Ukrainian govt invites parliament to ratify free trade agreement with Turkey
MOSCOW. May 7 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has invited the parliament to ratify a free trade agreement with Turkey, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said.
"Better conditions for work of Ukrainian entrepreneurs broaden export opportunities. Later today, the government will approve and submit to the parliament a bill on the ratification of the Ukrainian-Turkish free trade agreement," Ukrainian media quoted Shmygal as saying at a government meeting on Tuesday.
The agreement will scrap duties on a substantial number of Ukrainian commodities, including 93% of industrial goods, he said.
"Turkey is one of our top five trade partners. Hence, the agreement creates new opportunities for Ukrainian business," Shmygal said.
In particular, the agreement cancels Turkish import duties on about 93.4% of industrial goods and 7.6% of agricultural goods from Ukraine, media said, citing the Economy Ministry. At the end of the transitional periods of three to seven years, Turkey will lift import duties on another 1.5% of industrial goods and 28.5% of agricultural goods.
In turn, Ukraine will cancel import duties on around 56% of industrial goods and 11.5% of agricultural goods.
Once the transitional periods end (two-five years for industrial goods and two-ten years for agricultural goods), Ukraine will lift import duties on another 43.2% of industrial goods and 53.7% of agricultural goods.
The agreement concerns trade in goods and services, application of the provisions of the Pan-Euro-Med Convention for determining the origin of goods, intellectual property rights, application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, elimination of technical barriers to trade, e-commerce, customs cooperation, commercial presence of enterprises, as well as the application of protective measures, the ministry said.
Once ratified by the parliaments, the agreement will take effect two months after the confirmed completion of the domestic procedures by the last side.