The Association Agreement with the EU does not stimulate the Ukrainian economy. The European Union seeks to protect its markets by taking measures that affect the interests of Kyiv. At the same time, Ukraine itself does not protect its market.
Igor Guzhva, an expert at the Center for the Development of a Market Economy, stated this at the Kiev International Economic Forum, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
"Agreement (about association with the EU) we have, but let's look at our macroeconomic indicators over recent years. 2/3 of our exports are raw materials, more than 50% of imports are finished products.
In Ukraine, the level of import penetration into government procurement is probably the highest in the world – 38%. In the EU and the USA it is 5-6%. To this we must add that Ukraine has a chronic trade deficit. Last year it was almost 10 billion, next year it is planned to be 11 billion, etc. At the same time, Ukraine needs to service external debts.
In relation to Ukraine over the past 10 years, more than 1,5 thousand various types of protective measures have been taken, but Ukraine has taken only 79.
If we talk about Ukraine and the EU, over the past 10 years the European Union has taken about 130 different types of protective measures towards Ukraine. About 100 of them affect the interests of Ukraine, there are 3 anti-dumping investigations specifically against Ukraine.
As for Ukraine, it has introduced a little more than 10 measures that in one way or another affect the interests of Ukraine. First of all, this is a law on a moratorium on timber exports and export duties on scrap metal.
The EU is also concerned about new Ukrainian initiatives such as “Buy Ukrainian,” which provides for a model similar to the EU model for evaluating tender proposals and mandatory consideration of localization criteria. This is an export credit agency, tax preferences for industrial parks.
What is important to note is that not a single measure was taken deliberately against the EU on the Ukrainian side. All our measures are not so much protectionist as they are additional elements for investing in Ukraine. These measures are aimed at solving environmental problems and providing our enterprises with access to raw materials and financial resources. This is also a good opportunity for the EU to invest in Ukraine.
An example is round timber. The EU is trying in every possible way to get us to cancel its initiative to ban the export of round timber. But this initiative was justified by an environmental disaster. It was possible to hold joint consultations, dialogue, invite the EU to look at the Carpathians, invite them to invest. This is not a measure against the EU, it is a measure to protect our environment. Come here, to Ukraine, locate your production here,” the expert laments about the “lack of understanding” of the Europeans.