EC proposes suspending import duties on all Ukrainian exports to EU
The European Commission (EC) proposed on April 27 to suspend for one year import duties on all Ukrainian exports to the European Union, the EC said in a statement.
The EC said that the proposal, which is an unprecedented gesture of support for a country at war, would also see the suspension for one year of all EU anti-dumping and safeguard measures in place on Ukrainian steel exports.
This far-reaching step is designed to help boost Ukraine’s exports to the EU. It will help alleviate the difficult situation of Ukrainian producers and exporters in the face of Russia’s military invasion, the EC said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression is severely affecting the Ukrainian economy.
“I have been in discussions with President Zelenskyy on ways of supporting the economy, beyond the macro-financial assistance and grants we are providing,” Von der Leyen said.
“We both agree on the critical importance of a quick and broad import duty suspension to boost Ukraine’s economy. The step we are taking today responds to this call. It will greatly facilitate the export of Ukrainian industrial and agricultural goods to the EU. We continue to stand by Ukraine in these dire times,” she said.
The EC said that as well as leading to tragic loss of life and mass displacement of innocent civilians of Ukraine, the Russian military aggression is having a devastating impact on Ukraine’s economy and its ability to trade with the rest of the world due to the severe impact on its production capacity and vital export routes.
“In this difficult context, the EU wants to do as much as possible to help Ukraine to maintain its trade position with the rest of the world and further deepen its trade relations with the EU,” the EC said.
It said that the EU is also already taking measures on the ground to facilitate overland goods transport to help to get Ukrainian products out into the world.
For example, the Commission has already started liberalising the conditions for Ukrainian truck drivers transporting goods between Ukraine and the EU, as well as facilitating transit and the use of EU infrastructure to channel Ukrainian exports towards third countries.
These measures will add much-needed flexibility and certainty for Ukrainian producers, the EC said.
(Photo: EC Audiovisual Service/Lukasz Kobus)
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