Regulation (EU) 2024/1392 on temporary trade-liberalisation measures supplementing trade concessions applicable to Ukrainian products under the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part

What it is

to increase the trade flows concerning all imports from Ukraine by suspending all outstanding tariffs and import duties applied to Ukrainian products. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine since 24 February 2022 has had a profound negative impact on Ukraine’s ability to trade with the rest of the world, because of the toll imposed on human lives, the need to focus on the defence of the territory, vast populations being displaced, the destruction of production capacity and the unavailability of a significant share of transport means due to the restriction of the access to the Black Sea. In this difficult context, it is necessary to continue stimulating trade flows and granting concessions in the form of trade-liberalisation measures for all products, in line with the acceleration of the elimination of customs duties on trade between the Union and Ukraine. The European Parliament adopted by 347 votes to 117, with 99 abstentions, amendments to the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on temporary trade-liberalisation measures supplementing trade concessions applicable to Ukrainian products under the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part. The matter was referred back to the committee responsible for inter-institutional negotiations. As a reminder, the proposal for a Regulation extends for a further year from their current expiry date (5 June 2024) the EU trade liberalisation measures in force for products from Ukraine, which were initially adopted in May 2022 and extended (a first time) in May 2023. The proposal provides for the temporary suspension of all outstanding customs duties under Title IV of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine establishing a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). This concerns two categories of products: fruits and vegetables subject to the entry-price system, and agricultural products and processed agricultural products which are subject to tariff-rate quotas. The proposal introduces strengthened safeguard mechanisms to prevent and counteract adverse market effects in the EU Member States. For particularly sensitive products, namely poultry, eggs and sugar, the regulation introduces an automatic safeguard, which ensures that duty free imports of those products will be capped at 2022-2023 levels. With these amendments, Parliament wishes to introduce an automatic safeguard for wheat, barley, oats, maize, eggs, poultry, sugar and honey products that is activated if quantities imported pursuant to this Regulation exceed the arithmetic mean of quantities in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Commission, within 14 days (instead of 21) and after informing the Committee on Safeguards set up by Regulation (EU) 2015/478, could reintroduce the corresponding tariff quota for…

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