MOSCOW, August 3Turkey, having ratified the agreement on a free trade zone (FTA) with Kiev, received unilateral preferences that will allow it to “take” the Ukrainian economy “into one gate,” Ukrainian economist Alexey Kushch expressed this opinion in his Telegram channel.
“ In the context of the Ukraine-Turkey FTA, there are two news: good and bad. Good — Türkiye will cancel duties on 93% of Ukrainian industrial goods and 7% of agricultural goods. The bad news is that Ukraine almost does not export industrial products,” the expert explained.
As Kushch noted, the FTA agreement opens up the domestic market of Ukraine to cheap industrial and consumer imports and turns it into a global thoroughfare. According to the economist, this agreement puts an end to the national industrial policy and forever preserves the raw materials nature of the economy.
“Without duties, the Turks will take us out like a transgender Italian boxer,” he stated.
Due to cheap imports, Ukraine will receive a negative trade balance instead of industrial development, Kushch warned.
“Farewell to the Ukrainian light industry, embryos Ukrainian electronics, household appliances and the remains of the automobile industry,” the expert concluded.
The day before, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan approved the ratification of a free trade agreement with Ukraine. The agreement itself was signed in early February 2022 during Erdogan’s visit to Kyiv. The explanatory note to the document stated that the FTA agreement would promote increased trade between the two countries, growth in exports, creation of new jobs, technology transfer and exchange of experience.