The European Commission has initiated the special arrangement called the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) in hopes of mitigating the impact of the Russian sanctions imposed in retaliation against the Armenian government’s pro-Western foreign policy. The head of the EU’s executive body, Ursula von der Leyen, announced it when she visited Yerevan in early July to show support for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and denounce Moscow’s “economic coercion.”
The EU member states formally backed the two-year trade preferences two weeks ago, paving the way for their overwhelming endorsement by the European Parliament. They said the ATM is conditional on Armenia’s compliance with EU trade rules and “administrative cooperation” with the 27-nation bloc.
The tariff-free regime will cover virtually all Armenian fruits, vegetables, flowers and beverages that were shipped to Russia, their main export market. Moscow blocked their imports on sanitary grounds after the Armenian government hosted two European summits in early May. President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials demanded that Yerevan quickly choose between seeking to join the EU and remaining part of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Russian-led trade bloc.
Pashinian remains reluctant to make such a choice now. He made clear after the talks with von der Leyen that Armenia’s eventual membership in the EU continues to be a “strategic goal” of his administration.
Armenia- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Yerevan, July 2, 2026.
Russia is Armenia’s number one trading partner, having accounted for 27.5 percent of its foreign trade in the first half of this year. Armenian exports to Russia and the EU stood at $1.23 billion and $516 million respectively.
Pashinian has repeatedly vowed to reduce his country’s heavy economic dependence on Russia by diversifying its exports. He has encouraged Armenian farmers and agribusiness firms to find new export markets. His government began subsidizing this summer agricultural exports to countries other than Russia, using 52 million euros ($60 million) in urgent financial aid provided by the EU.
Many of the affected exporters say they will need at least years to find viable alternatives to the Russian market. They are especially skeptical about exporting their products to the EU, pointing to higher transportation costs and the bloc’s stringent food safety standards.
According to government data, Armenia’s overall exports fell by about 16 percent in July and 20 percent in June. The physical volume of Armenian fruits, vegetables and cut flowers shipped abroad shrunk by half in the two-month period.
Russia is in a position to inflict much greater economic pain on Armenia by ending a significant discount on the price of Russian natural gas imported by the country. Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev warned of such a measure in a letter sent to Yerevan in May.