Ukraine Trade Policy Project Quarterly Report 4 (January 1, 2016 – March 31, 2016)

The TPP continued supporting Ukraine in greater engagement in the WTO system, with a particular emphasis on developing overall engagement within the WTO. This included assisting the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT) in preparing oral and written communications to the WTO, such as the Statement of Ukraine in the General Council meeting of February 24, 2016, and the Opening statement of the Government of Ukraine to the Trade Policy Review Body. The TPP also tracked key activities at the WTO of relevance to Ukraine and facilitated participation of MEDT in various meetings, including the Trade Remedies Department and the Head of the Market Access and WTO Cooperation Department of the MEDT attending the meeting of the WTO General Council in Switzerland from February 23-26, 2016. Additionally, the TPP supported two members of the Ukraine delegation to the WTO General Council meeting, where they met and discussed issues related to Trade with representatives of the delegations from the US, EU, Turkey, Canada, Moldova, Montenegro, Mexico, Belarus, Norway, and Kyrgyzstan. In terms of dispute settlement, the TPP provided assistance to the MEDT Department for Trade Protection, focusing on improving the legal framework governing trade remedies through the preparation of the draft new CVD law. The TPP supported MEDT in developing a correlation table between the current and draft CVD law and assisted in the preparation of the presentation of this initial draft to the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade. The TPP also prepared a comparative assessment of the AD law against the WTO AD Agreement and the EU basic regulation, proposing changes and assisting MEDT in developing the provisions on the dumping determination of the draft AD law. The TPP contributed to the capacity building of the Trade Remedies Unit through the discussion of technical questions in several ad hoc meetings and through the provision of written advice. The TPP also monitored the activities of the WTO Rules Division and Committees covering trade defense matters, keeping MEDT informed of any developments of interest to Ukraine. Improved external and internal coordination on WTO issues was another key focus of the TPP during this quarter. The TPP established cohesive and efficient coordination among relevant ministries and other governmental units, including the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the State Fiscal Service. The TPP also improved methods and quality of communication/consultation/coordination with external stakeholders and experts, including private sector representatives and academia. The TPP supported the development of a draft Safeguards Law and one or more normative act regulating the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade, in particular developing a conceptual proposal for reforming the Interdepartmental Commission on International Trade to become more effective. These drafts are expected to be completed during the next quarter. In addition to these activities, the TPP continued to support the development of Ukraine's WTO compliance, including the implementation of Ukraine's extensive WTO legislative reforms and compliance with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The TPP also supported the MEDT in preparing for the first WTO Trade Policy Review, which was submitted to the WTO during this quarter. The TPP also supported the development of Ukraine's capacity to effectively utilize WTO tools, including the introduction of a Dispute Settlement course into the curricula of the International Trade Regulation Master Program in the Institute of International Relations of National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. The TPP also supported the participation of a students' team in the Moot Court Competition on the Law of World Trade Organization (WTO) organized by the European Law Students Association (ELSA), which proceeded to the semi-final taking the fourth place out of 14 competing teams across Europe. Overall, the TPP continued to support Ukraine's engagement in the WTO system, improving its capacity to effectively utilize WTO tools and promoting improved external and internal coordination on WTO issues.