The European Parliament voted on Tuesday to suspend import duties on around 80 percent of Armenian exports for two years, approving the measure in Strasbourg by 583 votes to 49, with 39 abstentions. The decision clears the way for tariff-free access to the EU market for a range of Armenian goods hit by Russia’s trade restrictions.
The measures suspend duties on a broad range of Armenian products and establish duty-free import quotas for eight agricultural goods, including grapes, apricots, cherries, peaches, and cucumbers. They will run for two years and carry safeguards allowing the EU to act if a surge in imports harms European producers.
Armenia’s ambassador to the EU, Tigran Balayan, welcomed the vote, writing that the European Parliament had endorsed the Commission’s proposal to provide the measures for Made in Armenia products, and calling it another step for the Armenia-EU partnership.
The vote follows the Council of the European Union’s approval of the same measures on September 2, and the endorsement by Parliament’s Committee on International Trade on September 3. What remains is for the Council to formally approve Parliament’s position, after which the regulation enters into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
The measures respond to the trade restrictions Russia began imposing on Armenian goods in late May, after Armenia advanced its bid to deepen ties with the EU. The bans reached produce, fish, flowers, dairy, alcohol, and Jermuk mineral water, along with the transit of Armenian goods through Russia to other members of the Eurasian Economic Union. The European Commission has said the restrictions disrupted Armenia’s traditional supply chains and hit small and medium-sized enterprises and farmers hardest.
The measures cover almost 99 percent of Armenia’s exports of fresh fruit, vegetables, and plants that had gone to Russia, and more than 91 percent of its beverages and spirits. Bogdan Zdrojewski, the Parliament’s rapporteur on the proposal, said the relief will help in the short term but is also a longer-term investment, and cautioned that Armenian exporters still need to meet EU standards and certification requirements, and that redirecting exports from one market to another cannot happen overnight.
