The Council of the European Union today adopted 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,” said Hector Gomez Hernandez, Industry, Trade and Tourism Minister of Spain, which holds the presidency of the Council of the EU “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.”

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 imports to the EU as the current legislation suspends all tariff rate quotas (TRQ) that are still in place.

The current trade liberalisation measures, in force until 24 July 2023, had a positive effect on Moldova’s trade to the EU by assisting Moldova with re-orienting exports via the EU, says a press release by the Council of the EU. Overall, exports from Moldova to the EU increased from €1.8 billion in 2021 to €2.6 billion in 2022.

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.

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Press release