The updated Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) enters into force on 1 July. On 26 June, Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada, issued a joint statement on this historic event.

According to the statement, the updated CUFTA will benefit workers, businesses and consumers in both countries by strengthening trade and economic cooperation between Canada and Ukraine. The agreement retains the market access provisions for goods from the 2017 agreement and has been updated to include sections on investment, services and inclusive trade.

“In the long term, the updated CUFTA will strengthen our overall bilateral economic partnership,” the joint statement says.

As the joint statement emphasises, Canada is committed to strengthening its relationship with Ukraine by supporting its security and stability.

The ministers will continue to provide additional opportunities for Canadian and Ukrainian businesses and workers to foster a strong, sustainable and inclusive economic recovery.

“The updated Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement is a symbol of Canada’s unwavering support for our struggle and economic resilience. I am convinced that it will enhance trade and economic cooperation between Ukraine and Canada, strengthen our economic partnership and facilitate the participation of Canadian companies in the economic recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.

This is a historic event, without exaggeration, as this Agreement is one of the most modern in the world. This is the first agreement that clearly shows that Ukraine shares the trade agenda of Canada, the U.S., the EU, Japan and our other partners,” said the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, the updated CUFTA is the first free trade agreement to pay special attention to Crimea and the Crimean Tatars and to strengthen the role of indigenous peoples in the economy and international trade. This is the basis for the economic development of Crimea after the peninsula is liberated from the occupiers.

Key benefits of the updated Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement are as follows:

• The agreement provides for the liberalisation of the services market according to the negative list. That is, when everything is allowed that has no reservations specified in the agreement. Investment protection will be strengthened with new comprehensive and modern instruments. This will help maximise the development of trade in services between Ukrainian and Canadian companies.
• Thanks to the agreement, employees of Ukrainian companies that will provide services in Canada will be able to apply for temporary entry to Canada under simplified and expanded conditions.
• The agreement will help Ukraine build a free and open digital ecosystem of the economy. Thus, we will develop digital technologies.
• Goods exported to Canada without duties will be able to use components from the EU, the UK, and Israel. This will expand Ukraine’s involvement in global supply chains.
• The agreement also addresses issues related to the environment, labour, transparency and responsible business.

In general, the text of the document is based on the standards of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which Ukraine is preparing to join. In fact, it is a pact with partners who support our trade security.

Background

In 2021, the volume of trade between the two countries reached its maximum and amounted to about CAD 447 million. Due to russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the volume dropped to CAD 422 million. However, in 2023, trade increased by more than 55% to CAD 695 million, largely due to Canadian exports of military equipment to Ukraine to support the war effort.

In 2024, in the first 4 months of this year alone, Ukrainian exports to Canada increased by 2.8 times (to CAD 66 million).