The UK government has extended duty-free imports from Ukraine under a digital trade deal, which will make the country’s IT sector more attractive to UK businesses.
Ministers also used the Road to Ukraine Recovery conference in London to encourage British businesses to engage with Ukraine in future reconstruction projects.
Business and Trade Secretary MP Kemi Badenoch said the digital trade deal, which will see duty-free trade on imports from Ukraine extended until early 2024, provides much-needed support to Ukrainian companies.
“…the initiatives will help protect jobs, livelihoods and families now and in Ukraine’s post-war future,” Badenoch said.
The government said British negotiators had been working on the deal with their Ukrainian counterparts since June 2022.
The agreement gives Ukraine guaranteed access to financial services crucial to reconstruction efforts and means that Ukrainian businesses will be able to trade more efficiently and cost-effectively with the UK through electronic transactions, electronic signatures and electronic contracts.
THE Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yuliia Svyrydenko, said the deal showed that Ukrainian IT companies were in demand around the world despite the challenges of the war.
“The Digital Trade Agreement enshrined fundamental freedoms for trade in digital goods and services. Ukraine believes that an open and free framework for the digital economy is the best investment in future-oriented development added Svyrydenko.
The computer services sector is an important source of export earnings for Ukraine. Some IT services and software development companies in Ukraine already serve large companies in the UK and other Western countries.
It’s a resilient sector, which continued to grow during Ukraine’s war with Russia and the massive disruption it brought.
According to a report by the IT Ukraine Association, the value of IT exports between the Russian invasion in February last year and the end of December was $6 billion, about 10% more than the same period in 2021.
Konstantin Vasyuk, executive director of the IT Ukraine association, writes in the organization’s journal Do it like Ukraine report, said: “These results were made possible thanks to the effective implementation of business continuity plans, the rapid relocation of teams and the diversification of development centers in Ukraine and abroad.”
Nearly 290,000 people in Ukraine are employed in the technology sector, and IT exports accounted for 3.5% of Ukraine’s GDP and 37.8% of total service exports in 2021.
Ukrainian IT vendors have praised their customers in countries like the UK for not abandoning them during the disruption caused by the war.
Speaking to Computer Weekly earlier this monthMaxim Ivanov, CEO of Ukrainian software development provider Aimprosoft, said customers understand any disruption in service given the scale and global significance of events in Ukraine.
“All of our customers have understood the situation, and many have even paid for the days the developers missed because they were on the road. The help from our customers has been incredible and no contracts have been canceled due to the war,” Ivanov added. “We count on the support of other countries, but if this continues, we will win and rebuild Ukraine.”
Stuart Senior, member of the supervisory board of real estate and construction consultancy Gleeds, said: “As an international construction consultant, Gleeds has had a presence in Ukraine for many years. We welcome this new agreement which strengthens the relationship between the UK and Ukraine and contributes to Ukraine’s growing development as a modern and open economy.
“THE [trade deal] removes barriers to digital commerce and enables partnership initiatives and collaborative work to be implemented more effectively. »
