Ukraine and Canada have signed a statement on the updated Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Canada (CUFRA), which strengthens trade and economic cooperation.
This was reported by a correspondent of LB.ua.
The updated 2024 agreement retains the terms of access to goods markets from the 2017 agreement. The agreement has been updated to include sections on investment, services and inclusive trade. The updated agreement enters into force on 1 July.
Today, on 26 June, the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliya Svyrydenko and Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada Mary Ng issued a joint statement.
"This is, without exaggeration, a historic event, a historic agreement. This is the first agreement that clearly shows that Ukraine shares the trade agenda of Canada, the US, the EU, Japan and our other partners. And it's also an agreement in which we pay special attention to Crimea and the Crimean Tatars and to strengthening the role of indigenous peoples in the economy and international trade. And it is one of the most modern agreements for Ukraine," emphasises Yuliya Svyrydenko.
"We have representatives of businesses across the spectrum with us - CAE Canada, a defence company, and BlackBerry, a software developer specialising in cybersecurity. CAMECO, which represents the uranium mining and supply industry. We also have the President of the Canada-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce, a representative of General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, and the President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress," says Mary Ng.
The Ministry of Economy notes the following key benefits of the updated agreement:
- 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. And 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 to build a free and open digital ecosystem of the economy.
- Components from the EU, the UK, and Israel can be used for goods exported to Canada duty-free. This will expand Ukraine's involvement in global supply chains.
- The agreement also addresses issues related to the environment, labour, transparency and responsible business practices.
"We would like to increase the pace of trade and give even more Ukrainian producers access to the Canadian market. The volume of trade in 2021 was historic - 447 million Canadian dollars, but this is hardly satisfactory for both sides. And, of course, we had a drop at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Last year, we saw a recovery to CAD 695 million, mainly due to the export of military equipment from Canada," says Yuliya Svrydenko.