The European Commission has proposed today, April 27, to suspend all import duties on Ukrainian goods for one year, along with the lifting of all antidumping and safeguard measures on ex-Ukraine steel to help its economy during the ongoing conflict with Russia.
"I have been in discussions with [Ukraine's] president Zelensky on ways of supporting the economy, beyond the macro-financial assistance and grants we are providing. We both agree on the critical importance of a quick and broad import duty suspension to boost Ukraine's economy. The steps we are taking today respond to this call," said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.
European Commission executive vice-president and commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis commented, "The EU has never before delivered such trade liberalisation measures, which are unprecedented in their scale: granting Ukraine zero tariff, zero quota access to the EU market... These measures will directly help Ukrainian producers and exporters. They will inject confidence into the Ukrainian economy and send a strong signal that the EU will do whatever it takes to help Ukraine in its hour of need."
The proposal from Brussels, which has now to be considered and agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, comes a day after Britain announced it was dropping all tariffs on Ukrainian goods.