Ukraine and Canada update the free trade agreement

The Prime Ministers of Ukraine and Canada, Denis Shmyhal and Justin Trudeau, announced the completion of negotiations on the conclusion of an updated free trade agreement between the countries. It is stated on the Ministry of Economy’s website.

The document will replace the existing agreement that has been in effect since 2017.

According to the First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Svyridenko, the new agreement makes significant changes to the trade regime between the countries. Within its framework, Ukraine and Canada also concluded an agreement on digital trade – the second for our country after the corresponding one with the UK, which was signed in January 2023.

“In the new agreement, we combine trade in goods, services, investment and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Canada. The agreement was prepared during the war, so it should take into account all the urgent needs of business and become an additional business card of our economy in the world,” Yulia Svyridenko explained.

The difference of the new agreement will be that, in addition to canceling tariffs, Ukraine and Canada will expand opportunities for enterprises that have not only Ukrainian, but also foreign components in their products.

“Tariffs will also be canceled on those Ukrainian goods that have components originating from the EU, the European Free Trade Association, the UK and Israel. This should encourage the creation of production chains, make the location of production in Ukraine more attractive for foreign investors who plan to supply their goods to the Canadian market,” said the first vice-premier.

In addition, the new agreement will allow the parties everything that is not prohibited, the document carefully spells out the exceptions to the full freedom to provide services.

Guarantees for investors, as well as a system of investment protection, were prescribed separately.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Ukraine is intensifying trade and economic partnership with the UAE. In March, the parties discussed the expansion of economic and investment cooperation, the strengthening of trade, the introduction of sanctions against the Russian Federation.According to Yulia Svyridenko, the common goal of the parties is to expand mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas of the economy, in particular, by concluding the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The share of steel products in trade between countries is about 30%.