Economy ministry reveals details of updated Canada-Ukraine FTA

The ratification of the updated Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will improve economic and trade relations between the two countries.

The relevant statement was made by the Ukrainian Economy Ministry, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has ratified the updated Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement. […] This trade agreement is one of the most modern in the world. […] Its ratification will help improve trade between Ukraine and Canada. It will also ensure more active involvement of Canadian business in Ukraine’s recovery,” Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister, Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko noted.

In particular, the updated CUFTA includes special new chapters on cross-border trade in services, financial services, investment, temporary entry for business persons, telecommunications, trade and gender, trade and small and medium-sized enterprises, trade and indigenous peoples, and good regulatory practice.

The document also contains the revised chapters on digital trade, rules of origin, competition policy, monopolies and state-owned enterprises, public procurement, environment, labor, transparency, anti-corruption, and responsible business conduct.

When preparing the Agreement, Ukraine and Canada agreed on the current lists of all restrictive measures and indications of possible future reservations on market access and national treatment applied by the parties in the area of cross-border trade in services and investment. These lists reflect the regimes of both sides in service sectors and subsectors, providing transparency and predictability for both Ukrainian and Canadian service providers and investors.

A reminder that, on September 22, 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed an updated Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement.

Canada completed the ratification of the updated FTA on March 20, 2024. The Agreement will enter into force after the President of Ukraine signs the law.