MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th April, 2023) The European Parliament's committees of international trade (INTA) and permanent representatives (COREPER) have approved the extension of the tariff-free import regime from Ukraine, but the process is yet to be finalized by higher-level bodies, EU spokeswoman for trade and agriculture Miriam Garcia Ferrer said on Friday.
The current duty-free imports regime provided for in the 2022 agreement will be valid until June 5, 2023.
"INTA gave the green light yesterday. Today was voted also in favor in COREPER. Now we need to follow the next steps, which is a Strasbourg plenary, and then a council approval, so we welcome these first approvals, but this is not the end of the process," Ferrer told a press briefing.
These developments come against the fact that earlier in April, Poland and Hungary banned imports of Ukrainian agricultural products until June 30, citing the need to protect domestic farmers from the uncontrolled influx of cheap grain. Slovakia and Bulgaria followed suit. The prime ministers of the four countries and Romania have also urged the European Commission to introduce measures to counteract the negative effects of the increased imports of Ukrainian grain.
Ukraine was granted a temporary duty-free trade arrangement with the EU last June. In March 2022, the European Union additionally launched green corridors to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain to the world market. However, the cheap grain from Ukraine ended up flooding EU markets instead, prompting outrage among local farmers.
