Ukraine Reaches WTO Agreement With Egypt.
6 June 2008
Yesterday Ukraine signed a bilateral protocol with Egypt on mutual access to goods and services, bringing Ukraine one step closer to joining the WTO. In related news, several media outlets have also said that Ukraine has all but inked agreements with Colombia and Taiwan, two of the last three countries Ukraine needs to reach agreements with on joining the WTO. Ukraine also needs to sign a bilateral agreement with Kyrgyzstan. Concorde Capital: The Economic Ministry has said that it plans to have all bilateral agreements signed this summer. The last major hurdle will be the passing of legislation to get Ukraine’s laws in line with WTO standards. The Cabinet announced last week that it had added 11 new laws to the original six it plans to push through the new Rada once the regular session opens. Of these laws the main points of contention will be laws on scrap metal, sugar and banking regulations. The Socialists and Communists are outspoken critics of joining the WTO, however, should an ‘orange’ coalition be formed it is not likely the Socialists will raise much of a fuss.
