UKRAINE TRADE
The EU on Ukraine

After an earlier signature of the political provisions of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, on 27 June 2014 the EU and Ukraine have completed the process of signature of the Association Agreement including the (DCFTA). The Agreement remains a single instrument and some of its parts will be open for provisional application once the two parties have completed the internal procedures.
In March the EU also decided to anticipate the implementation of the tariff component of the DCFTA. Regulation (EU) No 374/2014 - in force since 23 April 2014 - introduces Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) to Ukraine offering the unilateral elimination or reduction of customs duties on originating goods.
The DCFTA foresees a very ambitious mutual opening of markets for goods and services and provides for Ukraine's gradual approximation to the EU set of regulations and norms in a number of trade and trade-related areas. These include rules related to selected industrial sectors, to sanitary and phytosanitary rules for agricultural products, intellectual property rights, trade facilitation, public procurement, competition, and trade-related energy aspects, including on investment, transit and transport.
The trade liberalisation and the regulatory approximation in various trade-related sectors will allow Ukraine to take advantage of new trading opportunities and benefit from easier access to the EU market.
European Commission estimates suggest that the implementation of the tariff liberalisation alone component of the EU-Ukraine deal is expected to boost Ukraine's income by around €1.2 bn per year. Ukrainian exports to the EU are expected to increase by €1 bn per year.
Sectors that would benefit the most are wearing apparel and textiles, food products, vegetable oil and non-ferrous metals. New market opportunities in the EU and higher production standards will spur investment, stimulate the modernisation of agriculture and improve labour and social conditions.
More broadly, the Association Agreement and the DCFTA will offer Ukraine a framework for modernising its trade relations and for developing its economy, thus contributing to the transformation of the Ukrainian society.
After the ratification process, the Association Agreement will replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (1998) between the EU and Ukraine
Trade picture
* The EU is among Ukraine's most important commercial partner and accounts for about one third of its external trade.
* Ukraine's primary exports to the EU are iron, steel, mining products, agricultural products, and machinery.'
* EU exports to Ukraine are dominated by machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, and manufactured goods.
Information on the EU aid package to Ukraine in English, Ukrainian, Russian, German, Polish, Italian, French, Swedish