The United States has a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) with Ukraine, which took effect in 1996. The BIT guarantees U.S. investors non-discriminatory treatment, the right to make financial transfers freely and without delay, international legal standards for expropriation, including compensation, and access to international arbitration in the event of an investment dispute.
The “United States Income Tax Treaties – Convention” between the United States and Ukraine regarding the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital became effective January 1, 2001.
The United States and Ukraine signed a Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement (TICA) on April 1, 2008. The TICA established a joint U.S.-Ukraine Council on Trade and Investment, which addresses a wide range of trade and investment issues including market access, intellectual property, labor, and environmental issues.
On May 16, 2008, Ukraine became the 152nd member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Upon becoming a member of the WTO Ukraine became subject to the requirements of the Agreement of the WTO on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights “TRIPS Agreement”.
In March 2016 Ukraine officially joined the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. This gives Ukrainian companies the right to participate in public procurement of 45 countries participating in the WTO agreement on government procurement (GPA), including EU countries, Japan, the United States, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Canada. In addition to opening foreign government procurement markets, this agreement will also require Ukraine to follow WTO rules for government procurement.
Ukraine has a Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) with the European Union. Under the terms of the agreement, Ukraine enjoys most favored nation status with the EU, but is not required to bind its own tariffs.
On March 21, 2014 the European Union and Ukraine signed the core elements of a political association agreement precursor to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) which they started applying on January 1, 2016.
Although Ukraine was one of the three founding countries and ratified the Creation Agreement in December 1991, Ukraine did not choose to ratify the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Charter. In 1993 Ukraine became an “Associate Member” of CIS. Ukraine has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with nine CIS countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Russia. Since the purported annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, Ukraine has been gradually withdrawing from CIS agreements, although its FTAs with CIS countries remain formally effective, except for the one with Russia. On December 16, 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending the free trade zone with Ukraine from January 1, 2016, the date the DCFTA entered into force. FTA with Russia was in effect since February 21, 1994.
Ukraine has concluded trade agreements with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Canada, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. These agreements grant, on a reciprocal basis, most favored nation (MFN) status on trade with signatory countries. As in the case of the PCA, Ukraine benefits via these agreements from the tariff concessions made by its partner countries who are WTO members without binding its own tariffs. The FTA with Israel, ratified by Ukrainian Parliament in July 2019, entered into force on January 1, 2021. In 2020 Ukraine also signed an FTA with Great Britain, which entered into force on January 1, 2021. The FTA with Turkey was signed on February 3, 2022. Other Important U.S. – Ukraine agreements include the February 7, 2017, signing of an intergovernmental agreement implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which implies that Ukraine agrees to centrally share information on U.S. accounts with the IRS on a non-reciprocal basis. On October 29, 2019, the Parliament of Ukraine ratified the FATCA Agreement, and it entered into force on November 18, 2019. On March 23, 2017, Ukraine became the 47th country to adhere to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. The Declaration commits Ukraine to provide an open and transparent environment for international investment and to encourage the positive contribution foreign investment can make to economic and social progress.