Minister of Economy Ihor Petrashko expects to find such a version of the bill on amendments to the law on public procurement, which will satisfy international partners and will support the Ukrainian manufacturer.
“Without stimulating production in Ukraine and using public funds to purchase goods produced in Ukraine, there will be no significant progress in the country,” Petrashko told a news conference during the Ukrainian Forum “Ukraine 30. Coronavirus: Challenges and Responses” held on Tuesday.
According to the minister, all countries of the European Union and the United States use incentives to ensure that public funds primarily go to the purchase of those goods that are produced in their countries.
Petrashko said that at the moment consultations with the EU and the United States on the local content bill (No. 3739 on amendments to the law of Ukraine on public procurement) are underway, as the reaction to it is ambiguous.
The minister added that the use of non-price criteria will benefit Ukraine’s trade with the European Union and the United States.
“Therefore, we want to find a format of persuasion and find the version [of the bill] that will allow us to support the manufacturer,” Petrashko said.
Ukrainian manufacturers of agricultural machinery has said it is necessary to reduce the local contents of domestic complex agricultural machinery set for 2019-2021 that should be observed for receiving a partial compensation for the cost of machinery and equipment.
UkrAgroMash Association of Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers addressed to First Deputy Premier of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv with the respective request, the text of which was made available by the National Committee on Industrial Development on Facebook.
“Under present intense competition with the companies from other countries, which can afford cheap loans and enjoy various incentives and financial support of their countries…it becomes more difficult for the Ukrainian producers to uphold their position in the market and increase the local content with having no such kind of support,” reads the report.
The association says current year business realities make it impossible for the manufacturers of the complex self-propelled machinery to gain local contents, which have been set in 2013, for 2019/2020.
Thus, it is proposed to set local contents for self-propelled combine harvesters on the level of 40% in 2019, on the level of 45% in 2020, and on the level of 50% in 2021 (now these indicators are 55% and 60% respectively in 2019 and 2020), to set 45% and 50% contents for tractors for 2019 and 2020 (previously 55% and 60%), and 55% for 2021.
Besides, the manufacturers propose to fix local contents for special-purpose agricultural machines this and next years on the level of 50% and 55% (previously 55% and 60%), and 60% for 2021, local contents for self-propelled spraying machines on the level of 40% and 45% (55% and 60%) and introduce 50% for 2021.
The farm producers also ask to introduce spraying trailer machines into the list setting 45% of local content for 2019, 50% in 2020 and 55% in 2021.
As reported, the program of financial support for agricultural producers (subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery, equipment, railway cars) is about UAH 881.8 million. Of these, partial compensation for the cost of agricultural machinery and equipment made in Ukraine is UAH 681.79 million, special vehicles for the transportation of grain, equipment for the production of bioethanol and electricity from biomass, which were purchased from domestic producers – UAH 200 million.
AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY, GOVERNMENT, HARDWARE, LOCAL CONTENT, MANUFACTURERS
