Trade relief measures for Armenian products pass vote in European Parliament

The European Parliament on Tuesday voted in favor of providing trade relief measures for Armenian products for two years. The initiative, first published in July, was backed by 583 European lawmakers, while 49 voted against and 39 abstained.

“The European Parliament has endorsed the European Commission’s proposal to provide autonomous trade measures for Made in Armenia products. [This is] another meaningful step for the Armenia-EU partnership,” Tigran Balayan, the head of Armenia’s mission to the European Union, wrote in a social media post.

The European Council, the EU body that defines the bloc’s overall political direction, supported the measures earlier this month.

They involve a temporary suspension of import duties and will cover approximately 80% of Armenia’s exports, including 99% of its fresh fruit, vegetables and plants and more than 91% of its exports of beverages and spirits.

The measures will apply for two years and are explicitly intended to support Armenia’s economy following trade restrictions imposed by Russia earlier this year.

Moscow gradually introduced broad restrictions targeting a large share of Armenia’s exports starting in May. The measures affected agricultural produce, alcoholic beverages, flowers and mineral water, despite Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.

While Russia has described the measures as technical and linked them to alleged systemic violations of product quality, many economists have characterized them as a trade war in retaliation to Armenia’s westward political pivot. The restrictions have coincided with Moscow’s increased political pressure on Yerevan.