Free trade with Israel: the president affirms ratification of agreement

Free trade with Israel: the president affirms ratification of agreement

On August 7, the President of Ukraine signed the Law “On Ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the State of Israel.” Thus, Ukraine has taken all the necessary steps to enter into force the Agreement signed by the parties on January 21, 2019. However, the final entry into force for the parties will take place only 60 days after its ratification by the Israeli Parliament.

Once the agreement comes into force, Israel will open 80% of the industrial goods market for Ukraine, and Ukraine – 70% of such a market. For other goods, transition periods are separately provided.

According to the information provided in the explanatory note to the Law, its adoption:

– will contribute to the further development of bilateral trade and economic cooperation between countries;

– will enable Ukrainian producers to take advantage of the liberalization of the Israeli goods market;

– will open up opportunities for Ukrainian business both to expand sales markets and to develop and modernize its own production.

According to the Ministry of Economic Development, the agreement will allow Ukraine to maintain and expand traditional exports, in particular for agricultural products, and open up new opportunities for export of goods with high added value.

Negotiations for this agreement are traced back to 2013 and became active within the 2016-2018 period. As of 2018, Ukrainian and Israeli delegations conducted 7 rounds of such negotiations.