European Parliament Approves New EU Trade Preferences for Ukraine

The plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday approved new temporary unilateral EU trade preferences for Ukraine, in addition to the free trade zone created under the association agreement.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The document must be later approved by the Council of the European Union, after which the measures may enter into force.

The trade preferences, if adopted, will imply zero import tariffs for certain volumes of Ukrainian agricultural products such as natural honey, processed tomatoes and wheat.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, establishing a political and economic association between the bloc and the country, was signed in 2014. It was ratified by all EU member states in 2016 with the Netherlands being the last state to support the move. In April 2016, Dutch voters held a referendum on the issue and rejected the agreement by 61 percent of votes out of fears that the deal would obligate the Netherlands to provide financial or military support to Kiev. Despite low voter turnout and the non-binding nature of the referendum, most Dutch parties agreed to abide by the outcome.

Under the agreement, Ukraine has to adopt a wide range of reforms, including in the fight against corruption, public finance management, decentralization and the energy sector.