Ukraine planning to begin talks on accession to Trans-Pacific Partnership
MOSCOW. April 21 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government will soon authorize an application for joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister, Trade Representative Taras Kachka told the Ukrainian media.
Kachka said on the sidelines of the U.S.-Ukraine Partnership Forum, held by American Chambers of Commerce of both countries in Washington last week, that a decision to begin negotiations might be made as early as in summer once the application is filed.
An updated bilateral agreement on free trade with Canada, approved during a Ukrainian governmental delegation's visit on April 11, 2023, will be of great help on this track, Kachka said.
It took the UK two and a half years to join the CPTPP, yet Ukraine is hoping to do it faster thanks to the agreement with Canada, he said.
The updated free trade agreement with Canada has 19 new sections, including those on online commerce, protection of investments, and services, Kachka said.
Speaking of the government's work on updating current agreements and broadening access to markets in general, he noted an agreement with Moldova, which was ratified last week and envisaged the issuance of EUR.1 transportation certificates.
"Ratification of an agreement with North Macedonia is coming next. It has passed every committee and will be ratified next week. The access to market will be broadened alongside EUR.1," Kachka said.
Additional consultations on the ratification of an agreement with Turkey are in progress, same as negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates, he said.
"Obviously, we will also talk with the European Union about making this unilateral zeroing [of duties] a bilateral, permanent one. Still, it is a highly sensitive issue, because of what we are seeing on the borders," Kachka said.
Another area of work is the extension of yearlong agreements concluded last year to lift barriers on Ukrainian goods, Kachka said. A respective decision has been made with the UK: a trade committee meeting was held in London and further validity of the agreement was announced.
"A decision has practically made with the EU, hopefully, nothing will stand in its way," Kachka said, adding that the current agricultural product crisis on the border had emotional and political reasons rather than rational ones.
There is also a good chance of extending such agreements with Canada and the United States (it applies to steel only in the case of the U.S.), and respective negotiations have been held lately, he said.
Currently, the CPTPP has 11 members, countries of the Pacific region, such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei.