EU agrees to cap certain Ukrainian imports, including poultry and corn

A decision to respond to the anger of European farmers. The States of the European Union and the European Parliament agreed on Wednesday March 20 to cap certain Ukrainian agricultural imports exempt from customs duties (eggs, poultry, sugar, oats, corn and honey).

The agreement renews for one year, from June, the exemption from customs duties granted since 2022 to Ukraine in the context of the war, but with additional “safeguard mechanisms” targeting products “particularly sensitive”, including certain cereals but not wheat and barley as demanded by MEPs.

Progress “not sufficient”, according to France

The text “provides for an emergency brake on poultry, eggs and sugar”as well as “oats, corn, groats [préparation de grains dégermés] and honey”, specifies the European Parliament. Customs-cleared imports of these products will be de facto capped at the average levels imported by the EU in 2022 and 2023, levels beyond which customs duties will be automatically reimposed. The agreement must still be formally ratified by the Twenty-Seven and MEPs before entering into force on June 6.

“There is a certain number of advances, but they are not sufficient (…) there is a subject on wheat”regretted Wednesday on franceinfo the French Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, assuring that “the work will continue [car] we are not at the end”. “Without changing the base year and without direct inclusion of wheat, [l’accord] does not respond to producers’ concerns and therefore remains unacceptable”believes for her part Christiane Lambert, leader of Copa-Cogeca, the organization of the majority European agricultural unions.