Agricultural organizations representing EU producers and producers of sugar, eggs, poultry, cereals and oilseeds in the final phase of negotiations on changes to autonomous trade measures (ATM) thanked the Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, for his efforts to find a solution beneficial for these industries. In the letter, they also expressed their support for activities aimed at extending the reference period, which is crucial for determining trade limits.
The letter, obtained by our editorial office, was sent to the commissioner by organizations such as:
- AVEC – Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in EU countries,
- CEFS – European Sugar Producers Association, CEPM – European Maize Production Confederation,
- Copa-Cogeca – the united voice of farmers and their cooperatives in the European Union,
- EUWEP – European Union of Wholesalers of Eggs, Egg Products, Poultry and Game.
ATM at the halfway point. Negotiations last until the last minute
They assured their support for the “new ATM”. These changes are scheduled to be made public on Wednesday, January 31. What exactly would they concern?
The associations believe that the “new ATM” contains automatically triggered safeguards that restore limits for all the most affected commodities: sugar, poultry and eggs, but also cereals and oilseeds.
– If we opted for a licensing system for individual Member States for some of these products, rather than an EU solution, we would divide EU Member States and undermine the integrity of the EU single market, which is one of, if not the greatest, success of the EU, the organizations said.
What about the reference period?
The above-mentioned European associations stressed that the ATM includes a reference period for trigger values, which ensures the right balance for EU farmers.
They most likely support Commissioner Wojciechowski’s position presented today, which, as RMF wrote, wants these to be the last three years in total, i.e. 2021.
According to the organization, the “reference period” would have to be based on an average, taking into account at least as much imports before and after trade liberalization as the average from 2021 and 2022. And this, in their opinion, would require a lot of effort on the part of EU farmers.
A system should be created to ensure that the destination of all deliveries of Ukrainian agricultural products is determined before entering the EU market. This system should also guarantee that Ukrainian products reach their destination and do not end up elsewhere. In addition, import thresholds should be introduced for each agricultural commodity subject to trade liberalization based on the annual or quarterly average for the combined years 2021 and 2022 – Copa-Cogeca appeals.
It is the reference period in ATM that is crucial because it would be necessary to calculate the import restrictions imposed on selected product groups. Previously, it was reported that this period was changed from mid-2022 to mid-2023. What will be the final result? Today we have to find out about it.
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