The start of the renewal of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in 2021 will open opportunities for Ukrainian business, in particular, due to the expansion of trade and economic cooperation among the EU partners and will develop Ukraine's investment attractiveness, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna stressed today during the first international online conference "Ukraine: Investment Harbor in the Time of Change", organized by the UkraineInvest Investment Promotion Office.

"In the process of updating the Agreement, we set more ambitious tasks - the removal of restrictions on the participation of Ukrainian companies with goods produced in Ukraine in public and municipal procurement in the EU. And also the removal of the restrictions connected with technical conformity of the goods made in Ukraine, not only in the field of an agro-industrial complex but also, first of all, in the industry sector. Thus, the renewed Association Agreement will allow Ukraine to make more active use of opportunities for trade and investment cooperation with the EU," said Olha Stefanishyna.

The Deputy Prime Minister reminded that exports from Ukraine to the EU account for more than 40% of total exports, and there is great potential for growth, which is possible through the export of products with high added value.

"Ukraine is negotiating with the EU to sign the ACAA Agreement, in other words an industrial visa-free regime, which eliminates the need for additional expensive certification in the territory of Ukrainian goods in the EU. Thus, Ukrainian producers will have access to the EU market covering 500 million residents and this will create practical preconditions for the organization of enterprises in Ukraine for the production of technically complex goods. We can also expect investors from the EU and other jurisdictions who seek to reduce the cost of products and are interested in exporting to the EU market," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

So far, Ukraine has fulfilled all the necessary conditions for the EU to provide a positive assessment of three sectors of industrial products: low-voltage electrical equipment, electromagnetic equipment, machinery and mechanisms.

Another window of opportunity is Ukraine's involvement in the formation of the European Green Deal, as well as participation in related international alliances. This will open the opportunity for the country and business to become an important player in the new economic paradigm of the European Union, i.e. investors have the opportunity to choose the priorities of funded projects and attract co-financing of trust funds.

Background

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement does not provide for quotas that would quantitatively limit the import of goods into the EU. Ukrainian exporters can supply the EU with any volume of European quality goods. Instead, the free trade area provides for the use of tariff quotas for some goods. When the zero duty quota is exhausted, trade continues using standard import duty rates.

In 2020, Ukrainian exporters will use the opportunities of 31 out of 40 tariff quotas. As of August 17, 2020, 8 tariff quotas have already been fully used.