Ihor Petrashko, Minister of Trade of Turkey discuss conclusion of Free Trade Agreement

On September 1, on the instractions of President Volodymyr Zelensky, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine Ihor Petrashko held a telephone conversation with the Minister of Trade of the Turkish Republic, Ruhsar Pekcan, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reports.

The main topic of the discussion was the concluding a free trade agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Republic of Turkey in order to deepen trade and economic cooperation between the countries.

“Ukraine and Turkey have close economic ties and an active bilateral dialogue. Today, our goal is to restart long-term negotiations and find a mutually beneficial solution to conclude a Free Trade Agreement. I am convinced that this will give an impetus to the implementation of our ambitious goal – to increase the trade turnover to USD 10 billion,” Petrashko said.

One of the important issues during the conversation was the discussion of raising tariffs by Turkey within its possibilities in the World Trade Organization and its negative impacts on Ukrainian companies. The parties agreed that one of the options for resolving the situation is the joint development of an optimal tariff proposal and the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement.

So, on August 28, the Turkish side has already sent an updated tariff proposal for access to the Turkish market for Ukrainian goods. However, Ukrainian producers are facing numerous restrictive measures imposed by the Turkish side since the beginning of this year.

In this regard, the Ministers of both countries agreed that in the near future the Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka will visit Ankara for comprehensive consultations with the negotiator from the Turkish side. The ministers also agreed to hold personal formal negotiations to find a comprehensive solution to the problems of bilateral trade within the framework of the future FTA.

Read also: Ukraine terminates agreement with Russia on mutual establishment of trade missions.