KIEV: Ukraine plans to impose a number of measures to restrict imports of Russian goods in 2016, Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Natalya Mikolskaya said on Monday.
She said that Ukrainian producers are actively working to find new export markets to replace the Russian one, hoping to revitalize trade with Asian and African countries.
“Over the past 3 years, the export of domestic products to Russia fell by almost 4 times — from $17.3 bln in 2012 to $4 bln in 2015,” – she said in an interview with OTR TV channel. She added that the loss of the Russian the market will not be a disaster for the Ukrainian exporters.
In 2016, Ukraine “plans to strengthen and enhance trade cooperation with most favorable to the state partners: China, Turkey, Africa and the Middle East,” she said.
From January 1, 2016, the free trade area (FTA) starts to function between Ukraine and the European Union. In its turn Russia from January 1, suspends the agreement on the free trade zone with regard to Ukraine.
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, has granted powers to the government to impose economic sanctions against Russia: in particular, to ” ban foreign trade operations or to restrict them”, as well as to cancel tariff preferences.
