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Ukraine-EU free trade zone will be launched in 2016 — minister

The free trade zone is the economic part of the association agreement with the European Union

© AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert

KIEV, April 24. /TASS/. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has confirmed Kiev’s bid to launch a free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU from January 1, 2016.

There will be no delay on that, Klimkin told the Ukrainian 1plus1 TV channel, saying the economic part of the association agreement with the European Union would come into effect starting 2016.

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"The zone of free trade will be in place from January 1 and nobody can abolish it. This is the final decision," Klimkin noted.

In June 2014, Ukraine signed the economic part of the association agreement with the EU. On September 12, Russia, Ukraine and the EU agreed to suspend the setting up of the free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU and retain the regime of free trade within the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of former Soviet republics, until December 31, 2015.

Within this period of time, some Ukrainian products have the right of duty-free access to the European market, but duties are still imposed on European exports to Ukraine.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine-EU Association Agreement

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