Canada ratifies the updated Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine

Canada has completed the process of ratification of the updated Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine. Today, Governor General of Canada Mary Simon signed the bill to ratify the updated Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, after which it entered into force.

It is noteworthy that the Senate of Canada had approved the bill in the third and final reading less than an hour earlier. Earlier, the bill had gone through the same three-step process in the House of Commons.

However, in order for entrepreneurs in both countries to reap the benefits of the Agreement, it still needs to be ratified by Ukraine.

As a reminder, the original Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement entered into force on August 1, 2017, and allowed for the mutual elimination or reduction of import duties on most commodities. Last September, during a visit to Ottawa, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed an updated Agreement that now also covers trade in services, not just goods, investment, telecommunications, and other promising areas.

We would like to add that in 2021, trade between Canada and Ukraine reached a record level, approaching USD 350 million. The year before last, it slightly decreased due to factors mainly related to the beginning of the Russian invasion.

Tags: Ukraine, Canada