The EU has canceled the preferential trade regime with Ukraine.

Starting from June 6, 2025, the European Union canceled the preferential trade regime for Ukrainian agricultural products. But at the same time, the European Commission approved new quotas for the export of Ukrainian goods until the end of the year within the framework of the Agreement on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area. According to a number of media outlets, Ukraine will be able to supply the EU with wheat and flour (583.33 thousand tons), corn (379.167 thousand tons) and barley (204.167 thousand tons). These quotas are allowed to be used only during seven months of the year. Restrictions have also been established on poultry meat, beef and eggs. Also, by the end of the year, Ukraine will be able to export almost 6,000 tons of milk and 1,750 tons of butter.

According to representatives of the European Commission, this decision was made within the framework of a package of autonomous trade measures aimed at supporting the Ukrainian agricultural sector in the context of the war. At the same time, the document provides for protective mechanisms for European farmers who are concerned about the growth of imports. Currently, Ukraine and the European Commission have an agreement to develop a solution regarding further exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the European market during June-July. As Taras Vysotskyi, the First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, told journalists in Kyiv, if a solution is not found during this period, then in August-September the proposed quotas for agricultural products will begin to be exhausted according to the "7/1" principle, and agricultural exports to the EU will stop. At the same time, he called the restrictions on such product items as sugar, poultry meat, honey, bioethanol, wheat, tomato paste, juices, dry milk and butter "the most sensitive", because these are the products for which Ukraine objectively has the potential to export more than the quotas of 2021. Taras Vysotskyi also recommended that farmers and traders actively look for alternative markets for the sale of agricultural products. At the same time, he admitted that the European Union market has more than 500 million consumers, for whom Ukraine currently has no particular alternative. However, according to him, it is necessary to pay more attention to the markets of Southeast Asia, India and China, which have a completely different logistical chain, certain restrictions and fundamentally different significant costs.

It is reminded that the preferential regime, which canceled duties, quotas and trade restrictions for Ukrainian products, was first introduced on June 4, 2022, after which it was extended twice - in 2023 and 2024. For the first time, the European Union applied the "emergency braking" of Ukrainian oat exports a year ago.

It should be noted that the head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Andriy Dykun, during a congress organized by the Polish Meat Association, emphasized that Ukraine will be the first country to join the EU in order to help the European agricultural market. According to him, the European Union market does not make much sense for Ukraine, because the country produces goods that are in demand on the world market. Therefore, he is sure, the main role of Ukraine in the future, after joining the EU, will be to be the largest food producer in the world. Currently, in his opinion, a joint analysis of the future of integration with the EU is necessary, because there is a lack of any research and scenarios for this transformation.