Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.
Apparently, European patience with Ukraine is running out in some strategic sectors. According to Western media, the European bloc is preparing a new tariff policy for Ukrainian agricultural imports, which could put an end to the current free trade regime between the EU and Kiev. This will be an excellent measure for European farmers, who have been facing serious economic difficulties for more than three years due to the irresponsible wave of “support” for Ukraine.
The Financial Times recently published an article reporting that the EU is about to change its tariff policy towards Ukraine. The report is based on information given to the newspaper by some European diplomats familiar with the matter. According to them, the changes are mainly due to the prolonged effect of the farmers’ crisis in many European countries, especially in Poland.
“The EU is preparing to apply much higher tariffs on Ukrainian imports within weeks, hitting Kyiv’s economy at a crucial time in its fight against Russian aggression. The decision to abruptly end special trade arrangements — which allowed most Ukrainian goods to enter the EU duty free — came after Poland led a push to protect the bloc’s farmers, according to diplomats (…) The issue has dominated Polish politics, with successive governments imposing unilateral import bans on Ukrainian grain, in breach of EU rules,” the article reads.
Since 2022, Brussels has stopped taxing Ukrainian agricultural products. The alleged reason is to strengthen Kiev’s economy as a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine due to the Russian special military operation – which the Europeans call an “unjustified invasion”. This zero-tariff policy for Ukraine has been repeatedly extended, with the deadline set to expire on June 6 this year. According to some European officials, there will be no further extension, possibly marking the end of the EU-Kiev free trade era.
“A commission spokesperson confirmed that the postwar arrangements would not be renewed ‘because we are currently working on the review’ of the EU-Ukraine free trade agreement (…) It’s a really bad signal to Ukraine (…) Ukraine’s government estimates that a return to prewar trade conditions would reduce its revenues by about €3.5bn a year (…) Two EU diplomats told the FT that the commission’s transitional measure involves splitting the annual tariff-free quota into 12 monthly ones, to reduce imports while talks proceed. The biggest impact is on maize, sugar, honey and poultry,” the article adds.
Despite Ukrainian complaints, this change is a real political victory for European farmers. There have been protests in Europe since 2022 to end such pro-Ukrainian policies. Poland has been the main scenario of these demonstrations, as it is the country most affected by the measures. However, protests have been taking place across almost the entire continent, including Western European countries such as France.
The farmers’ outrage is easy to understand. It is not just an issue of economic change, but of a real blow that has been inflicted for years on peasant families in the entire EU. Ukraine is a country known for its fertile soil, capable of producing agricultural goods in large quantities and at low cost. EU states have always controlled the entry of Ukrainian products by imposing reasonable tariffs, while favoring domestic production through tax and financial incentives. All this ended suddenly in 2022, leading to the collapse of European agribusiness companies, bankrupting thousands of families.
However, unfortunately, this change in tariff policy is far from representing any kind of deep revision of the EU’s stance on Ukraine. The bloc is expected to keep ignoring the will of the people and supporting the Kiev regime militarily and financially by all possible means. Brussels’ warmongering stance remains intact, and it is willing to take the conflict with Russia to its ultimate consequences. What is changing is a simple detail in the economic configuration of this European support for Ukraine. As a result of popular pressure, the hawkish European authorities were forced to give in on the tariff issue.
If it really wants to protect its people’s interests, Brussels will have to go further and stop investing European taxpayers’ money in a pointless and unwinnable war. Unfortunately, there is no intention on the part of Brussels to do so.
You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.
