to whether the European Commission had prepared proposals for ministers on trade liberalisation measures with Ukraine, which expire on 5 June.

Asked to clarify what the legislative procedure would look like, whether there would also be consultations with EU member states and whether this would be done before the current terms expire in June, the European Commission spokesman said that he “cannot go into detail about the timing at this stage”.

“The European Commission’s intention is certainly to try to enshrine trade-related issues between the EU and Ukraine in the Association Agreement, thus excluding them from the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) that are in place until the beginning of June. But I cannot say anything more precise about the exact timing at this stage, and in terms of the legislative procedure, it will be what it usually is, and of course, before it gets to any formal procedure, there is constant contact between the EU and its member states on this important issue,” Gill said.

Addition

The EU’s emergency trade measures, which abolished tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian exports, are due to expire on 5 June, leaving little time for them to be extended.

Introduced after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the policy was designed to support Ukraine’s economy.

Two years ago, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria introduced a unilateral ban on imports of Ukrainian grain and other food products, violating the EU’s common trade policy.

The last time the EU’s trade measures were renewed, countries including Poland, France and Hungary insisted on the introduction of an “emergency brake” mechanism that would impose tariffs on Ukrainian products, including eggs, sugar, oats and honey, if volumes exceeded certain levels to preserve domestic prices and protect their farmers.

Now Ukraine has warned of “truly devastating” consequences if the looming deadline halts unrestricted trade with the EU.