Turkiye ratifies free trade agreement with Ukraine

The Parliament of the Republic of Turkiye ratified the free trade agreement with Ukraine.

This follows from a statement by the Ministry of Economy, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

"Implementation of the agreement will make it possible to simplify logistics, promote the entry of a larger number of Ukrainian and Turkish manufacturers to the markets of our countries, and therefore increase trade volumes. In addition, these are new prospects for the implementation of joint economic projects between Ukraine and Turkiye and the attraction of Turkish investments to Ukraine. Finally, the creation of a free trade zone between the countries will complete the formation of a single economic space of the Black Sea countries, with the exception of russia, which will add additional dynamics to the development of the Black Sea region," said Taras Kachka, deputy minister of economy and trade representative of Ukraine.

According to him, according to the studies conducted by the Ministry of Economy at the stage of preparation of the agreement, the creation of an FTA with Turkiye should have a positive effect on the level of GDP growth.

At the same time, a positive effect was expected both from the cancellation of Turkish import duties on Ukrainian goods and from time savings by exporters and importers.

"The large-scale invasion of russia changed the economic situation in our country and hit the industries painfully. Therefore, the agreement signed on the eve of the invasion needs improvement. Ukraine is very grateful to Turkiye for understanding the situation. In particular, last fall, the countries signed a memorandum in which Turkiye agreed to revise the quotas for certain species of Ukrainian goods. We continue to work closely with partners on improving the agreement and are determined to intensify this work," Kachka said.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the Cabinet of Ministers proposes to the Verkhovna Rada to ratify the agreement with Turkiye on free trade.

In February 2022, Ukraine and Turkiye signed an agreement on a free trade zone.

The Ministry of Economy in December 2023 expected the agreement on a free trade area with Turkiye to enter into force in early 2024.