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Agreement on digital trade between London and Kyiv

The United Kingdom and Ukraine sign a digital trade agreement on Monday aimed at facilitating trade between the two countries, as part of British support for kyiv in the face of the Russian invasion.

In addition to this agreement unveiled at the end of last November, and whose signature is described as “historic” by the British Minister for International Trade, Kemi Badenoch, the United Kingdom announces the extension of the abolition of customs duties on all imports of Ukrainian products until March 2024.

The agreement signed virtually Monday by the British minister and Ukrainian economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko gives Ukraine ‘guaranteed access to financial services crucial to reconstruction efforts’ through the ‘facilitation’ of movement data, according to a statement from the UK Department of Commerce. “Ukrainian companies will also be able to trade more efficiently and cheaper” with the United Kingdom thanks to electronic transactions, signatures and contracts, the text continues.

“The historic agreement signed today ushers in a new era of modern commerce between our two countries,” said Ms. Badenoch. The text, as well as the extension of the customs duty exemption, will help to “protect jobs, resources and families now and in the post-war period for Ukraine”.

The country “believes that an open and free framework for the digital economy is the best investment for future-oriented development”, argued the Ukrainian Minister of Economy, quoted in the government statement British.

The latter underlines that the promises of support from the United Kingdom to Ukraine – military, humanitarian and economic – since the Russian invasion amount to four billion pounds sterling (4.5 billion euros). London will also host an international conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine at the end of June.

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