Ukraine-EU DCFTA to take effect Jan 1, 2016

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that Ukraine would be grateful to the European Union for technical assistance in full implementation of the Agreement.

Free trade regime between Ukraine and the European Union will be introduced in the framework of the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU and will come into force on January 1, 2016, regardless of the claims by third states, Russia in particular, Ukraine’s prime minister said Friday at an international conference in Riga.

"The agreement on a free trade area is an extremely important step. On January 1, 2016 the free trade area will enter into force,” said Yatsenyuk.

“We’ve heard a lot of claims and signals from the Russian side that they are willing to introduce protective measures against Ukrainian products. But I must say that, while three years ago, the Russian market accounted for more than 30% of [total exports of] Ukraine, today it’s no more than 12.5%," the prime minister said.

He noted that Ukraine would be grateful to the EU for technical assistance in full implementation of the agreement, as well as for possible increase in import quotas for the Ukrainian products.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine and the EU signed the political part of the Association Agreement March 21, 2014, and the economic part in late of June, 2014, after the presidential elections. President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has signed an Association Agreement with the EU in its entirety.

Initially it was assumed that the free trade area between Ukraine and the EU would be introduced from October, 2014. However, in September 2014, after consultations in Brussels of the representatives of the European Commission, Ukraine and the Russian Federation, the parties have agreed to postpone the introduction of the provisions of the Agreement until December 31, 2015. The EU imposed unilateral preferences on the export of Ukrainian goods. At the same time European goods in Ukraine have remained subject to duties. The Russian side has threatened full trade embargo against Ukraine, if the agreement comes into force.

Earlier Yatsenyuk stressed that the DCFTA, which will come into force on 1 January 2016, will become a channel for attracting investment and an impetus for the prosperity of Ukraine’s economy.

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