DNIPROPETROVSK, Oct. 27 – Victor Pinchuk, owner of the Interpipe Pipe and Wheel Company, has expressed hope that the agreement on a free trade zone with the CIS signed by the government will boost pipe and wheel supplies to the Customs Union's markets – Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

"The prime minister said that the agreement on free trade would significantly relax access of pipes and wheels to the markets of the Customs Union. Mykola Yanovych [Azarov, Ukraine's premier] said that under the agreement there would not be exemptions for pipe products," Pinchuk said, commenting on the results of a visit of the Ukrainian premier to the Dniprostal arc-furnace melting complex on Tuesday.

The owner of the Interpipe said that this is good news for the company. He said that the agreement should be ratified by national parliaments.