Ukraine - International trade

Ukraine's trade is still heavily oriented towards the CIS and especially to Russia. Its major trading partners are CIS countries, the EU nations, Central Europe, China, and the United States. Most imports of oil and gas are from Russia and Turkmenistan, while imports of technologies are mainly from Western countries. Exports, which are minimal for a developed country, consist mainly of raw materials and agricultural goods.

In 2000, exports totaled $14.6 billion and imports totaled $15 billion. Ukraine's main export markets are in Russia (24 percent), the European Union (30 percent), and the United States (5 percent). Its main importers are Russia (42 percent), the European Union (29 percent), and the United States (3 percent).

Ukraine remains interested in bilateral trade and economic cooperation with Russia and the CIS, but is careful to pass up any larger political or security relationship. As an Associate Member of the CIS, Ukraine has rejected all attempts to transform the CIS into a supra-national organization. As a result, Ukraine has refrained from joining the Russia-Belarus Union, the CIS Customs Union, and the Payments Union. However, mindful of the preference for bilateral relations with the CIS countries, in March 1998, Ukraine and Russia concluded an Interstate Economic Treaty.

Under the trade provisions of the PCA (EU-Ukraine Partnership and Co-operation Agreement), trade between Ukraine and the EU is in theory free of most restrictions. In practice, trade in steel and textiles are subject to special taxation schemes, and Ukraine is subject to actual or prospective EU anti-dumping measures for a variety of products, including silicon, carbide, and magnesium. (Anti-dumping measures keep a country from flooding the market with a product that it can produce much more cheaply than its competitors.)

Progress on an EU-Ukraine free trade zone most likely will not get underway until Ukraine is admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Ukraine is continuing negotiations with the WTO on the basis of its initial offer and revised service offer. The EU supports Ukraine's eventual entry into the WTO, but does not believe that Ukraine yet meets the conditions for membership. WTO membership is an issue on which the United States and the EU consult and co-operate, as affirmed in the Joint Statement on Ukraine released at the December 1997 U.S.-EU summit.