“Trade facilitation refers to a number of measures agreed to by WTO members in 2013 during the final round of the Doha negotiations. Our project aims to strengthen the capacity of business associations and NGOs to identify and advocate trade facilitation policy actions in Ukraine”, comments Ms. Kuziakiv
Ukraine is set to improve its regulatory framework for trade in 2016 when it joins the ranks of 17 WTO members that have ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. The country will also implement the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, which will include similar trade facilitation provisions.
The implementation of these agreements will nevertheless be a serious challenge for the government of Ukraine, which is currently facing the de-stabilising influences of a military conflict in Donbass, the annexation of Crimea and an ongoing financial and economic crisis. These problems are amplified by the ongoing reform of government institutions, including the Ministry of Economy, whose capacities are being trimmed.
Thus, Ukrainian civil society will have to assume an ever-more important role in ensuring the successful implementation of trade facilitation. In this context, the “Trade Facilitation Dialogue”, an EU-funded initiative implemented by the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER), is helping to promote trade facilitation in Ukraine through dialogue between civil society actors and public authorities.
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