EU puts brakes on Ukrainian honey imports to appease farmers

Limits agreed for more foodstuffs as producers complain duty-free imports are flooding their markets

The EU has agreed to introduce an “emergency brake” on imports of Ukrainian honey, oats and groats on top of already planned limits on poultry, eggs and sugar.
The move is intended to reassure European farmers who are protesting over cheaper goods from the wartorn country, where producers are not bound by strict EU standards, flooding their markets.
Negotiators reached a compromise deal in the early hours of Wednesday morning in talks over a 12-month extension to an EU duty-free regime for Ukraine introduced after the Russian invasion.
Ukraine is one of the world’s largest honey producers, and its economy is dependent on agricultural and steel exports.
The provisional agreement allows caps on Ukrainian duty-free imports if they are judged to be distorting a member state’s market.
But it does not include limits on  Ukraine’s major exports of wheat and barley and the restrictions are less stringent than France and Poland had called for.
The deal struck by European Parliament negotiators and member states, represented by Belgium, also did not include an extension of the length of time used to measure whether Ukrainian imports were distorting a member state’s market.
France had backed Polish calls to extend the 2022-2023 reference period for calculating import caps to 2021, before the invasion and when Ukrainian exports to the EU were much lower. That would have cost Ukraine €1.2 billion in lost revenue, according to European Commission figures.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, faced criticism for supporting Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, in a coalition of countries that also included Hungary and Slovakia, which are seen as soft on Russia.
Warsaw has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters, but Polish farmers have blockaded the border with Ukraine because they say cheaper imports are undercutting their domestic market.
One EU diplomat said Mr Macron was ready to “send troops” to Ukraine but drew the line at accepting tractors amid divisions between member states over the proposal.
As well as extending the scope of the new restrictions, the deal replaces a three-week deadline for the commission to act if there is a surge in Ukrainian imports with a two- week deadline.
The European Parliament wanted to limit imports of wheat but failed to secure hard limits on the crop. However, the provisional deal calls on Brussels to take steps if the wheat market is disrupted by Ukrainian imports.
Sandra Kalniete, the lead MEP in the talks, said the agreement reinforced “the EU’s continued commitment to stand by Ukraine in the face of Russia’s brutal war of aggression until Ukraine’s victory”.
She added, “Russia’s targeting of Ukraine and its food production also impacts EU farmers. The Parliament heard their concerns, and bolstered safeguard measures that would alleviate the pressure on EU farmers should they be overwhelmed by a sudden surge in Ukrainian imports.”
The EU removed tariffs on Ukrainian products not covered by a free trade agreement with Brussels after Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion in 2022, in order to help Ukraine’s economy
The new agreement will cover 12 months from June and is now expected to be given final approval by the European Parliament and EU governments.