On 21 March, the 3rd meeting of the Ukraine-UK Trade Committee took place via videoconference, as provided for in the Political, Free Trade and Strategic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Ukrainian delegation was headed by Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine, and the UK delegation was led by Cathryn Law, Director of the Bilateral Trade Relations at the Department for Business and Trade.

During the meeting, the parties discussed a range of issues related to the implementation of Title IV “Trade and Trade-related Matters” of the Agreement, topical issues of bilateral cooperation, as well as priorities for further effective cooperation. In particular, the parties touched upon the continuation of bilateral trade liberalisation after 31.03.2024, implementation of the provisions of the Digital Trade Agreement, improvement of public procurement procedures and requirements for localisation of production in Ukraine, as well as the export of Ukrainian goods to the UK and strengthening of export controls in the context of the sanctions regime against the russian federation.

“The UK is an important strategic trading partner for Ukraine. Cooperation under the Agreement demonstrates a positive trend in the development of trade between our countries. Thus, in 2023, the volume of bilateral trade in goods between Ukraine and the UK exceeded USD 1.4 billion, which is 20% more than in the previous year. Ukraine is interested in further developing relations with the UK in the trade and economic spheres, as well as deepening relations at the business level,” said Taras Kachka.

During the meeting, the parties also agreed on further cooperation within the framework of the Trade Committee and its subcommittees.