Ukrainian Farmers and Metallurgists Interested in Expanding Trade with EU

Not only representatives of the Ukrainian food industry, but farmers and metallurgists are also interested in revising the trade part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture – Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka said at the “Trade Wars: The Art of Defence” conference.

“When speaking about the industries that are most interested in revising the free trade regime with the EU, we primarily mention the agricultural industry. This is not surprising, because such an outdated trade defence mechanism as tariff quotas acts only there and these quotas severely limit Ukrainian producers. However, we see no less interest from representatives of heavy industry, for example metallurgy,” Kachka said.

According to him, the industry is concerned about the risks posed to them by the new EU environmental policy.

In addition, the Ukrainian chemical industry and pharmaceuticals are interested in revising the trade part of the Association Agreement to enter the European market, though there are some problems with certification so far.

According to the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine, the European Union remains Ukraine’s largest trading partner. The share of the EU Member States in Ukraine’s foreign trade turnover of goods and services was 40.1% in the first half of 2020. However, this year the turnover has decreased by 14.4% (by $3.6 billion) and totalled $21.7 billion. Exports of goods and services to the EU, compared to last year, fell by 15.0% (by $1.8 billion) and totalled $10.1 billion. Imports of goods and services also decreased by 13.9% (by $1.9 billion) and amounted to $11.6 billion.

Bohdan Marusyak