3 EU states – Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – currently have active unilateral bans on the import of certain types of agricultural products from Ukraine, contrary to the existing Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement between the EU and Ukraine (DCFTA).

The reasons for the blocking are rather political, since the updated Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement between the EU and Ukraine (DCFTA) contains safeguard provisions that can be activated if imports from Ukraine create problems for local agricultural producers.

Nevertheless, the EU continues dialogue with all three states so that they abandon the unilateral ban and switch to regulation based on the DCFTA with Ukraine.

Previously, unilateral bans on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products were also imposed by Romania and Bulgaria, but they have now switched to an import licensing system in agreement with Ukraine, as required by the updated DCFTA.

Reference source: http://surl.li/bjkcsswe14a