“So far, we have moved on to the third phase, and there will be eight. Indeed, when we talk about visa-free travel for the industry, we have made great strides this year because these assessment missions have begun. […] This process is now very intense, and next year we hope that we can reach – if not the signature – then the beginning of formal negotiations on the signing of the [ACAA] agreement,” Kachka said. As soon as the CBAA Agreement covers the listed sectors, the Parties agree by mutual agreement and in accordance with the procedure for amending this Agreement to consider extending their scope of activity to other sectors of the economy. Following the EU assessment and the agreement on the state of harmonisation of Ukraine`s relevant technical legislation, standards and infrastructure, the CBAA Agreement is annexed as a Protocol to the Association Agreement by agreement of the Parties in accordance with the procedure for amending the Agreement. The ACAA Convention will cover three sectors of the list in Annex III to be harmonised. It is expected that the CBAA will eventually apply to all sectors listed in Annex III to the Agreement in accordance with the above-mentioned procedure. He recalled that the conclusion of the ACAA agreement is very important to attract and promote investment, for the localization of production in Ukraine. This document recognises that Ukraine is an industrialised country where products are manufactured in accordance with EU standards, both in terms of quality and in terms of quality control and safety of these products. The Joint Declaration of the 23rd Ukraine-EU Summit in Kiev highlights Ukraine`s achievements in the economic field and the prospects for further integration into the EU internal market. In particular, it notes that the EU has made progress in carrying out EU assessment missions on Ukraine`s infrastructure in order to monitor the quality of industrial products, which should enable both sides to start formal negotiations on an ACAA agreement next year. The adaptation of technical regulations and the implementation of harmonised European standards will ensure the high quality and safety of industrial products for buyers, increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian products and open new markets for exporters that promote innovative industrial development.

In accordance with Article 57 of Chapter 3 `Technical barriers to trade` of Chapter IV `Trade and trade-related matters` of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, the Parties agree to include the CBAA Agreement as a Protocol in the Association Agreement covering one or more of the sectors listed in Annex III to the Agreement, after full approximation of the sectoral and horizontal legislation of Ukraine — Institutions and standards with the sectoral sector and the EU legislation, institutions and horizontal standards. Annex III of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU lists 27 possible sectors for an ACAA, covering up to 20% of Ukrainian industrial goods exported to the EU. As a first step, Ukraine is targeting a first CBAA that covers only three sectors. Later, the EU and Ukraine could move on and add other sectors when they are ready. On 12 March 2021, a meeting of the Working Group on Technical Barriers to Trade was held in virtual form in the framework of the EU-Ukraine High Level Industrial Dialogue. The main objective of the meeting was to discuss the conclusions of the progress report of the experts of the mission on the preliminary assessment of Ukraine`s quality infrastructure and the adaptation of national legislation. The removal of technical barriers to trade in industrial products is an important precondition for the proper functioning of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area between Ukraine and the EU, as well as for increasing Ukrainian exports of high value-added goods not only to the European Union, but also to other countries. He noted that, for the first time in the last 15 years, the European Commission has carried out a comprehensive assessment of all Ukraine`s achievements in the field of technical regulation at the level of legislation, technical regulations and standards.

The results of these inspections were good and the EU representatives had a certain positive impression. The issue of coordination of technical regulatory activities with EU and Eastern Partnership countries will be discussed in the framework of the panel on the reform of the system of technical regulations and related infrastructure within Platform 2 “Economic Development and Market Opportunities” of the EU`s Eastern Partnership Initiative. The European side, in turn, welcomed the constructive and highly professional dialogue with Ukrainian experts that began in October 2020 in the framework of the previous EU assessment mission. Particular attention was paid to the importance of the implementation of technical assistance projects for the development of Ukraine`s high-quality infrastructure. In the near future, further meetings will be held on further steps to obtain technical assistance. 3. Has Israel already notified the Commission of its designation of a competent authority in accordance with Article 9(1) of the CBAA? If so, has the Commission recognised this appointment? The issue of bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the field of technical legislation and standardization will be discussed in the bodies of the association: Association Council, Association Committee, Association Committee in the trade configuration, as well as at expert level – in the Working Group on Technical Barriers to Trade and Standardization of the EU-Ukraine High-Level Industrial Dialogue, plenary meeting of the EU-Ukraine High-Level Industrial Dialogue, Group 2 of the Sub-Committee on Economic and Other Sectoral Cooperation of the EU-Ukraine Association Committee. 1. In the light of the statements made by the Foreign Affairs Council of 10? December 2012, in which settlements were declared illegal under international law, not that settlement products cannot be considered “legally placed on the market”? Ukrainian politicians and experts call the ACAA a “visa-free industrial regime” that shows its importance and makes a more technical topic more understandable to people. “Today we have trade in industrial products, in fact without tariffs. Few lines have a one percent tariff, but it will disappear from January 1, 2022.

In other words, we have a fully liberalized trade in industrial goods. So everything that is being done now is in favour of exporting our products to the European Union. European products already have completely free access to our industrial market, both in terms of customs duties and technical regulations. This is the reality we have been living in for 10-15 years,” Kachka said. The CBAA agreement is expected to become a unique format for cooperation and will include the following elements: at the end of 2019, the EU agreed to launch the process leading to negotiations and the signing of an CBAA with Ukraine. From October 2020 to the end of March 2021, an EU assessment mission will work with the Ukrainian authorities to prepare a report. A positive assessment will pave the way for formal negotiations. The evaluation work focused on the conformity of Ukraine`s horizontal and vertical legislation in the fields of technical regulation, standardisation, metrology, conformity assessment, accreditation, market surveillance and consumer protection with EU legislation. After assessing the state of adaptation of Ukrainian legislation and quality infrastructure by the mission, relevant recommendations will be developed, which the Ukrainian side should fully implement. 4.

If a nomination has been made, has Israel indicated that the area for which the competent authority is responsible does not contain the OPT? The meeting took place on 5 May under the chairmanship of Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine – Trade Representative of Ukraine, with the participation of experts from the EU Preliminary Assessment Mission, representatives of the European Commission and the EU Delegation to Ukraine. On 29 October 2020, at the online meeting of the Ukrainian Trade Representative Taras Kachka, it was agreed with representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine and the European Commission`s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) that the expert mission will start its work before the evaluation in order to assess the state of readiness of Ukraine`s quality infrastructure for the conclusion of the ACAA agreement. Article 5 of the ACAA allows industrial products that are “lawfully placed on the market” in Israel to be placed on the EU market without being subject to additional control. A CBAA is a version of the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in which the parties recognize the decisions of the other party`s institutions regarding the technical quality of industrial products. As part of an ACAA, the partner also adopts EU standards for conformity assessment and market surveillance bodies in certain areas. The Union has only one ACAA at the moment – with Israel. When asked by Ukrinform whether Ukrainian industry was sufficiently developed to withstand competition from EU producers, Kachka noted that the market for industrial products in Ukraine was already almost completely liberalised. .

gepubliceerd op 22 januari 2022