Economy Ministry says "technical error" in CUFTA translation not to affect deal’s implementation

"The Ministry of Economic Development confirms that the free trade agreement with Canada, in the Canada Tariffs annex, the rules are listed of cancellation and reduction of duties for Ukrainian goods imported into Canada. The Ukrainian text of the annex, however, tells about the reduction of import duties for goods originating from Canada," the ministry’s press service said.

At the same time, the ministry noted that the error is of a technical nature and does not affect the application of the agreement and the fulfillment of obligation by both parties. The Ukrainian side believes that for Ukrainian imports into Canada, the Canadian tariff schedule shall be applied, which is contained in the English and French versions of the agreement.

According to the report, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade is already taking necessary measures to correct the error, in line with the procedure regulated by Article 79 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969.

At the same time, the ministry is preparing additional explanations for Ukrainian exporters on fees applied by Canada in respect of Ukrainian goods.

Read alsoCanada-Ukraine free trade agreement comes into force on Aug 1As UNIAN reported earlier, the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) came into force on August 1, 2017.

The agreement simultaneously removes up to 98% of trade restrictions and customs duties in mutual trade between the two countries.

Read alsoUkraine PM Groysman: FTAs with EU, Canada open new opportunitiesAt the moment, the agreement focuses on commodity exports and imports, while within two years, the parties will be able to review the terms of trade and supplement the list with services, as well as investment protection mechanisms. In addition, immediately after the deal’s ratification and entry into force, Ukrainian producers can export to Canada all industrial goods, except for cars that fall under special liberalization conditions, as well as a wide range of agricultural products, except poultry, dairy products, eggs, cheeses and sugar, which are also limited by tariff quotas.

Read alsoIT sectors of Canada, Ukraine poised to benefit from FTA - trade envoyAccording to the forecast calculations by the Ministry of Economic Development, the entry into force of the agreement will lead to a loss of budget revenues, in particular, as a result of the lifting of import duties, by about $1.2 million in the first year. At the same time, in the medium term, shortcomings can be compensated by the value added tax, as well as an increase in the inflow of foreign direct investment by about $36 million over three years. At the same time, the forecasted growth in exports to Canada is $0.6 million per year.