The Committee of the European Parliament on International Trade voted to extend duty-free trade with Ukraine for a year, the European Institute reported.
"The Committee on International Trade on Thursday gave the green light to suspend EU import duties on Ukrainian exports for another year to support the country's economy," the report said.
Members of the European Union's international trade committee approved a proposal to extend the suspension of import duties, anti-dumping duties and protective measures on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year amid Russia's aggressive war, which limits Ukraine's ability to trade with the rest of the world.
"The suspension of tariffs applies to fruits and vegetables subject to the input price system, as well as to agricultural products and products of their processing, subject to tariff quotas. In accordance with the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, from January 1, 2023, industrial goods are subject to zero duty, therefore they are not included in the new proposal," the European Parliament reports.
Deputies of the European Parliament adopted the draft report of the committee, prepared by the permanent rapporteur of Ukraine, Sandra Kalniete, by 27 votes with 1 "against" and 7 abstentions.
"The EU ambassadors can give the green light to this tomorrow," Rikard Jozvyak, the European editor of Radio Liberty, said on Twitter regarding the approval of the extension of duty-free trade with Ukraine.
It is planned that the draft report will be put to a vote by all members of the European Parliament at the plenary session on May 8-11. The measure will apply the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
Relations between the EU and Ukraine are regulated by the Association Agreement. The deep and comprehensive free trade zone included in the agreement provides preferential access to the EU market for Ukrainian businesses since 2016.
According to the European Commission, the EU is Ukraine's largest trading partner, accounting for 39.5% of its trade in 2021. Ukraine is the 15th largest trading partner of the EU, accounting for about 1.2% of the total volume of EU trade.
The EU abolished all customs duties on Ukrainian exports for a year in June of last year.
The government noted that Ukraine expects to extend the term of duty-free trade with the EU until the end of 2024.
Later, the EU began to put forward an initiative regarding a possible import duty on Ukrainian grain.