EU to limit imports of Ukraine's products

The European Union will limit imports of duty-free farm produce from Ukraine in a move that is likely to please the bloc's farmers but disappoint Kyiv.

The announcement followed months of protests from farmers in the EU over what they see as cheap imports from Ukraine that undercut their selling prices.

But the EU had been reluctant to cap imports from Ukraine because it wanted to continue to show support for the country over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

After a meeting on Monday that stretched into the night, the European Parliament issued a statement saying that "significant disruption to the EU market or the markets of one or more EU countries due to Ukrainian imports" opened the door to the European Commission taking "swift action" to "impose any measures it deems necessary".

Sandra Kalniete, the bloc's rapporteur for the accord, said it "fortifies safeguards to protect EU farmers in case of market turbulence sparked by Ukrainian imports".

The lawmaker from the center-right PPE grouping said "the ripple effects" from the Russia-Ukraine conflict were "being felt by EU farmers" and must be dealt with.

The French news agency Agence France-Presse said Belgium, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, announced the deal, which calls for the duty-free access the bloc granted in 2022 to be capped for Ukraine's exports of eggs, honey, maize, poultry, sugar, and crushed grain to average volumes recorded between mid-2021 and the end of 2023. The bloc did not apply a cap to Ukraine's wheat exports.

AFP said lawmakers, especially those on the far right, wanted to placate the bloc's powerful farming lobby ahead of elections in June.

The proposed caps were approved by EU ambassadors on behalf of the 27 member nations on Monday and will be formally passed into law by the bloc's international trade committee.

Radio France Internationale said the caps will likely reduce the value of Ukraine's agricultural exports to the EU by around 240 million euros ($260 million) a year.

Reuters said the grouping of farmers' unions known as COPA-COGECA said in a statement it had wanted deeper cuts. But the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club said the caps went too far, telling the Politico website Ukraine's products were demanded by everyone in the EU except the bloc's farmers.

The EU Council said in a statement it hopes the deal strikes a balance that "reaffirms the EU's unwavering political and economic support for Ukraine" while reinforcing "the protection of sensitive agricultural products".

Andrzej Halicki, a lawmaker from Poland's center-right European People's Party, said the caps he proposed will correct "inequalities" in the balance of trade between Ukraine and the EU.

"My amendments are in the interest of Ukraine," Politico quoted him as saying.