European Parliament and Council Regulation No. 2022/870 on temporary trade liberalization measures that exempt Ukrainian exports from duties for a year entered into force on Saturday, the Economy Ministry said.

"This decision complements the opportunities our exporters have under the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. Now the tariffs that are stipulated in the Agreement will be temporarily suspended," the Ministry noted.

It clarified that these are duties for industrial products, the suspension of the system of input prices for fruit and vegetables and all tariff quotas for agricultural products, as well as the suspension of anti-dumping duties on imports of goods originating from Ukraine and the application of global protective measures with respect to Ukrainian products.

In its turn, liberalization of trade relations assumes that Ukraine will observe European rules: origin of goods and respective procedures within the framework of Association Agreement; refraining from any new restrictions on imports from the EU; respect of Ukraine for democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms, rule of law, fight against corruption.

"These new rules will be valid for a year and will help Ukrainian producers and exporters to withstand the burden of war and strengthen their position in the European market," the Ministry of Economy stressed.

It pointed out that now the EU is Ukraine's largest trade partner. In 2021 the European Union accounted for 39% of the total trade volume of our state. The volume of trade turnover increased by 35% and amounted to $62.5 billion.

Ukraine exports to the European Union primarily ferrous metals, ores, electrical machinery, oil and grain. "We expect that trade liberalization will help our exporters to strengthen their positions in these and other commodity niches," added the Ministry of Economy.