Ukrainian goods will have free access to British market from Jan 1

From January 1, 2021, some 98% of all Ukrainian goods will have free access to the UK market.

This was reported on the government portal with reference to Ukraine's Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture.

Read alsoUkraine drafting deals on free trade areas with five countries – minister Petrashko

In 2020, a Free Trade Agreement was concluded with the UK, which will enter into force on January 1.

In particular, the document will ensure free access to the British market for 98% of Ukrainian products, and from 2023, another 2% will be liberalized for Ukraine.

The agreement is expected to significantly improve the balance and structure of bilateral trade between Ukraine and the United Kingdom, provide compelling business opportunities, and profitable cooperation with Ukrainian partners.

The Economy Ministry recalled that preparations were underway for new agreements with Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. In addition, Ukraine is expanding opportunities for preferential exports of goods onto the markets of the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Georgia as part of the pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) Convention.

Other achievements of international cooperation include the intensification of work on the so-called industrial visa-free regime, which will provide Ukrainian exporters with additional trade preferences, as well as the recognition of the Ukrainian seed certification system by EU countries, which will allow Ukraine to fully participate in international seed trade.

"This is a step towards recognizing that Ukrainian agricultural products will continue to expand their presence on the European market," Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Ihor Petrashko said.

EU-UK TCA

• On December 31, 2020, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) entered into force following Brexit.
• All 27 member states of the European Union at the level of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) on December 29 approved the provisional application of the agreement from January 1, 2021.
• The next day, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Charles Michel signed the document, later British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put his signature to it.
• The European Parliament will retroactively ratify the Brexit agreement in early 2021.