A new EU regulation will curb duty-free Ukrainian exports starting mid-year, marking a shift from the broad trade exemptions granted since 2022, Polish state news agency PAP has reported, citing diplomatic sources.
Under updated rules, limits will apply to sensitive agricultural products such as poultry, sugar and grain, with import volumes capped for the remainder of 2025, the PAP news agency said.
The measures aim to ease tensions within the EU, especially in farming sectors, while negotiations on a revised long-term agreement with Ukraine continue.
Trade will now be based on the EU's 2016 agreement with Ukraine, replacing wartime trade liberalisation and effectively reverting to prewar conditions.
European Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari was cited as saying that the EU executive was "looking for a long-term solution ... focusing on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) that has existed between the European Union and Ukraine since 2016."
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said earlier this week that the move would end an "uncontrolled influx" of Ukrainian farm goods.
He revealed that Poland pushed hard for the change in Brussels, adding that new import quotas would be negotiated "within the EU framework."
(mp/gs)
Source: IAR/PAP, kyivpost.com