Ukraine, EU agree to extend preferential trade regime for one year

Ukraine and the European Union (EU) have agreed to extend for one year their preferential trade regime, which is due to expire on June 5, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Ukraine and the EU reached agreements on extending the "economic visa-free regime" for another year. Ukrainian businesses will be able to continue selling their goods to the EU without any quotas, duties, or tariffs, Shmyhal wrote in a post on Telegram.

The extension of the preferential trade rules will contribute to the revival of the Ukrainian economy, Shmyhal was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

He noted that the access of Ukrainian agricultural products to the European market has been partially restored after a ban by five neighboring countries.

The European Commission developed a compromise mechanism, which temporarily restricts Ukraine from exporting four types of agricultural products to its neighbors, Shmyhal said.

The Ukraine-EU preferential trade regime, abolishing tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian industrial goods and foods, took effect in June 2022.

Last month, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania imposed unilateral import restrictions on agricultural goods from Ukraine.

--IANS

int/sha