Foreign Trade Relations of Ukraine with the EU Countries: State, Trends and Development Priorities

In modern conditions, the involvement degree of any country in the international economic relations is determined to a significant extent by the state of its foreign trade activities. For Ukraine, the European Union is a key trading partner. The signing of the Association Agreement with the EU provided Ukrainian producers with the opportunity to increase their presence in European markets, but at the same time it was accompanied by a number of problems and risks. The main ones are tariff quotas and high technical barriers to entry into the EU market. This study aims to analyze the state and development trends of foreign trade relations between Ukraine and the EU under the conditions of the Association Agreement and the resulting benefits and risks for domestic producers and, on this basis, substantiate the priorities of deepening these relations, taking into account national interests as a prerequisite for increasing the competitive economy of Ukraine. It was found that Ukraine has the potential to enhance export opportunities in general and with the European Union in particular. Amendments to the Association Agreement, the signing of the ACAA Agreement is a necessary institutional framework, a driver that will allow Ukraine to intensify, deepen and diversify its trade activities with the EU countries. It was revealed that raw materials prevail in the structure of Ukraine's merchandise exports to the EU, however, compared to 2013, its share has significantly decreased - by 14.3%. The structure of Ukraine's merchandise imports from the EU is more diversified, it is based on engineering and pharmaceutical products, as well as mineral products, polymer materials and plastics. The share of these products in the total volume of Ukraine's merchandise imports during 2013-2020 remains high and ranges from 54-56 %. Such trends testify to the import dependence of the Ukrainian economy and require an urgent solution. Based on the results of the analysis, it was determined that machinery-producing industries are promising from the point of view of further increasing the export opportunities of Ukraine to the EU. To support and develop them, it is proposed to carry out systematic and systematic measures, taking into account the obligations that Ukraine assumed by signing the Association Agreement with the EU. Special economic zones, science parks, technology parks and clusters are considered as tools to support the export potential of domestic engineering and the economic potential of the national economy. The effectiveness of these structures has been confirmed by numerous studies and successful international experience.