The EU has recalibrated its economic interventions in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, reimposing tariffs on Ukrainian imports of sugar and eggs as part of a new tariff regime designed to placate the bloc’s domestic farmers, according to FT reports.
It has also introduced a new raft of sanctions on Russian ally Belarus, to stem circumvention of sanctions in support of Russia’s war efforts.
New tariffs
A new quota system, introduced 6 June and set to remain until 5 June 2025, will introduce tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural products such as poultry, eggs, sugar, oats, maize, honey and grain kernels when they exceed the mean average of 2022 and 2023 import figures.
Tariffs on oats worth €89 per tonne were reintroduced last week (21 June), with over 6,440 tonnes imported since the beginning of the year.
Sugar and eggs have all met the threshold, with Ukraine setting an export record of 108,000 tonnes of sugar in May, according to Euronews. Tariffs will be reintroduced tomorrow.
Eggs are set to cost another 30c per kilogram, while white sugar will face tariffs worth €419 per tonne and raw sugar €339 per tonne.
Farmer dissent
Tariffs on Ukrainian agricultural imports were dropped in June 2022, following Russia’s invasion in February of that year.
Domestic farmers from eastern European countries like Hungary, Poland and Slovakia soon protested as cheap imports undercut them, going as far as to impose an illegal embargo on the goods in contravention of EU law.
The new mechanism enabling the bloc to reintroduce tariffs on ‘sensitive’ products was pushed for by France and Poland.
Criticism
However, the move has attracted criticism from some commentators. Speaking to the FT, ExplainTrade’s Dmitry Grozoubinski described Ukraine as a “formidable agricultural player”.
“It’s still competitive while fighting a war… Imagine when it wins the war and gets investment.
“If the only way the politics works for accession is to give with one hand and take back with the other, it’s not good news.”
Belarus sanctions
A less divisive move from the bloc was the introduction of further sanctions on Belarus, as the EU tries to clamp down on the Russian ally’s circumvention of existing measures.
Bloomberg reports that the new sanctions focus on dual-use goods with military applications and don’t go as far as replicating the measures imposed on Russia. A 14th round of sanctions were imposed last week, targeting transshipments of liquified natural gas and tankers.