On February 3, 2022, Ukraine and Turkey signed a Free Trade Agreement.
Negotiations between the two countries have been going on since 2006. During this time, Ukraine and Turkey were several steps closer to signing the agreement, but could not find consensus on several key trade positions.
The signed agreement envisages the establishment by Turkey of 0% customs duties on 10,337 items, which is 95% of the total number of goods imported from Ukraine. In addition, tariff quotas or reduced duties will apply to another 1,348 items.
In 2021, the trade turnover between the countries amounted to 7.3 billion US dollars, of which Ukrainian exports amounted to 4.1 billion dollars, imports – 3.2 billion dollars. The largest share of Ukrainian exports (70%) is metals and grains.
Last year, Turkey ranked fourth among Ukraine’s largest trading partners, with a 5% share of the country’s export flows.
Turkey mainly imports textiles, machine-building products, metals, oil products (diesel fuel), fruits (citrus, grapes, apricots, cherries), and vehicles (mostly buses) to Ukraine.
According to preliminary forecasts, trade between the countries will increase by 38%.
Ukraine reserves the right to apply export duties on scrap metal exports. At the same time, Turkey is partially opening the domestic market for metals from Ukraine. Zero duty is imposed on 510 out of 840 metallurgical goods. Another 130 have a partial reduction in customs duties.
In addition, Ukraine maintains duties on used cars and clothes and establishes three- and five-year transitional periods for customs duties on vehicles and light industry products.
Also, goods made from Turkish raw materials after the activation of the agreement will be considered Ukrainian and will be able to enter the markets of all European countries duty-free, according to the EUR1 certificate.
In addition, both countries guarantee companies free and non-discriminatory access to their services market.
“Thanks to the agreement, all friendly countries of the Black Sea basin – Georgia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine – will be united by free trade agreements with common rules. Therefore, the document is of great importance for the whole region. geopolitical prospects, as well as strengthen our position, which is crucial in the face of intensifying Russian aggression”, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyridenko said.