Ukrainian delegation conducts second review of trade policy in WTO – Ministry of Economy

Ukraine has successfully completed the second review of its trade policy at the World Trade Organization (WTO), as reported on the official website of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

According to information posted on the ministry's website, the meeting took place on February 26 and 28 at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. The delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka.

“We received over 400 written questions from 20 WTO members, mostly on trade and investment regimes. This demonstrates significant interest in deepening economic engagement with Ukraine despite the military actions. Assessments on economic resilience, the critical role of agricultural exports for global food security, and the development of high-value-added industries are especially important to us,” Kachko said in his report.

He added that WTO members also noted achievements in the area of intellectual property protection and implementation of transparency commitments.

The Ministry of Economy emphasized that preparation for the review lasted more than a year. During this period, Ukraine interacted with government agencies, structural divisions of the Ministry of Economy and the WTO Secretariat. In December, WTO member countries received reports from the Secretariat and the Ukrainian government for further analysis.

Kachka emphasized that the successful completion of the review will contribute to strengthening Ukraine’s trade relations with its partners.

The Trade Representative singled out a major achievement of economic diplomacy at the WTO meeting – for the first time, a joint statement by 45 WTO members condemning the destructive impact of Russian aggression on the global trading system was included in the minutes. This statement was distributed as an official WTO document.

The Ministry of Economy noted that reviews of trade policies of WTO member countries are one of the key areas of work of this international organization. The purpose of such reviews is to ensure transparency and predictability of trade regimes of WTO member countries, as well as to promote more complete compliance with WTO rules and principles by all member states.

The frequency of trade policy reviews depends on the share of the WTO member in the total volume of world trade: the four largest world traders (the EU, the US, Japan and China) undergo such a procedure, as a rule, once every three years; the next 16 WTO members (such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, India, Turkey, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, the UAE, etc.) – every five years; the remaining WTO members, including Ukraine – every seven years, with the possibility of extending the period between reviews for the least developed countries and if necessary.

Ukraine became a full member of the WTO in 2008. The first review of Ukraine's trade policy took place in April 2016. The next review was supposed to take place in November 2023, but due to Russia's full-scale aggression, the deadline was postponed to 2025.