The EU is planning to extend duty-free trade with Ukraine until June 2025. Poland demands changes to the resolution to introduce mechanisms protecting Polish farmers.
This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Cheslav Sekersky, in an interview with Business Insider.
Among other things, Poland demands an acceleration of protective measures, including the possibility of applying regional “protective measures” if a market problem affects not the entire EU but a specific EU member state or region. Last week, Polish media got hold of a letter from Sekersky to the European Commission, in which the minister asserted that the complete liberalization of trade with Ukraine, introduced by the EU after the start of the major war, had a “counterproductive effect.”
According to him, only the import of sugar increased 20 times. Problems with excessive imports also concern grains, poultry meat, eggs, soft fruits, and apple concentrate, the letter said. In the interview, Sekersky stated that other European countries, including France, Austria, and Germany, also see the problem of negative consequences of imports from Ukraine. Poland wants to restore tariff quotas, but the European Commission rejected this demand.
The Polish minister also acknowledged that the embargo on Ukrainian products will have to be lifted: it “to some extent calmed the situation in the Polish market,” but in a political sense, it was poorly received. The head of the ministry said that he plans to speak with EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis soon about the current situation related to excessive imports of agricultural products from Ukraine. Also, about the project and changes to the EU resolution, which extends duty-free trade with Ukraine until June 2025.
Earlier, it was reported that Poland applied to discuss the issue of extending duty-free trade with Ukraine at the next meeting of the ministers of agriculture of the European Union countries. The European Commission plans to expand duty-free trade despite Warsaw’s protests, without restrictions on imports. The EC was supposed to approve the proposal at the meeting, but it was canceled.
Photo: Getty Images
