According to Výborný, the EU agreement with Ukraine on agricultural imports needs to be addressed

Kutná Hora – The European Union must address the rules for importing agricultural products from Ukraine. The current abolition of most fees is problematic for the internal market of the union, but setting standard tariffs would harm the economy of a country that is defending against Russian aggression. This was stated today by the Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL) to journalists before the government’s off-site meeting in Kutná Hora. The Financial Times (FT) reported today that the EU is preparing to significantly increase tariffs on agricultural imports from Ukraine.

Výborný reminded that at the beginning of June, the validity of the annual exemption for Ukrainian agricultural commodity importers will end. “I have noted a certain level of signal from the European Parliament during the spring that extending this situation in its current form seems to be difficult for some lawmakers to accept,” he said. According to him, there are also noticeable problems for European producers, for example, due to the import of Ukrainian sugar.

“If we were to completely return to the level of standard tariffs, it could somehow jeopardize Ukrainian exports. It is necessary to seek some compromise to respect that this is also one form of assistance to a country facing Russian aggression,” however, Výborný pointed out. He added that at the end of May he will participate in a meeting of European agriculture ministers and expects information on the next steps.

According to FT, the decision to end the special trade relations between the EU and Kyiv, which allows most Ukrainian goods to enter the union market without fees, came from Poland’s initiative to protect farmers in the twenty-seven. The duty-free regime has applied to Ukrainian poultry, wheat, and sugar since 2022. Most of this goods was directed through the twenty-seven to Africa and Asia. However, farmers and politicians in Poland, France, and other countries pointed out that goods from Ukraine are driving down prices in their domestic markets.

The Ukrainian government estimates that if trade conditions with the EU were to return to the state before the Russian invasion, its revenues would decrease by 3.5 billion euros (87.2 billion crowns) annually. (May 14)