Canada extends preferential treatment for goods from Ukraine for a year

The Government of Canada has extended for the next 12 months the resolution that provides for the abolition of customs duties on imports of Ukrainian goods. This is stated in the message of the Ministry of Economy.

Ukrainian goods will continue to have duty-free access to the Canadian market until June 9, 2026.

The extension of the preferential regime for the import of Ukrainian goods will help strengthen domestic exports, save jobs and generally strengthen the economy in times of war. This will allow to involve even more Ukrainian producers in world trade and global trade chains, said First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.

The Canadian decree on the exemption from customs duties for Ukrainian goods came into force on June 9, 2022, and was initially for a one-year period, but was subsequently extended annually.

According to the Ministry of Economy, since the introduction of the preferential regime in 2022, Ukrainian exports to Canada under this program have already reached more than $35 million, with $8.5 million in customs duties written off. The extension offers the potential for another $1.2 million in savings for Canadian importers. Total exports to Canada in 2024 amounted to $152 million.

As a reminder, on June 5, the EU Council adopted a resolution to extend the suspension of EU safeguard measures for Ukraine on iron and steel.

At the same time, the European Commission will be able to adopt an implementing act to suspend this resolution for certain products for up to 12 months. The decision to suspend will be made if imports of these products from Ukraine increase to a level that significantly harms or threatens to harm the Union’s industry producing similar or directly competing products. The resolution entered into force on June 6 and will be applied for three years.