On 3 February, 2022, the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Turkey was signed in Kyiv in the presence of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the President

of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The document was signed by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal and the Minister of Trade of Turkey Mehmet Mus,

the Office of the President of Ukraine reports.

According to the President of Ukraine, this document provides new opportunities for business, opens new markets, provides new gains and profits, new jobs, investments, GDP growth of the two countries and the welfare of our peoples. «Even before the signing of the Agreement, our mutual trade set a record and grew to 7 billion US dollars last year - more than a half. This is evidence that our goal, the wishes  of the presidents of the two countries - and this is 10 billion US dollars - is more than real. And the Free Trade Agreement will help achieve it faster than it was expected»,  Volodymyr Zelenskyi stressed.

«At our negotiations we considered the steps that can be taken to bring our trade turnover to 10 billion US dollars, which last year showed a growth of 60% and reached to 7,5 billion US dollars. I sincerely believe that the Free Trade Agreement that has just been signed will help us achieve this goal quickly»,- said Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

«The agreement will have an overall positive effect on the economies of Ukraine and Turkey and is mutually beneficial for our countries. In the industries that will work for export, new working places will be created, value added will be generated, taxes will be paid. Ukrainian exporters will save about 370 million US dollars annually on customs duties. According to preliminary forecasts, the agreement will provide an additional 2,2% of our country's GDP and 2,6% of household income annually», - said the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal.

The Free Trade Agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Turkey aims to promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries through the introduction of a free trade regime. It is expected that the document will promote trade between the two countries, increase export due to the benefits of domestic producers from the liberalization of the market of goods and services of the Republic of Turkey, open opportunities for technology transfer and modernization in Ukraine, create new working places, share experience and more. 

These include the gradual substantial liberalization of trade in goods during the transitional period from the date of entry into force of the Agreement and the gradual liberalization of trade in services.

A Joint Committee is hereby established, the activities of which shall be aimed at ensuring the proper and effective implementation of the Agreement.

The provisions of the document in terms of goods cover issues:

• access to market,
• national regime of internal taxation and regulation,
• classification and evaluation of goods, duties, fees and other charges,
• rules of agreement,
• cases of import and export restrictions,
• exchange of data on the use of benefits, export subsidies and equivalent measures,
• freedom of transport transit, etc.

The FTA establishes: the procedure for abolition of customs duties, application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, bilateral and global safeguards, anti-dumping and countervailing measures, regulation of intellectual property, etc.

In terms of services, the provisions of the Agreement cover market access, internal regulation of the most-favored-nation treatment, mutual recognition of competencies of service providers, transparency and disclosure of confidential information, monopolies and exclusive service providers, business practices, payments and transfers, balance of payments restrictions, schedule specific obligations and their changes, emergency protective measures.

Besides this, the document provides for measures to be taken by the parties to promote mutual commercial presence, in particular by simplifying procedures to facilitate activities, as well as encouraging mutual investment and removing barriers to the use and development of e-commerce. Competition and controversy issues are also regulated.

In order to further facilitate trade in goods, the Agreement provides for the simplification of trade procedures by the Parties, as far as possible, in accordance with their obligations under the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation; encouraging multilateral cooperation between the parties to strengthen their participation in the development and implementation of international rules of conduct and recommendations on trade facilitation.

The Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Turkey will enter into force after ratification.

It should be mentioned that before this the Cabinet of Ministers supported the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Turkey.

Reference source: Diia.Business.Export