On October 14 in Washington, United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk will host the second meeting of the Trade and Investment Council established by the United States - Ukraine Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement (TICA). Ukrainian Minister of Economy Bohdan Danylyshyn will lead a delegation of senior Ukrainian officials at the meeting.
Ukraine is the United States' second largest export market in the former Soviet Union, with U.S. exports reaching $1.9 billion in 2008. Total two-way trade in 2008 totaled $4.2 billion, up by almost 40 percent over the previous year. Although in the first half of 2009 trade has slowed due to the contraction of Ukraine's economy and downturn in Ukraine's export markets for steel and chemicals, Ukraine offers vast amounts of potential as a market for American goods, services, and investment. U.S. companies have invested more than $1.5 billion in Ukraine, in sectors ranging from electricity generation to agricultural processing and consumer goods.
The United States and Ukraine signed a TICA in March 2008 to serve as a framework for expanding and managing bilateral trade and investment relations. The Council, which held its inaugural meeting in Kiev in October 2008, has focused on steps to improve bilateral trade flows and the investment and business climate in Ukraine.
The agenda for the Trade and Investment Council meeting on October 14 is expected to include issues related to the development of bilateral cooperation in areas including: trade, economic cooperation, financial issues, investment, agriculture, innovation, intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, transport, customs, taxation, technical regulations and consumer policy. The Council will also aim to identify areas for further development of partnerships of mutual interest.
For more information please consult the ustr.gov Ukraine page.
