BRUSSELS- The European Commission proposed on Wednesday a one-year suspension of import duties on all Ukrainian goods not covered by an existing free trade deal to help the country’s economy during the war with Russia.
The measures will apply in particular to fruit and vegetables, subject to minimum price requirements, agricultural products facing quotas, and certain industrial goods, tariffs on which were only due to be phased out by the end of 2022.
That phase-out, set out in the 2016 EU-Ukraine free trade agreement, applies to fertilizers, aluminum products and cars.
The European Union will also exempt Ukraine from safeguard measures that limit steel imports, and lift anti-dumping tariffs the EU currently imposes on Ukrainian steel tubes, hot-rolled flat steel products and ironing boards.
Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelenskiy said he had discussed the proposal with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday and expressed his gratitude.
“Right now this will allow us to maintain economic activity in Ukraine, our national production, as much as possible. But this decision needs to be considered not only in the Ukrainian context,” he said in a late-night video address. — Reuters
