The UK and Ukraine signed a ground-breaking new Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) on 20 March 2023. The deal will enhance the two countries’ trade and investment relationship, support Ukraine’s economy through the current crisis and help lay foundations for its recovery and revival. 

The UK Business and Trade Secretary Kim Badenoch, alongside Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, virtually signed the DTA. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine was involved in the negotiation process. 

Ukraine will have guaranteed access to financial services crucial for reconstruction efforts, through the deal’s facilitation of cross-border data flows. Ukrainian businesses will also be able to trade more efficiently and cheaply with the UK through electronic transactions, e-signatures, and e-contracts. The UK pledges to extend the removal of tariffs on all Ukrainian products until March 2024. 

The Digital Trade Agreement aims to extend UK-Ukraine digital partnership in the following domains and ways: 

Digital trade –

• reduce the cost of trade administration by implementing digital solutions and technologies;
• secure and extend the use of digital signatures, electronic contracts, electronic invoices for international trade;
• joint recognition of electronic identification and digital signatures;
• introduce the ‘single window’ principle for cooperation of traders and government structures.

Open data exchange –

• prohibit unreasonable restrictions on cross-border data transfers;
• create prerequisites for the growth of trade in services based on access to data in the areas of financial services, agriculture, manufacturing, legal services, engineering et al;
• prohibit new restrictions on localisation (possibility to provide services without physical transfer of databases);
• promote personal data protection and implement relevant frameworks, improve access to public data owned by the state.

Consumer protection –

• increase protection of online consumer rights;
• implement legislation on the prohibition of misleading information;
• cybersecurity;
• protection of cryptographic data;
• protection of computer programs and software codes.

Open digital markets –

• duty-free digital content;
• increase competitiveness in the economy;
• inclusiveness of the digital economy.

Financial services –

• exchange of financial information;
• introduction of modern financial services;
• upgrade of electronic payments technologies.

Technical cooperation –

• artificial intelligence and use of the latest technologies;
• cooperation in the field of legal technologies;
• cooperation on the recognition of digital documents. 

Further information

Ukraine became the second country in the world, after Singapore, to sign a Digital Trade Agreement with the United Kingdom. 

See the UK-Ukraine DTA news on the UK Government website and the Ukrainian New Voice Business website article.