Ukraine to seek free trade area with United States – Klimkin

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin says that Ukraine will seek a free trade area with the United States.

"We are committed to the most constructive dialogue with the [U.S.] Administration, and we're conducting it in the context of Ukrainian exports," he said at a meeting with his counterpart from Finland Timo Soini in Kyiv on Monday when asked whether Ukraine is considering measures to respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs.

Read alsoUkraine-Canada trade turnover up 60% - Poroshenko"It's not a surprise for us, because we understand that the United States Administration has been mulling over this issue for quite some time," he said, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

"We are confident of the extraordinary potential for the development of our trade and economic cooperation, and one of the proposals that are voiced in this regard is the introduction of a free trade area with the United States. As we now have it with Canada, the logical question is why not [to have it] with the United States?" Klimkin said.

"And this is one of the issues that we will try to discuss in detail as part of our commission on strategic partnership – both at the subgroup level and at the political level," he added.

He also noted the extraordinary potential for trade relations between Ukraine and the United States in the sphere of services, investment and high technologies.

"The future foreign trade area is really a way forward for me," Klimkin said.