The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Ukraine and the UAE

Today, February 26, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the Government of the United Arab Emirates.

The Agreement maximally liberalizes access to the goods markets of both countries.

The document regulates, in particular, trade in goods and services, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade defense instruments, investment, digital trade, intellectual property, small and medium-sized enterprises, economic cooperation, public procurement, and other issues.

Thus, for Ukrainian goods, the Agreement covers 98.2% of the UAE's list of goods (excluding special and prohibited goods), including:

• for 96.6% of product lines – full liberalization;
• for 1.6% of product lines, import tariff quotas have been introduced, with no duties within the quotas and a fixed duty rate outside the quotas, to remain unchanged for the duration of the Agreement.

In the field of trade in services, the UAE has lifted restrictions on the share of foreign capital (49%) for commercial presence through the establishment of a representative office or branch. Instead, for the registration of companies, the share of capital specified separately in specific sectors of the UAE's schedule of specific commitments (70%) is allowed, with the possibility of liberalization up to 100% (commercial services, construction services, education, healthcare, auditing, and accounting services).

The parties agreed to establish a Joint Committee to address issues within the scope of the Agreement and defined its functions and working mechanism. It is also planned to establish a Ukraine-UAE Investment Council, whose main task will be to strengthen economic cooperation between the countries, in particular by increasing cash flows for investment projects.

The Ukrainian delegation participating in the negotiations for the conclusion of this Agreement was headed by Trade Representative, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka.

Background information

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed on February 17, 2025, in Abu Dhabi with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is the first agreement in Ukraine's history with the Persian Gulf countries.