Ukraine's trade with the European Union has already more or less stabilized after the regulation adopted by Brussels in May 2022 on the suspension for a year of all customs duties, quotas and trade protection measures in relation to Ukrainian exports. Kyiv is expecting another extension of this regulation and is ready for detailed discussions with EU countries about the trade flows that have developed during this time, Deputy Minister of Economy - Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka has said.

"Roughly speaking, we have revealed our potential, which [individual EU countries] are afraid of, so there is no further reason to say that we will make another leap [in increasing exports] as in 2022 as a whole and in 2023, partially for some goods. Trade has already been more or less stabilized, and this allows us to say that, look, we are somewhere at some harmonious level," Kachka told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the Ukrainian Breakfast, organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Davos.

He clarified that in 2024 there is no reason to think that Ukrainian exports of agricultural products to the EU will grow - on the contrary, they will even fall somewhere with possible isolated exceptions.

The Trade Representative of Ukraine reminded the existing agreement that the European Union would extend for another year the validity of the above-mentioned autonomous trade measures, providing for the non-application of all duties of any kind, tariff restrictions, and so on for another 12 months.

As Kachka noted, in Kyiv they also heard the public position of European Agrarian Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski, who proposes that the regulations for liberalizing trade with Ukraine for the next year not only retain protective provisions, but also introduce quantitative restrictions on the import of poultry meat and sugar from Ukraine.

"It must be heard, but we are confident that the [European] Commission will approve this decision," the trade representative of Ukraine said.

According to him, Kyiv is ready for debates with neighboring EU countries that speak about the risks of agricultural exports from Ukraine.

According to Kachka, the opinions expressed by farmers and agriculture ministers are more of the opinion that the European Commission should study in detail all of Ukraine's merchandise exports in order to clearly understand whether they are harmful or not.

"We are for such attention, because the more carefully you look at trade flows, the more you understand that there is no harm as such, that this is a change in trade - it is for the benefit of the European Union market," Kachka emphasized, noting the readiness for such a dialogue.

He added that Kyiv is ready for such a dialogue both at the level of the European Commission and at the bilateral level. In particular, the Coordination Platform at the level of the governments of Ukraine and Poland is being restored.

The trade representative noted that maintaining the trade liberalization regime with the EU is necessary for Ukraine to show potential investors that the European market is open for Ukraine, because the country is joining the European Union, and this is a medium and long-term perspective.

He emphasized that the task for 2024, in addition to the extension of trade liberalization itself, is also the analysis and analysis of trade with partners from the European Union and its member countries.

"And the ideal situation is to sort it out in such a way as to agree on liberalization before the EU joins," Kachka concluded.