The country also needs an unblocked border to access the European market
Ukraine needs not only to achieve the extension of autonomous trade measures, but also to write all of this into the Association Agreement, so that it comes into force even before joining the EU, and to maintain an unblocked border to gain access to the European market . Taras Kachka trade representative of Ukraine said this in an interview with Yevropeiska Pravda.
He noted that this is not only the salvation of Ukrainian agriculture, but also an opportunity to find a new trade balance.
As for the history with Poland, the Ukrainian trade representative said that it was very politicized from the beginning and it is important to achieve its depoliticization. In particular, he recalled that there is an agreement on the temporary end of the blockade until March 1 in relation to the protests by Polish road transport operators.
«We continue to work here, trying to explain that for trade between Ukraine and the EU, or rather for EU exports to Ukraine, this is the circulatory system and therefore it would be almost suicidal for the European Union to refuse to liberalize the agreement on access to the EU market for Ukrainian carriers,” said Taras Kachka.
In terms of agrarian issues, Ukraine finds itself in a situation where farmers are blocking not only the border with Ukraine, but also ports and roads within the European Union. This means that it is now an EU-wide problem that also affects Ukraine.
Taras Kachka also explained that the trade flow problem that existed last year has practically disappeared. Ukraine has opened a maritime corridor, cereal exports have resumed and national exporters have already shifted their focus to Odesa and the Danube.
The Ukrainian trade representative recalled that our country depends on the supply of pharmaceutical products, gasoline and vehicles purchased by volunteers and sent to the front line by road.
“This is why blocking the border in times of war is immoral, unnecessary and absolutely counterproductive. We emphasize this constantly. I hope this time it works and we find some compromise solutions,” Kachka said.
In his opinion, the situation with the Polish border is not only against the interests of Ukrainian companies, but also Polish companies. Furthermore, the Polish economy suffered more from the transport blockade than the Ukrainian one. Taras Kachka emphasized that the parties are ready for dialogue.
The Polish market has always been important for Ukrainian producers and exporters of steel products. The factor of its capacity and physically accessible logistics allowed Ukraine to increase the supply of steel products to this country, even in the midst of war and a sharp reduction in production capacity – according to the State Customs Service, in 2023 they increased 16% per year in physical terms (up to 1.8 million tons). However, compared to the pre-war period, exports of Ukrainian steel products to Poland decreased, with mainly raw materials and semi-finished products being supplied. Poland, on the other hand, managed to increase the supply of steel products to the Ukrainian market, although these volumes are still small.
