Ukraine ratified the Regional Free Trade Agreement

On 9^th August 2012 the President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovich signed the Law № 5193-VI “On ratification of Free Trade Agreement in the CIS”. This agreement will take force on 23^rd September 2012. Thus, Ukraine has become the third country which ratified the Regional Free Trade Agreement after Russia and Belorussia.

This Agreement provides decline of export and import tariffs, non-tariff barriers and possibility of regulating the subsidies, compensational measures and antidumping fees. To add, the Agreement also prescribes establishment of supranational institutions, for instance, the commission of independent experts. The Executive Committee of the CIS notes that the Agreement covers non-usage of sanitary and phytosanitary measures (only for the purposes of people’s health protection).

Concerning the obligations of the Agreement parties, it is important to refer to the following crucial ones: nondiscriminatory application of non-tariff regulation rules, providing of national regime, subsidies.

According to the prognosis of analytics, the Agreement will ensure the annual regional economic growth of 2,5% of GDP.

Expert’s opinion

Undoubtedly, the signed Agreement is directed at integration of trade and economic area on the territory of the CIS. And for Ukraine which is de jure is not a member of the CIS, it is highly perspective. The considered Agreement promotes application of procedures developed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in cases of resolving the trade disputes and prevention of using the discriminatory measures.

Among the beneficiary sectors of the Ukraine economy nowadays the food and manufacturing industry can be named due to abolition of antidumping measures and non-tariff barriers, export fees. It is especially actual for relations with the Russian Federation as the Agreement provides the stable market for domestic production of Ukraine in terms of widespread adoption of protective measures by the EU members.

To sum up, the named advantages from ratification of the Agreement create the profound base for development of the Ukraine economy, for expansion of business in frame of the Free Trade Zone.