Ukraine continues its active dialogue with the European Union regarding the review of trade conditions and the modification of existing quotas for Ukrainian goods. Currently, another round of negotiations is underway, and it is expected that final agreements may be reached as early as next week.
This is reported by Finway
Prospects for Ukrainian Entrepreneurs
According to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukrainian entrepreneurs will receive clear and predictable rules of the game for the next two years after the negotiations conclude. She emphasized the importance of these agreements for the stability of Ukrainian businesses and their integration into the European market.
“I hope that the negotiations will conclude next week, and Ukrainian entrepreneurs will have predictable rules of the game for at least the next two years,” she said at the “State and Business Forum: From Dialogue to Partnership.”
Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka clarified that within the current discussions, the liberalization of trade in value-added goods and those with a higher degree of processing has already been secured. However, sensitive issues regarding certain raw material groups of goods remain unresolved.
New Approaches to Cooperation and Future Agreements
Taras Kachka reported that a public announcement regarding the achievement of a stable, bilateral agreement on updating the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EU is expected soon. He emphasized that these changes will be more predictable and long-lasting, rather than temporary or unilateral, which is particularly important for Ukrainian exporters.
In addition to negotiations with the EU, Ukraine is actively working on updating the free trade agreement with the United Kingdom. This agreement has been reviewed annually since the start of the war and included autonomous trade measures. According to Kachka, the goal is to establish a fully free trade format by next year.
It is worth noting that on June 5 of this year, the EU suspended the autonomous trade measures introduced after the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation. This means a return to the conditions of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with quotas on certain groups of Ukrainian goods. Autonomous trade measures were implemented on June 4, 2022, suspending tariffs, quotas, and other restrictions on Ukrainian products for one year. Their validity was extended in 2023 and 2024, with the latest extension accompanied by the introduction of quotas for duty-free exports of a number of goods.