EU applies both breaks and brakes on Kiev’s produce — RT World News

EU lawmakers have reached an agreement to expand Kyiv's duty-free access to member states' markets, but have also decided to impose limits on a number of Ukrainian agricultural imports, the European Council announced on Monday.

The initial decision was approved by European Union ambassadors. The agreement will enter into force after it is approved by the European Parliament committee, which is scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

Under the latest arrangement, tariff exemptions initially granted to Kiev in 2022 after the launch of the Russian military operation in Ukraine will be extended for another year, until June 2025.

However, Brussels also decided to do so “Strengthening the protection of sensitive agricultural products” It was presented “Automatic guarantees” for oats, maize/maize and grits, as well as products such as honey, eggs, poultry and sugar, to prevent cheap imports from flooding the EU market.

Specifically, tariffs will be applied to the listed products if imports from them exceed average levels of previous years. The European Commission also proposed extending this reference period to the second half of 2021, the year before the outbreak of the conflict.

Previously, it was estimated that these new guarantees could reduce Kiev's revenues by about 240 million euros (260 million US dollars) annually.

The decision to limit Ukrainian imports comes as farmers across Europe have been protesting for months against EU policies, which, agricultural workers say, threaten their livelihoods.

After the launch of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the European Commission lifted all duties and quotas imposed on Ukrainian goods for one year to allow its agricultural products to be shipped to global markets. However, these imports ended up flooding Eastern European countries and destabilizing markets

European farmers have complained that they are simply unable to compete with cheap Ukrainian imports that are not subject to the same tariffs and regulations as goods produced in the EU.