How Ukraine plans to fight back against US metal tariffs - Ministry of Economy responds
Photo: Taras Kachka (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The Ministry of Economy is starting negotiations with representatives of the USA on the removal of tariffs that were introduced by the administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Ukrainian metal products, according to Deputy Minister of Economy – Trade Representative of Ukraine Taras Kachka at the conference "Trade Wars: The Art of Defense."
“The issue of removing tariffs is actually also on the agenda. This week we will have a conversation with Mr. Ambassador Green, who is a representative of the USA,” he said.
The deputy minister added that the negotiations are at a starting point.
“We are interested in removing the tariffs on metallurgy – 25% (anti-dumping tariff introduced by the Joe Biden administration – ed.) and 10% (tariff announced on April 2 by Donald Trump – ed.). It is quite possible that we will achieve this decision, although I will not promise it, because we are at the starting point,” noted Kachka.
US tariffs
Let us recall that on April 2, US President Donald Trump announced the most large-scale US trade restrictions in a century. For Ukraine, the base rate of 10% will apply.
At the same time, the USA is not a key Ukrainian trading partner. Exports of goods from Ukraine to the USA amount to only 2.2%. Therefore, experts do not expect that the tariffs will significantly impact Ukraine.
The National Bank (NBU) of Ukraine noted that the escalation of global trade confrontations at the beginning of April did not have a significant impact on the Ukrainian economy or the foreign exchange market. Direct losses from the introduction of the 10% tariff by the USA are expected to be minor.
“Considering the low level of tariff pressure compared to other countries, the competitiveness of Ukrainian products on the American market, including metallurgy, can be expected to be preserved,” stated the NBU.
