Ukraine is interested in deepening trade with Kazakhstan in the industrial and food sectors, First Deputy Prime Minister of Economy Oleksiy Liubchenko said, following the results of the 14th meeting of the Joint Ukrainian-Kazakhstani Interstate Commission on Economic Cooperation.
“In our opinion, the indicators of mutual trade do not correspond to our capabilities. We, as a reliable trading partner and top exporter of agricultural products, are interested in increasing the volume of trade in agricultural and food products,” the Economy Ministry press service said, citing First Deputy Prime Minister.
“At the same time, we are focused on deepening bilateral cooperation in the industrial sector, in particular, in industrial cooperation in agricultural machinery, automotive technology, aircraft construction and light industry,” Liubchenko said.
The meeting of the commission from Kazakhstan was attended by Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakhita Sultanova, as well as Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Ukraine Darkhan Kaletaev and government representatives.
The sides discussed a number of issues on the development of bilateral cooperation in agriculture, infrastructure, energy, science and technology, investment, industry, space, healthcare, transport and transit. They also touched upon tourism, IT, cooperation in public procurement under the WTO agreement, the ministry said.
In addition, the Ukrainian side proposed to the Kazakh side to consider the possibility of investing in Ukrainian industrial parks. In addition, Kazakhstani companies were offered to take part in the concession in Ukraine, the Economy Ministry said.
As a result of the meeting, a relevant protocol on economic cooperation, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Economy Ministry of Ukraine and the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in bilateral trade and a Memorandum of Cooperation in the public-private partnership (PPP) between the PPP Agency were signed and JSC Kazakhstan Public-Private Partnership Center, according to the statement.
The European Business Association (EBA) has called on the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade of Ukraine to make efforts to resume the free trade regime with Belarus.
“The European Business Association calls on the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade of Ukraine to make every effort to restore the free trade regime,” the EBA said.
“In June 2021, Belarus introduced an individual licensing regime for the import of a range of Ukrainian goods. The new regime should be applied to household goods, agricultural machinery, etc. The decision was caused by the fact that the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade of Ukraine introduced a special duty on imports of wheeled vehicles from the Republic of Belarus to Ukraine,” the report says.
“This issue is extremely relevant for a number of Ukrainian companies that have already suffered from the introduction of new trade restrictions and suffered losses of millions of dollars,” it reds.
“This situation has put many producers in a difficult position, as many businesses have cooperated with the neighboring country. Thus, if the situation is not tackled, some Ukrainian companies will be forced to partially close production, cut jobs, and so on. In the absence of a rapid response from the Ukrainian government, the Belarusian market could be lost for years. The losses for both countries can be reduced if both sides reconsider their decisions, which grossly violate the free trade regime,” the EBA said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during his phone call with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed steps to step up bilateral trade, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.
“We are interested in significantly expanding the range of Ukrainian exports to the Indonesian market, which we also consider as a platform for the expansion of Ukrainian goods to other countries of Southeast Asia. Ukraine can also become a bridge for Indonesian goods to enter the markets of Eastern Europe,” Kuleba said.
He noted the importance of holding the fourth joint meeting of the intergovernmental economic commission in 2021 to select promising economic projects. The minister also said that the Council of Exporters and Investors under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine will bolster assistance to Ukrainian companies in establishing ties with Indonesian business.
The two foreign ministers pointed out the importance of starting expert consultations between Ukraine and Indonesia to consider the signing of an agreement on preferential trade.
Kuleba also called a promising area of cooperation in teaching Indonesian students in Ukraine.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has partially slowed down the development of important projects between our states. There has been a slight drop in trade volumes, contacts between governments and citizens have become fewer. We are now striving not only to catch up with the pre-existing level of relations, but also to significantly revive them in the political, trade, educational and cultural spheres,” the minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine said.
The phone call between the Ukrainian and Indonesian diplomats took place on the day of the celebration of the 29th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Indonesia.
The ministers agreed to hold political consultations of their ministries in the near future and presented invitations to exchange visits.
Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai agreed to hold a Trade and Investment Council.
“We talked about the need to strengthen dialogue on climate change, non-tariff rules for industrial and food products both in the context of strengthening the World Trade Organization (WTO) and on the bilateral track. We agreed to hold a Council on Trade and Investment and talk,” Kachka wrote on Facebook on Wednesday following a discussion with Tai on key trade issues held on May 11.
During the conversation, Tai expressed support for the idea of free production of vaccines (waiver), he said.
“We expressed our support. Ukraine is ready to act as a compressor of the waiver initiative and to convince the EU that it is necessary,” Kachka said.
With regard to duties on metallurgical products, the United States, according to Kachka, is ready to seek an individual approach to metal trading in order to overcome the problem of overcapacity.
“We explained that the duties and the EU measures applied later ended in the opposite direction in terms of overcapacity [excess capacity]. In general, Ukraine is more likely a partner of the West in transforming metallurgy,” Ukrainian trade representative added.
TOP 20 COUNTRIES UKRAINE HAS POSTED THE HIGHEST SURPLUS OF TRADE IN GOODS IN Jan 2021 (thSd USD)
The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine urges members of the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade (ICIT) not to introduce special measures in the form of the special duty on imported wires to Ukraine, regardless of the country of origin and export, the Chamber said in a Monday press release.
On March 29, 2021, the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine published the Basic Facts and Conclusions on the Special Investigation on the Import of Wires to Ukraine Regardless of the Country of Origin and Export. According to the basic facts and conclusions, the Ministry recommends introducing special measures in the form of the special duty of 23.5% for three years (with the subsequent liberalization).
“The potential introduction of the special duty on import will in fact, turn into the extra tax to be paid by the telecommunication industry. It will adversely affect mobile operators’ investment capacity because instead of investing in infrastructure, mobile operators will have to pay additional duties,” the Chamber said.
