- EU trade defence measures on imports from Ukraine (currently suspended)
- Trade defence measures in force in Ukraine
EU trade relations with Ukraine. Facts, figures and latest developments.
The Association Agreement (AA) between the EU and Ukraine, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), was negotiated between 2007 and 2011, and signed on 21 March and 27 June 2014.
The AA is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together: it promotes deeper political ties, stronger economic links, and respect for common values. It formally entered into force on 1 September 2017 following ratification by all EU Member States.
The DCFTA has provisionally applied since 1 January 2016.
The Priority Action Plan (PAP) (see infographic) for enhanced implementation of the EU-Ukraine DCFTA in 2023-2024 lays down a set of concrete actions to accelerate and monitor the full implementation of the DCFTA, providing Ukraine with further access to the EU Single Market.
The AA/DCFTA aims to boost trade in goods and services between the EU and Ukraine by gradually cutting tariffs and bringing Ukraine's rules in line with those of the EU in certain industrial sectors and agricultural products.
To better integrate with the EU market, Ukraine is aligning its legislation to the EU's norms and standards for industrial and agri-food products. Ukraine is also approximating its legislation to the EU's in trade-related areas such as:
In response to the Russian Federation's illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol in 2014, the decision by the Russian Federation to recognise the non-government-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as independent entities in February 2022 (followed later by Kherson and Zaporizhzhia), and the Russian Federation's unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has introduced a series of trade-related restrictive measures.
Since 2014, the EU has banned the import of goods originating in Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as investments and a number of directly related services there. Similar restrictive measures were adopted in 2022 regarding the non government-controlled areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts of Ukraine. This sanctions regime consists of Council Decisions (CFSP) 2022/266 and Council Regulation (EU) 2022/263. The measures therein are very similar to those concerning Crimea and Sevastopol.
The EU has granted Ukraine full trade liberalisation, suspending import duties, quotas and trade defence measures for imports from Ukraine on a temporary basis. This is known as the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) Regulation. These measures first entered into force on 4 June 2022 and were renewed for subsequent years on 6 June 2023 and 6 June 2024 respectively. The current measures will remain in force until 5 June 2025. Thanks to these measures, the EU is significantly supporting Ukraine's economy by helping alleviate the difficult situation faced by Ukrainian producers and exporters.
The Autonomous Trade Measures Regulation contains an emergency brake that is activated if imports of eggs, poultry, sugar, oats, maize, groats or honey exceed average imports between 1 July 2021 and 31 December 2024. The emergency brake has been activated for oats, eggs, sugar, groats and honey. An implementing regulation outlines the monitoring of this emergency brake. The development of imports for the products subject to the emergency brake can be followed in the tariff quota consultation database.
The regulation is just one of the measures adopted by the EU in solidarity with Ukraine. More information on other measures is available on the dedicated Commission site.
The Priority Action Plan for 2021-2022 (now updated for 2023-2024) was put in place to spur the implementation process of the DCFTA. Since the European Council granted Ukraine candidate status on 23 June 2022, the EU and Ukraine have reached a new stage in their relationship. In her State of the Union speech in September 2022, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission would work together with Ukraine to ensure seamless access to the Single Market.
The purpose of the Priority Action Plan for 2023-2024 is to outline a set of concrete actions – such as working to include Ukraine in the EU’s Roam Like at Home Area and the Single European Payments Area, and to start negotiations on an Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance that will allow free circulation for certain industrial goods – to be undertaken by both sides until the end of 2024.
The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement prohibits any form of export restrictions.
In 2015, Ukraine introduced a 10-year export ban for all unprocessed wood, amending and supplementing a 2005 ban on ten wood species of low commercial relevance. The EU considered this ban to be in violation of the AA/DCFTA, and has raised the issue of the export ban at all levels and on all occasions since 2015. In 2020, the EU requested the establishment of an arbitration panel (the Panel) to settle this dispute. In December 2020, the Panel concluded that the export bans are incompatible with Article 35 of the AA, which forbids export prohibitions.
The EU is engaging with Ukraine within the framework of the Association Committee in Trade Configuration with a view to encourage Ukraine to comply with the panel conclusions.
The EU and Ukraine meet regularly to discuss issues and best practices and oversee the proper functioning of the Agreement.