KYIV, May 9 – Canada, following the UK and the EU, will remove all tariffs on imports of goods from Ukraine, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.

"By removing tariffs for a one year period, Canada would continue to support Ukraine's economy by ensuring that Ukrainian goods are able to enter Canada duty-free," the Department of Finance Canada said in a statement.

While most goods from Ukraine enter Canada duty-free as a result of the Canada–Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA), tariffs still apply on certain goods where tariffs are being phased out under the Agreement, or where they are excluded from it.

The proposed measure would come into force once the Order in Council is approved and registered. The Canada Border Services Agency would then issue a Customs Notice detailing how importers can claim relief under the remission order.

The Department of Finance said that From 2019 to 2021, Ukrainian exports to Canada averaged CAD 170.8 million annually, and Canada collected about CAD 2.6 million in duties from these goods.

"This is a good continuation of the initiative of the EU and the UK, which confirms the interest of developed countries to involve the Ukrainian economy in their own industrial and trade chains," Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy, said, commenting on this decision.

She recalled that on the eve of this meeting, she also discussed with Canadian Minister of International Trade Mary Ng the whole range of economic cooperation measures that both countries intend to implement.

"For our ministry and Ambassador to Canada Yulia Kovaliv, this is an ambitious work program for this year," Svyrydenko said. (om/ez)