Svyridenko on EU quotas: Trade will remain free, the consequences will be felt on 17 goods
From June 6, only additional liberalization by the EU in the form of autonomous trade measures will cease to apply, but the free trade regime between Ukraine and the bloc will remain in place. This was stated by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
According to her, the transition to the trade regime with the EU in 2021 means that all trade will remain free, with the exception of 40 categories of agricultural products for which tariff quotas apply.
Svyrydenko emphasized that the experience of trade without restrictions has shown that in 17 out of 40 tariff quotas, trade volumes are greater than the tariff quota level of 2021.
"Therefore, for 23 goods, the restoration of quotas will not become a restriction – for example, garlic, which we exported in the amount of 235 tons last year with a quota of 500 tons," the minister added.
At the same time, even in the case of those goods for which trade volumes exceed quotas, the return to the EU trade regime in 2021 will only partially affect exports.
In particular, corn exports to the EU reached a record 14 million tons by 2022, with a formal quota of 650,000 tons. This is due to the fact that the EU does not apply duties on corn imports at all (except for Russian products).
There are also goods for which the restoration of tariff quotas will result in a decrease in exports, and the most significant is the export of sugar, for which the quota is 20,000 tons, compared to exports of 311,000 tons last year.
"Even exporters of sensitive products will not notice any actual changes, because the EU has "reset" the calculation of volumes for quota goods and started the countdown anew," Svyridenko noted.
She added that the lack of concessions from the EU on the revision of quotas affects trade worth $3.5 billion and could reduce revenue by $800 million, but this is the worst and "dark" scenario.
Svyridenko emphasized that active negotiations are currently underway with the EU on the transition from autonomous trade measures to a renewed and more liberalized free trade agreement.
- In May 2022, the EU abolished tariffs 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 tariffs on Ukrainian exports until mid-2025.
- In 2024, the European Union exported a record amount of goods to Ukraine worth 42.8 billion euros and imported 24.5 billion euros, resulting in a trade surplus of 18.3 billion euros.
- Since June 6, the EU has returned to "pre-war" rules in trade with Ukraine. Temporary easing of conditions introduced in 2022 is no longer in effect