This report was prepared by the International Trade Research Center Trade + at KSE Institute in cooperation with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and with the support of the Government of Sweden. The team of experts consists of Svitlana Taran, Oleksandr Shepotylo, Pavlo Iavorskyi, Yevheniia Bondarenko.

The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (hereinafter the DCFTA), concluded as part of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union (hereinafter the EU) and entered into force on 1 January 2016, has abolished most import duties, making it easier for Ukrainian firms and consumers to exchange goods and services with EU firms and consumers.

This report states that the DCFTA had a positive impact on the dynamics of EU-Ukraine bilateral trade in goods and contributed to the resumption of Ukraine’s overall trade after the 2014-2015 crisis. With the entry into force of the DCFTA, the volume of EU-Ukraine trade in goods began to recover and in 2021 the volume of trade in goods with the EU-27 reached record levels for the entire period of cooperation – $55.7 billion, which is 32.2% higher than the pre-crisis level of 2013.

Also, the deficit of trade in goods with the EU-27 has also been reduced compared to the pre-crisis level. During 2016-2019, the trade deficit with the EU-27 remained $3.3 billion on average, while in 2013, it amounted $9.7 billion. This reduction was due to primarily the expansion of Ukraine’s exports of goods to the EU. In 2021, the deficit of trade in goods with the EU-27 has decreased even more – to $2.2 billion.

This report is prepared within the framework of the core support programme to KSE Institute, enabled by the financial support from Sweden. Views, conclusions or recommendations belong to the authors and compilers of this publication and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Government of Sweden. The responsibility over the content lies solely with authors and compilers of this publication.

You can find the full report in Ukrainian here