U.S. and European officials have toured Ukraine's southern port of Izmail, a facility that is important in bringing Ukrainian grain exports to the world. It could become critical if a deal with Russia to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports expires without being renewed. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko)BRUSSELS – Ukraine on Saturday welcomed the European Union’s hard-fought deal to keep farm exports flowing into and through the bloc to world markets, saying that the Middle East and Africa would specifically stand to benefit from it. Late Friday, the 27-nation EU ended a damaging internal standoff over a destabilizing glut of Ukraine farm imports by granting five eastern member countries the right to temporarily ban the most problematic produce while allowing all farm products to transit onward. On Friday, EU nations also tentatively agreed to lift tariffs on Ukraine's grains for another year.

Source: The Nation April 29, 2023 16:08 UTC