EU-Ukraine trade visa-free regime to end in June – Tusk

On June 5, the EU will cancel the preferential regime of autonomous trade measures (ATMs) in trade with Ukraine. This was announced in the Sejm by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, RMF24 reports.

According to Tusk, after taking office as prime minister, he almost immediately initiated a campaign to convince the European Union to abandon the ATM mechanism, which provides for the liberalization of trade with Ukraine.

“And we have succeeded – from June 5, there will be no such mechanism. We are returning to the situation that existed before the war in terms of rules at the border,” he said.

Tusk said that the Polish government wants to help Ukraine in the war with Russia, but this should not be at the expense of Polish producers, especially farmers. The prime minister added that the government will take care of Polish economic interests, even if they are in “confrontation” with Ukrainian ones.

It should be noted that in May 2024, the EU Council approved the extension of preferential trade with Ukraine for another year, until June 5, 2025. As for the future format of trade relations between the parties, preliminary agreements were made that the duty-free trade conditions will be integrated into the Association Agreement with the EU.

At the April meeting of the Association Council, Ukraine emphasized the importance of extending the EU’s autonomous trade preferences until the end of 2025. The Ukrainian side also emphasized the importance of an early review of the provisions on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) in accordance with Article 29(4) of the Association Agreement.

Earlier, Yevropeiska Pravda reported, citing a European official familiar with the progress of trade negotiations between the parties, that the bloc would not introduce new trade preferences for Ukraine immediately after the expiration of the existing ones. The European official added that the idea of leaving trade preferences for some Ukrainian exports to the EU, such as steel, is being discussed.

As GMK Center reported earlier, on May 8, the European Parliament supported the extension of the suspension of import duties and quotas on certain goods from Ukraine, including steel products. Once approved by the EU Council, the preferential regime should be in place until June 2028.