International trade

Moldova may abolish import customs duties on more than 90% of goods from the USA, keeping them on some sensitive groups (meat, milk and products from them, as well as sugar, sucrose, fructose, etc.). A corresponding parliamentary initiative has been registered in Parliament.

On Wednesday, March 18, global oil prices showed a decline after the news of resumption of oil exports from Iraq’s Kirkuk fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

The European e-cigarette market is now at the peak of growth, but almost half of the turnover is out of state control. This is the conclusion reached by the authors of a new international study on the structure of the illegal vape market in Europe, presented at a press conference by experts from Fraunhofer IIS and MRU GmbH (Germany).

The norm of the minimum stock of gasoline in Moldova is reduced from 8,000 tons to 5,000 tons. At the same time, the retail sale of diesel in consumer containers is limited to 20 liters per purchase. These measures are taken by the government in order to optimize the use of storage capacity and avoid blocking stocks.

Asian countries are seen as major buyers of Russian oil as exports are being redirected and supplies cut through familiar routes. CNBC reports that countries are lining up for resources from Russia.

Russian law enforcement authorities have uncovered a large-scale fraudulent scheme for illegal VAT refunds used when importing Moldovan apples into the Russian Federation.

Ukraine has agreed to EU technical and financial assistance to resume oil supplies through the Druzhba oil pipeline.

During an inspection at the Leuseni border crossing point, inspectors from the National Food Safety Agency (ANSA) found a very large (more than 9.3 tons) of imported peppers that did not comply with national regulations.

US President Donald Trump has called for an investigation into how Ukraine has been spending US-directed funds.

Moldova is on the 5th place in the ranking of European countries with the lowest prices for chicken eggs.

The military conflict over Iran is beginning to affect not only oil markets, but also a much less obvious segment – the global pistachio trade.

The global food market was highly vulnerable to the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one third of the world’s urea exports pass. Military action in the Middle East has threatened global food security by paralyzing the production and export of critical fertilizers.

Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Eugeniu Osmokescu is on a working visit to Washington, DC this week. During his visit, he held a series of meetings at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC) office and Widelity Inc. to discuss specific areas of investment and cooperation.

Chairman António Costa said that threats against EU leaders were unacceptable, commenting on Ukrainian President Zelensky’s remarks against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Relations between the EU and the US are once again on the verge of a deep crisis due to disagreements over security in the Strait of Hormuz, Politico reported, citing European diplomats.

Slovakia’s state-owned company SEPS has officially notified Ukraine about the cessation of emergency electricity supplies.

The U.S. administration is increasing pressure on its allies and China in an attempt to involve them in an international coalition to secure shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy corridors.

In the period from March 9 to March 15, 2026, the Customs Service of Moldova transferred to the state budget more than 860,8 million lei of taxes and fees collected from participants of foreign trade operations.

The Chinese government is responding to sulfur supply disruptions due to conflict in the Middle East and the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz. The move has sharply raised shipping costs and sulfur prices, posing serious risks to the production of phosphate fertilizer needed for China’s spring planting campaign. The country imports about 47% of its sulphur, mostly from the Persian Gulf, so any disruption to transportation routes has a direct impact on domestic fertilizer production.

The National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) has set the maximum fuel prices that will be in effect tomorrow, March 17.