The EU Council plans to adopt a decision on revising tariff quotas for a number of agricultural goods from Ukraine on October 13. As reported by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget, Roksolana Pidlas, the new quotas will apply to 21 of the 34 items currently subject to restrictions.
According to her, the volumes will be significantly larger than those that operated under autonomous trade preferences. The decision is expected to enter into force 15 days after adoption.
The government has already confirmed its intention to reach an agreement with the EU on expanding the terms of access for Ukrainian products to the European market. Back in the summer, Ukraine's Trade Representative Taras Kachka announced the approval of an updated free trade agreement, which provides for increased "zero tariff quotas." This means that within the established volumes, imports of Ukrainian goods to the EU will be duty-free, and after exceeding the limits, regular tariffs will apply.
According to preliminary data, for certain types of products, the increase in quotas compared to 2021 will amount to hundreds of percent. In particular, for honey - by over 583%, for sugar and processed starch - by 500%, for grain products - up to 435%, for powdered milk - by over 300%, for eggs - by 300%. A significant increase in quotas is also expected for butter, oats, corn, wheat, poultry meat, ethanol and other agricultural products.
Thus, the European Union is actually opening up even wider access to the agricultural market for Ukraine, which will be a significant support for the agricultural sector in the context of war and growing challenges for the economy.
