Ukraine Expanding Trade Treaty Network

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

18 April 2011

The Ukraine is making substantial additions to its free trade network, eyeing the conclusion of negotiations with the European Union, Canada, Israel and Singapore, and intensified cooperation with China, the Republic of Korea, and Brazil.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has made a series of announcements on the Ukraine's trade policy in the past week, demonstrating the government's desire to market the country's investment credentials. According to Azarov, "Ukraine forms a favorable trading climate for cooperation with many countries".

The Ukraine began negotiations with the European Commission on the possibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU following Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2008. Now, Azarov has said, significant progress has been made. The intention is to complete the process of negotiation before the end of the year. Both Spain and Poland have pledged to aid the faciliation of the agreement in recent days. Any such arrangement, it was said, "would be a compromise between the interests of Ukraine and the EU".

Azarov also confirmed that the Ukraine is nearing the final stages of negotiation on FTAs with Canada, Israel and Singapore, but no further details on the arrangements have been provided. In addition, following a series of bilateral meetings with the respective leaders of China, the Republic of Korea and Brazil, Azarov said that all three had expressed an interest in an intensification of cooperation with the Ukraine. Topics of discussion included the deepening and development of trade, economic and cultural cooperation, cooperation in science and technology, and the development of new technologies.

The Ukraine is keen to extol the virtues of a series of reforms, designed to improve the economy. The government has stressed the attractiveness of the tax system, highlighting the implementation of tax reform and "liberal" rates of taxation. In addition, the government is aiming to simplify the business environment through a series of deregulation measures. Azarov said that: "Ukraine has entered a [period] of difficult reforms, which require very serious persistence. But we are sure that the path of reforming our economy, our nation, is the only opportunity for rapid economic and social development of our country".

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