Canada And Ukraine To Sign Free Trade Deal

Ukraine and Canada has decided sign a free trade agreement. The deal would be signed on Tuesday in a meeting between the Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Chelsea. Last year, the trade deal signed was estimated around AU$328.65 million down from AU$433.72 million the year before. The deal that would be signed is indicative of better political mobilisation between the countries. Observers appreciated the reforms undertaken by the Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko.

CBC news reported that Canada provided low interest loans to Ukraine to save it from political crisis, which was worth less than AU$ 538.78 million. The news of the deal came almost two years after announcements of a tentative Canada- European Union trade agreement was made by Mr. Harper. The present deal worth AU$16.16 billion a year is yet to be finalized. However, according to the statistics provided World Trade Organisation, Ukraine hasn’t been able to make its way in the list of Canada’s top trading partners.

Rick Roth informed CBC news that this agreement would facilitate new jobs and bring about prosperity in both the countries. The PMO remained unavailable for a comment. Since 2009, the agreement has been underway but was withheld because of Ukraine’s political turmoil. The trade pact was highly affected when Russia seized control much of eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Dominique Arel, a professor from Ukranian Studies at the University of Ottawa argued that the deal wouldn’t be that effective in the short run but would hold a “symbolic value” and compared Ukraine’s situation to that of Greece. However, he also said that compared to Greece, Ukraine was more willing to get rid of the corruption infested system.

Since the very beginning of the political crisis that Ukraine started to face, Canada has showed confidence in Ukraine’s measures and has lent support to the country. The executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Taras Zalusky said that the deal would have extensive political impacts once signed and considered Ukraine to be an important market for future engagements.

He also boasted about the growing opportunities between the countries in the field of aeronautics, finance, oil and gas and agriculture and confirmed that it would need legal approval and ratification by both the countries’ parliaments.

Contact the writer on priya.shayani@gmail.com