Ukraine counts on further constructive trade cooperation with USA under new administration – Kachka

Ukraine expects further constructive trade cooperation with the United States under the new administration of Donald Trump, as there is mutual interest in its expansion, Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka has said Tuesday.

"The Department of Commerce, the U.S. Trade Representative remain our partners. We welcome Howard Lutnick becoming Secretary of Commerce. We have our agenda that we talked about. We hope to meet soon – there are already certain time benchmarks – and we will be able to work further," he told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the Ukraine House Davos.

Kachka recalled that Ukraine has an agreement with the United States on suspension of tariffs on Ukrainian steel extended until June 1, 2025. According to him, Kyiv expects its extension following future meetings.

He also noted that the plans announced by Donald Trump in his inaugural speech to create a foreign revenue service that would regulate duties on goods imported to the United States do not directly concern Ukraine.

"Ukraine is also committed to collecting all the duties, taxes and fees we need for the budget. We also plan to reform customs. We have a customs reform working group. Perhaps the wording used by President Trump is a bit different from what we are doing. But, on the other hand, such initiatives draw attention to the fact that global trade in general should be reformed," the Ukrainian trade representative said.

According to him, an informal ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization will be held in Davos to discuss the issue.

"And it is not only about the United States, it is also about a very specific global position of India. There are also the traditional principles that European countries stand for. And we all need to sit down again and negotiate, update the rules. And it is important for Ukraine because we are exporters, for some goods – global exporters," Kachka said.

He noted that it is not necessary to write down as a Bible the results of the Uruguay round of negotiations, and Ukraine also has its own claims, which, by the way, are very similar to the American, only work differently.

"I mean, what does the United States say? It says they have reduced their duties throughout all the rounds of WTO negotiations. True, on industrial products, on agrarian otherwise. We also entered expecting the results of the Doha Round, that they would reduce duties. Now we see that the Doha Round has long been part of the textbooks, this agenda is not so relevant anymore. We see that in addition to tariffs, the issue of active subsidies is emerging: it's not just China, there are a lot of people who give out subsidies. So, obviously, it is our interest, as well as the United States, to say that we need fair rules, fair access to markets," the Ukrainian trade representative said.