Canada suspends free trade negotiations with Ukraine, ambassador says

The Canadian government has suspended its free trade negotiations with the Ukrainian government, said Ukrainian Ambassador to Canada Vadym Prystaiko, as reported by the Toronto Star on September 27. Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast notified the Ukrainian government in June that Canada halted the talks because it disapproves of attempts to negotiate 371 tariff reductions, mostly in agriculture, with the World Trade Organization, Prystaiko said. The decision has halted a nearly complete deal that took three years and five rounds of negotiations, Prystaiko said, pointing out the two nations account for USD 315 mln in annual trade volume in goods and services.

Zenon Zawada: Lobbyists for former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko claim this decision stemmed from her political persecution. However, the U.S. government also criticized the Ukrainians for their flood of appeals to the WTO. We don’t see this conflict affecting the current negotiations for signing the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. Though Canada would be a valuable partner for Ukraine, it accounts for a small portion of the trade that occurs between Ukraine and its major partners, particularly the EU.