Brussels, 20 July 2023
The Council adopted today a regulation which renews and expands the temporary suspension of all outstanding tariffs and the entry-price system that are still applicable to seven agricultural products for another year, until 24 July 2024.
The renewal and expansion of the measures aim to ensure that the existing trade flows from Moldova to the EU can continue, which will support Moldova’s economy. This is particularly important, given Russia’s continued military aggression against Ukraine and the ongoing impact on Moldova, and considering that Moldova was granted EU candidate status in June 2022.
Héctor Gómez Hernández, Industry, Trade and Tourism Minister of Spain
The measures continue to cover all seven agricultural products for which exports from Moldova into the EU are not yet fully liberalised under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), as they are subject to duty-free quotas: plums, table grapes, apples, tomatoes, garlic, cherries and grape juice.
The difference in coverage, compared to last year, consists in fully liberalising the import to the EU as the current legislation suspends all tariff rate quotas (TRQ) that are still in place.
The regulation also includes more stringent reporting obligations for the Commission and foresees that the Committee on Safeguards (instead of the Customs Code Committee) is to be involved in implementing the safeguard mechanism. A more expedited safeguard mechanism is proposed, and it should be more effective if the imports cause adverse effects on the EU market.
As last year, the EU is expected to see a loss of customs revenue about €0.3 million annually so the impact on EU own resources will be very limited.
Background and next steps
On 2 May 2023, the Commission submitted a legislative proposal to renew by one year and expand the scope of the temporary trade liberalisation measures for Moldovan products, supplementing trade concessions under the EU–Moldova Association Agreement that established a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). Under the DFCTA, all but seven agricultural products can enter the EU tariff-free, whereas to the seven products tariff rate quotas (‘TRQs’) apply.
The current trade liberalisation measures, in force until 24 July 2023, more than doubled the amount of products that can be imported tariff-free from Moldova into the EU (i.e. the TRQs). They have had a positive effect on Moldova’s trade to the EU by assisting Moldova with re-orienting exports via the EU. Overall, exports from Moldova to the EU increased from €1.8 billion in 2021 to €2.6 billion in 2022.
On 14 June, Member States’ EU ambassadors confirmed that, should the European Parliament approve the Commission’s proposal without amendments, the Council would approve the European Parliament’s position. On 11 July , the European Parliament adopted its first-reading position by taking over the Commission’s proposal without any amendments.
Now that the regulation has been adopted, it will be signed by the representatives of the Council and the European Parliament and published in the Official Journal, before entering into force on 25 July.
- Regulation on temporary trade-liberalisation measures for Moldova
- EU-Republic of Moldova Association Agreement
- EU relations with the republic of Moldova (background information)
- EU response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (background information)
Source – EU Council