EU Maintains Duty-Free Access for Ukrainian Iron, Steel to 2028

The EU will extend the suspension of import duties on Ukrainian iron and steel products until 2028 under the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) Regulation, the EU Parlament reported on May 8. 

“Ukraine’s steel industry is the backbone of the Ukrainian economy… The deepening of trade relations between the EU and Ukraine is not a matter of charity, but a mutually beneficial exchange that strengthens both parties,” the EU Parliament’s rapporteur Karin Karlsbro said. 

Previously the European Commission confirmed that it will not extend the suspension of import duties on Ukrainian exports after it ends on June 5. 

The EU’s ATMs, or so-called “trade visa-free” regime, was adopted in the summer of 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. It removed tariff rate quotas on 36 categories of Ukrainian import goods to provide support to the country during the war. 

The European Parliament approved extending the EU’s trade liberalization measures for Ukrainian iron and steel as an exception, with 354 votes in favor, 147 against, and 53 abstentions. 

The new regulation will apply for three years, until June 2028, after the EU Council gives its approval, the Parliament reported.

“Ukraine’s steel industry continues to deliver, despite many workers having left the steel plants to fight on the front lines and factories being subjected to severe attacks by Russia…”, Karlsbro said. 

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However, other barriers for Ukrainian exports to the EU will not be fully abolished – the core provisions on trade liberalization will be set out in the [Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area] DCFTA agreement between the two states. 

“The Commission is currently working on a longer-term solution to offer economic certainty for EU-Ukraine trade,” the EU Parliament wrote in a press release. 

On April 23, the European Delegation to Ukraine also confirmed to Kyiv Post that Ukraine will transition from the ATM framework to the trade regime under Article 29 of the Association Agreement. 

“This process aims to ensure economic stability and predictability for farmers and businesses in both Ukraine and the EU,” Nicolò Gasparini, spokesperson for the EU Delegation to Ukraine, told Kyiv Post by email.

Switching to a free trade agreement may bring Ukraine an advantage – predictability, Veronika Movchan, research director of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, previously told Kyiv Post. 

Under Article 29 of the free trade agreement, Ukraine and the EU could reach a compromise establishing less restrictive tariff quotas or fully lifting them for all goods that are not considered sensitive, Movchan said. 

“I also don’t like not extending Autonomous Trade Measures, because we will lose export volumes. But a revision of the agreement under Article 29 would be a better outcome,” Movchan told Kyiv Post. “It makes the situation more predictable, lowers tensions, and reduces the costs associated with implementing changes and constantly lobbying for them.”