Ukraine is the 152nd member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on May 16, 2008. This trade agreement assigns Ukraine to comply with the rules for the protection of intellectual property “TRIPS Agreement”.
Since March 2016, Ukraine has been a party to the WTO Agreement on Public Procurement. Thanks to this trade agreement, Ukrainian exporters have the opportunity to take part in government tenders from 45 countries that have also signed the WTO Agreement: the countries of the European Union, the USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. According to this trade agreement, Ukrainian state purchases are brought to international requirements.
In addition, Ukraine has signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the European Union. According to this document, Ukraine has the status of the most favored nation in the EU, while Ukraine is not obliged to bind its own tariffs.
On March 21, 2014, Ukraine and the EU signed the basic points of the political association agreement. This was the first stage for the signing of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, which ceded into force on January 1, 2016.
Ukraine is one of the three founding countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Ukraine ratified its creation in December 1991. At the same time, Ukraine did not decide to ratify the CIS Charter and in 1993 became an “associated member” of the commonwealth.
Ukraine participates in a free trade agreement (FTA) with nine CIS countries:
- Azerbaijan;
- Armenia;
- Belarus;
- Kyrgyzstan;
- Kazakhstan;
- Moldova;
- Uzbekistan;
- Tajikistan;
- Russia.
After the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014, Ukraine is gradually withdrawing from the CIS agreements. On December 16, 2015, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, issued a decree to suspend the free trade zone with Ukraine from January 1, 2016.
In addition, Ukraine has signed trade agreements with countries such as:
- Azerbaijan;
- Armenia;
- Canada;
- Iceland;
- Norway;
- Switzerland;
- Liechtenstein;
- Montenegro;
- Macedonia;
- Russia;
- Belarus;
- Georgia;
- Moldova;
- Kazakhstan;
- Uzbekistan;
- Turkmenistan;
- Kyrgyzstan;
- Tajikistan.
This agreement provides Ukraine and other countries that have signed it, the status of most favored nations in trade. On January 1, 2021, the Free Trade Agreement with Israel entered into force. In 2020, Ukraine became a party to a free trade agreement with the UK, which entered into force on January 1, 2021. Currently, Ukraine is negotiating with Turkey to sign an agreement on a free trade zone.