Poultry tariff quotas
Published by AGRINFO on
EU to revise management of poultry tariff quotas to limit the impact of increased Ukrainian imports
Draft Commission Delegated Regulation amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 as regards the rules on the reference quantity for groups of tariff quotas in the poultry sector [Go to Download]
Update
The European Commission proposes to revise the rules on the quantities of poultry that may be imported by individual operators under tariff quotas. The aim is to counteract the perceived unfair advantage enjoyed by importers of Ukrainian poultry, who can currently benefit from increased imports of poultry from the Ukraine (due to temporary liberalisation) to also secure access to quotas for poultry from Argentinia, Brazil, and Thailand.
Impacted Products
Poultry
What is changing?
There is considerable demand among importers for tariff quotas in certain agricultural products. To manage this demand, in general, an importer may not apply for a quantity of a quota that:
- is more than the imports from the previous 2 years (in quota and out of quota) from an origin within the scope of the quota, and
- is more than 15% of the quantity available in the quota.
In the case of poultry, different quotas are grouped together (see Table 1). The reference quantity is calculated in the same way, but on the basis of cumulative imports for each group. The importer may choose how to distribute the cumulative reference quantity across the individual quotas/origins. This gives importers flexibility where there may be disruption in trade from one origin, for example related to an outbreak of avian flu. For example, a reference quantity based on imports from any “third” (i.e., non-EU) country can be used to apply for quota from Brazil.
The draft Regulation proposes to remove the “All third countries” quotas from the three groups – for example, by removing 09.4123 from group (a) – and establish them as individual quotas. Under the proposed rules, imports from all third countries would no longer be taken into account for calculating reference quantities applicable to the Brazilian, Thai, and Argentinian quotas.
Why?
The European Union has temporarily liberalised trade with the Ukraine (Regulation 2023/1077), leading to a significant increase of imports of poultry from Ukraine into the EU. As these imports can currently be used to assert a claim to a share of tariff quotas, this is considered to give an unfair advantage to importers of poultry from Ukraine. Removing the “All third countries” trade quotas from the quota groups aims to limit the impact of liberalised Ukrainian imports on access to quotas.
Timeline
The new rules are expected to apply from the third quarter of 2024.
Recommended Actions
Feedback on this proposal closed on 3 July 2024.
Background
For further information on EU tariff quotas, see Import tariffs and tariff rate quotas explained.
Resources
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/761 as regards the management system of tariff quotas with licences
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 as regards the rules for the administration of import and export tariff quotas subject to licences
Sources
Draft Commission Delegated Regulation as regards the rules on the reference quantity for groups of tariff quotas in the poultry sector [Go to Download]
Tables & Figures
Source: Regulation (EU) 2020/760, Art. 9(6).