European agri co-ops have joined a call by industry stakeholders calling for “a carefully balanced approach” to any potential further trade liberalisation with Ukraine.
With the European Commission due to present its objectives to the council on future negotiations for the trade liberalisation with Ukraine later this month, co-ops are are urging for “caution and balance”.
The joint statement, signed by seven agri food associations and apexes, including Copa and Cogeca, the voice of European farmers and their co-ops, was published on 14 January.
“While supporting Ukraine in these challenging times remains important, any revised agreement must account for the cumulative pressures facing sensitive EU sectors (cereals, seeds, sugar, poultry, eggs, ethanol, honey), especially in the wake of the recently announced EU-Mercosur agreement,” it reads.
All import duties on Ukrainian exports to the EU are suspended until June 2025.
Related: Agri-co-ops welcome EU proposals to support farmers
The statement added that the EU’s agricultural sector has been “significantly impacted by the exceptional autonomous trade measures (ATMs) taken to support Ukraine in its war effort” over the past year. It adds that although the EU sector “welcomes the decision to revert to the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement” as a means to provide more predictability and security, it is concerned about the potential further expansion of liberalisation under Article 29 of that agreement.
The statement argues the EU must maintain “sufficient limits and safeguards to ensure that EU farmers and manufacturers are not disproportionately burdened”.
“Mechanisms such as tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) must be maintained and other explored to ensure sufficient protection for EU producers and manufacturers, it said. “Unfortunately, the current ATMs fall short of fully addressing market vulnerabilities, as thresholds protecting sensitive products are too high and no protection is granted to some of the most impacted sectors, such as wheat or barley.”
With a new agreement due to come into force later this year, the statement warns against fully liberalising some products not yet impacted by Ukrainian imports and calls for including “effective safeguard measures”.
“This would mean ignoring the incredible capacity of Ukrainian agriculture to swiftly expand the production of products when an opportunity for exports is identified, as it was the case with sugar,” adds the statement. “This could easily repeat itself with potatoes, pork, dairy or ethanol.“
The sector also warns about the potential impact of trade agreements such as the EU-Mercosur trade deal, the EU-Thailand agreement and the EU-India agreement, add further complexity to the EU market, and “pose a significant risk to some of these sensitive sectors”.
Lastly, the sector points out that some member states have in the past introduced protective measures to safeguard national markets, which, it warns, could risk fragmenting the Single Market. “Without a trade agreement that addresses these national challenges, the integrity of the EU market could be further weakened, and competitive distortions may arise.”
The sector is also asking for the ongoing revision to accelerate the alignment of Ukraine’s standards with the EU acquis, the collection of common rights and obligations that constitute the body of EU law.
“Ensuring thorough monitoring and controls of this alignment will be critical to maintaining fair competition and market stability,” adds the statement. “We call on the European Commission to work closely with stakeholders, European Parliament and member states to develop a trade framework that preserves European agriculture and that the outcome of these negotiations reflects both solidarity with Ukraine and the realities of European markets and of its producers and manufacturers.”
Along with other organisations, Copa and Cogeca have organised a flash action on 22 January in Brussels to protest the EU-Mercosur agreement.
