Business news from Ukraine

UKRAINE-CANADA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT ENTERS FORCE AUG 1 – AMBASSADOR

29 June , 2017  

KYIV. June 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ukraine-Canada Free Trade Agreement enters force on August 1, 2017, according to an official note from Canada to Ukraine’s embassy [in Canada], Ukraine’s ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko has said.
“Canada gave us this present for the Constitution Day: we received an official state note about the conclusion of all measures for the agreement on free trade to take force. We have mixed feelings: this is the end of and the start, both at the same time. This is a historical moment that exemplifies the colossal work of our diplomats and politicians. But it is the beginning of a much more important stage: it is time to make this agreement work, through contracts, new jobs and investments,” Shevchenko said on his Facebook page.
The trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine was signed in Kyiv on July 11, 2016. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada ratified the deal on March 14, 2017. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the law on ratification on April 3, 2017.
Canada’s ministry of foreign affairs, trade and development informed Ukraine’s embassy in Canada on the conclusion of internal measures of Canada required for the agreement to take force,” says a statement issued by Ukraine’s embassy in Canada.
According to the statement, the agreement from August 1 will cancel 98% of tariffs for Ukrainian exports to Canada and 72% of tariffs from Canada to Ukraine. Over the next seven years the latter will increase to 98%.
Markets for state purchases are also included.
Parts of the agreement safeguard electronic commerce and intellectual property rights.
“Last year Canada and Ukraine signed the Free Trade Agreement and an agreement on military cooperation. Canada also extended for two years its UNIFER training mission in Ukraine,” the embassy’s press service said.
According to Ukraine’s State Statistics Service goods from Ukraine to Canada from January to April 2017 increased by 75% to $14.89 million, while imports rose 23.9% to $75.31 million.
According to Canadian statistics, exports from Canada to Ukraine amounted to $265.19 million, with $107.44 million in imports.