EU to restore quotas on Ukrainian farm imports in June, Bloomberg reports

The European Union has agreed to reintroduce import quotas on several Ukrainian agricultural products starting June 6, Bloomberg reported on May 23.  

The move marks a significant shift in EU trade policy toward Kyiv, as bloc members seek to balance wartime support for Ukraine with growing domestic unrest from European farmers.

The quotas were eliminated at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Their reintroduction was approved by the European Commission on May 22. While no EU member voted against the new measure, several — including Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, and Lithuania — abstained.

The decision comes after protests across Central and Eastern Europe, where farmers argued that the influx of lower-cost Ukrainian goods has depressed local prices and undermined their livelihoods.

Polish farmers and truckers in particular have staged repeated blockades at the Ukrainian border since 2023 to protest duty-free imports.

Agricultural exports are critical to Ukraine's wartime economy, and EU market access has served as a lifeline following Russia's 2022 invasion, which severely disrupted Black Sea shipping lanes.

In response, the EU introduced a duty- and quota-free regime in June 2022 to ease the flow of Ukrainian goods to global markets. The agreement has been extended twice, most recently until June 5.

The European Commission said the quotas are temporary and that talks are underway to revise the EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), the broader legal framework governing bilateral trade.