Last year, it was the Ukrainian business that continued to operate and covered 50% of the national budget expenditures. Ukraine exported $44.1 billion worth of goods, which accounted for one third of budget revenues. Further trade liberalisation, the conclusion of new free trade agreements and the opening of new markets are the focus of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. This was stated by Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy of Ukraine, at the Exporters' Summit that was held today, on 16 March.

"Our task as a state is to support our exporters with access to markets, with the simplification of all bureaucratic obstacles that may exist and, of course, with logistics issues. The European Union is our strategic partner, whose market accounted for $27.9 billion last year. Undoubtedly, duty-free trade should be enshrined in the EU accession document. In addition, this year, we expect to sign a free trade agreement with the UAE and update the agreement with Canada on investment and services. At the same time, our priority is to join the Pacific Rim Free Trade Agreement (СРТРР), which includes Japan, New Zealand, Australia and others," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

The First Vice Prime Minister also noted the importance of signing a digital agreement with the United Kingdom on this Monday. The implementation of the agreement will improve the regulatory environment and have a positive impact on cooperation in the digital economy. In addition, the state's attention focuses on the continent of Africa in terms of trade liberalisation with the countries of this region.

Yulia Svyrydenko stressed the importance of such a support tool as export risk insurance. Currently, the Ministry of Economy is working on legislative changes to increase the range of commodity items eligible for insurance. The Government is also working on a mechanism for insuring war risks, including war risk insurance for investment projects and risk insurance for trade operations. The Ukrainian government, together with the EU and the US, is working to develop a more unified mechanism for this instrument, as well as to improve Ukraine's rating on the international market.

Taras Kachka, who also took part in the meeting, noted that 90% of the work in trade policy is about non-tariff or value-based issues.

"In intergovernmental relations, it is important to ensure the same vision for the future – in terms of sustainable development, climate, and other things. At the business level, this issue is regulated by certification and trade rules. Both business and government are evolving in these issues and, in fact, we need to understand that today the only way to “break through” into the foreign markets is to use correctly the instruments we have," said Taras Kachka.