Ukraine is capable to reach the level of practical discussion with the EU on the particulars of the future Agreements on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Goods (ACAA) as soon as the next year, as declared by Vice Minister of Economy of Ukraine – Ukraine’s Trade Commissioner Taras Kachka.
“We have not turned to the third phase yet, there will be eight of them in fact. When we speak about the ‘visaless business’ actually, we have made a great step forward to it, since these assessment missions have started. This process is now in a very intensive phase, and we hope over the next year to reach if not a full conclusion, then the beginning of formal negotiations on concluding an agreement on industrial visa-free status”, Ukrainian official said following the talks with EC representatives in Brussels answering the question on actual timing of the EU assessment checks completion, the ordinary second stage of which began in this September.
Mr Kachka noted that EC for the first time in the past 15 years carried out a comprehensive assessment of all the achievements of Ukraine in the field of technical regulation at the level of legislation, technical regulations, and standards. The results of these checks turned out to be good, which created a certain positive attitude also on the part of the EU representatives.
“We are now moving dynamically to assess individual sectors. The area of standardization and metrology has already been assessed. At the beginning of the year, we expect that the scope of the so-called conformity assessment and accreditation will be considered, that is, how Ukrainian laboratories are checked and functioning. That is, we are moving forward at a fairly active pace, and have already begun to work on the implementation of the recommendations that were made earlier”, said Vice Minister of Economy.
He reminded that the prospective signing of ACAA is very important for attracting and encouraging investments, for placing production facilities in Ukraine. This document recognizes that Ukraine is an industrially developed state, where products are manufactured in accordance with the EU standards, both as concerns quality and in terms of quality control and safety of such products.
Answering the clarifying question whether Ukrainian industry is sufficiently developed to withstand competition with EU producers, Mr Kachka noted that the industrial goods market in Ukraine is now practically liberalised in full.
“Today we have the trade by industrial products, in fact, with zero duties, only a few lines have a one percent duty, but it will disappear as of 01 January 2022. I.e. we have a completely liberalised trade of manufactured goods. So everything that is being done now benefits the export of our products to the EU. European products already have absolutely free access to our industrial market, both from the point of view of duties and from the point of view of technical regulation. This is the reality in which we have been living for 10-15 years already”, he said.
The final document of the 23rd Kiev summit Ukraine-EU in its economy section notes Ukraine’s achievements in the economic sphere and the prospects for its deeper integration into the EU internal market. In particular, it is the progress in the EU assessment missions regarding Ukrainian industrial products quality control infrastructure spoken about, which should allow the parties to start formal negotiations on an agreement about the ‘visaless business’ next year.
https:/ports.ua/peregovory-po-promyshlennomu-bezvizu-s-es-vyjdut-na-finalnyj-etap-v-2022-godu-minekonomiki/