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Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and Ukrainian
First Minister sign UK-Ukraine Digital Trade Agreement to
provide vital support for Ukrainian economy
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Department for Business and Trade mobilises UK businesses to
engage in future reconstruction projects in Ukraine with
major conference
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UK pledges to extend the removal of tariffs on all Ukrainian
products until March 2024
The UK today [Monday 20 March] signed a pivotal digital trade
deal with Ukraine that will support the country’s economy and
greatly enhance the UK-Ukraine trade and investment relationship.
The Department for Business and Trade today hosted a number of
Ukrainian ministers, as well as 200 UK and international
businesses and officials, at Mansion House to lay the foundation
for closer future co-operation.
The Road to Ukraine Recovery Conference, geared towards
supporting Ukraine’s National Recovery Plan and mobilising UK
businesses to engage in future Ukraine reconstruction projects,
opened with a welcome from the Business and Trade Secretary. This
event, and our mobilisation of UK industry, is a key stepping
stone on our route to the Ukraine Recovery Conference that will
be hosted in London in June.
Badenoch, alongside Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, virtually signed a
ground-breaking new Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) that will help
Ukraine support its economy through the current crisis and lay
foundations for its recovery and revival.
Business and Trade Secretary said:
The historic digital trade deal signed today paves the way for a
new era of modern trade between our two countries.
We are also extending tariff free trade on imports from Ukraine
to early 2024, providing much needed support to Ukrainian
businesses.
These initiatives will help protect jobs, livelihoods and
families now and in Ukraine’s post-war future.
Since June 2022, UK negotiators worked at record pace with their
Ukrainian counterparts to deliver a deal after President
Zelenskyy highlighted the important role Ukraine’s first ever
digitally focused trade agreement could play in bolstering his
country’s economy.
Ukraine will have guaranteed access to the financial services
crucial for reconstruction efforts through the deal’s
facilitation of cross-border data flows. Ukrainian businesses
will also be able to trade more efficiently and cheaply with the
UK through electronic transactions, e-signatures, and
e-contracts.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy for
Ukraine, Yuliia Svyrydenko said:
This digital trade agreement illustrates that Ukrainian IT
companies operating in Ukraine are in demand
around the world despite all the challenges of
war.
The UA-UK Digital
Trade Agreement has enshrined core freedoms
for trade in digital goods and services. Ukraine believes
that an open and free framework
for the digital economy is the best
investment in future oriented development.
The UK’s total military, humanitarian and economic support
pledged since 24 February 2022 now amounts to over £4 billion.
The UK is a key partner for Ukraine in its reconstruction
efforts. We hosted the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Summit in June
2022, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreeing to play
a leading role in the reconstruction of Kyiv Oblast and set up
the Infrastructure Taskforce to implement this agreement.
Stuart Senior, Member of the Supervisory Board, Gleeds
said:
As international construction consultants, Gleeds has had a
presence in Ukraine for many years. We welcome this new agreement
which strengthens UK-Ukraine relationships and helps
Ukraine’s increasing development as a modern, open
economy.
The DTA will remove barriers to digital trade and enable
partnership initiatives and collaborative working to be
delivered more effectively. It will also further
enhance the acceleration of economic recovery
through the faster delivery of critical infrastructure
reconstruction projects by implementing better processes and
standards.
In the margins of the Road to URC event, the UK confirmed its
intention to extend the removal of tariffs on Ukrainian products
until March 2024. This follows the UK’s world-leading decision in
May 2022 to cut tariffs on all goods from Ukraine to zero and
will provide much needed support to Ukrainian businesses given
the impact of the war on Ukraine’s ability to export goods.
The UK also continues to support Ukraine through decisive
sanctions against Russia. The UK and its allies have introduced
the most severe economic sanctions ever imposed on a major
economy, including on £20 billion (96%) of UK-Russia goods trade
from 2021.
Sanctions are having deep and damaging consequences for Putin’s
ability to wage war. Since the start of the invasion, UK goods
imports from Russia have fallen by 99% and goods exports to
Russia have fallen by 80%.
