EU ministers adopt temporary trade liberalisation measures for Moldova
Meeting on July 18, EU ministers adopted a regulation temporarily liberalising trade in the seven Moldovan agricultural products that are not already fully liberalised: tomatoes, garlic, table grapes, apples, cherries, plums and grape juice, a statement by the Council of the EU said.
This means that Moldova can at least double its exports of these products – for a period of one year – to the European Union without any tariffs, the statement said.
“Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine has had a devastating impact on Ukraine, as well as on the Republic of Moldova,” the Council of the EU statement said.
This has negatively affected Moldova’s ability to trade with the rest of the world, since its exports rely heavily on Ukrainian infrastructures, and because it has largely lost access to its markets in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
When entering into force, the July 18 decision will apply, for a period of one year, to seven agricultural products from Moldova that are at present still subject to tariff rate quotas when entering the EU.
The temporary trade liberalisation measures will redirect those exports towards the EU.
The statement said that the July 18 decision is conditional upon respect for the principles set out in Article 2 of the agreement establishing the deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA), which has liberalised almost all trade with Moldova, except in the seven agricultural products addressed by this regulation.
Now that the regulation has been adopted by both the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, it will be signed and published in the Official Journal, before entering into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, the statement said.
(Photo: CBCS/freeimages.com)
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