Ukraine Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in ukraine, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Barriers
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The Ukrainian government has been active in addressing unnecessary trade barriers to make the business environment simpler and more transparent. While the environment is improving, trade barriers including unpredictable discriminatory fees and product certification procedures remain. Non-tariff barriers include inconsistent customs values assigned to imports, non-transparent certification requirements, cumbersome procedures for phytosanitary certifications and import licenses. 

Although Ukraine eliminated its compulsory certification lists, its certification system remains in place.  The certification system is based on the Law on Standards, Technical Requirements and Compliance Evaluation Procedures, Law on Standardization, Law on Conformity Certification, and the Presidential Decree “Provision on State Inspection on Consumer Rights Protection.” 

These regulations envisage the following compliance documents: 

  • Technical Regulations are legal public acts establishing mandatory requirements for products, services, or production processes to eliminate threats to national security, to protect life, health, and property rights of consumers, protect animals, plants, and the environment. Technical Regulations may also contain requirements for terminology, labels, packaging, marking or labeling requirements as they apply to a product, process, or production method. In accordance with obligations taken under the Association Agreement with the EU, Ukraine is planning to adopt several EU technical regulations. There are dozens of technical regulations adopted predominantly by the Ministry of Economy orders. These compulsory requirements often contain a mix of safety and quality indicators (dairy regulation), water content (jellies and poultry regulation), labeling, grading categories, processing methods, geographic indications, naming, and other requirements. Exporters are advised to contact importers to establish the applicability of the technical regulations mentioned.
     
  • National (State) Standards (DSTUs) are documents approved by the competent authority, which provide guidelines or characteristics that relate to the products, production processes, or services with which compliance is not mandatory. The standard also may include requirements for terminology, labels, packaging, marking, or labeling requirements as they apply to a product, process, or service. From the legislator’s perspective, a Standard is an auxiliary document that, if followed, will help achieve compulsory safety requirements listed in a Technical Regulation. However, producers are free to choose other production techniques that can yield the same safety results.

 

In November 2010, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine signed Order #971 approving a list of food products that require monitoring for genetically engineered or genetically modified organism (GMO) content. Among the groups of products to be tested and monitored are soybeans, corn, tomatoes, squash, melons, papaya, chicory, sugar beets, rapeseed, flax and cotton oils, wheat, rice, infant formula, and specialty food products that contain the plants and products of processing thereof, yeast and leaven, including products containing these ingredients.
The United States continues to engage with Ukraine under a Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement (TICA), signed in 2008, and other dialogues to urge Ukraine to take steps to eliminate specific market access barriers, improve the transparency and predictability of Ukraine’s regulatory regime, advance the protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights, and improve the business environment to ensure fair and equitable treatment for U.S. businesses operating in Ukraine.
 

For more information and help with trade barriers please contact:
International Trade Administration
Enforcement and Compliance 
(202) 482-0063
ECCommunications@trade.gov 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

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As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

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