Hryschenko And Turkish State Minister Tuzmen Discuss Economic Cooperation.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko and Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen discussed the results of the fourth meeting of the Ukraine-Turkey Intergovernmental Trade and Economic Cooperation Commission, which took place in Kyiv, February 25-26. It was pointed out at the meeting that the Commission is a key mechanism of coordination of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, and its work must help realize large-scale economic projects to a greatest degree possible. The parties have also discussed the issue of coordination of joint efforts by Ukraine and Turkey on the occasion of joining the European Union. Mr. Hryschenko said that Ukraine hopes for Turkey's further support for its accession to the World Trade Organization, and for signing in the near future a Ukrainian-Turkish protocol on mutual access to the markets of goods and services. Mr. Hryschenko visited Turkey last November. Ukraine and Turkey are considering prospects for concluding a free trade agreement.
Ukraine And Turkey Set Up Working Group For Resolving Issue Of Scrap Metal Export.
Ukraine and Turkey created a joint working group, which will work over resolving the issue of the appropriateness of the further existence of export duty for scrap from Ukraine in the amount of EUR 30 for a ton. Deputy Premier Dmytro Tabachnyk stated this at the end of meeting of the Intergovernmental Ukrainian-Turkish Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation. "A working group was created with respect to problems of ferrous metallurgy. According to the results of its work, it will give recommendations to the governments of the two countries," he said. In Tabachnyk's words, the working group will examine the appropriateness of limiting the effect of the law, which introduced the duty, or reducing the amount of this duty. In April, a visit of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to Kyiv is planned and the signing with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych of several agreements between the two countries. The Government of Turkey had made a request to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to speed up adoption of a decision on repealing the export duty for scrap of ferrous metals. Turkey, which is the largest importer of Ukrainian scrap metals, is linking the coordination with Ukraine of the conditions for its joining of the World Trade Organization with a repeal or reduction by Ukraine of the export duty for scrap metals. In November 2002, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law establishing a fixed duty for export of wastes and scraps from ferrous metals from January 1, 2003 in the amount of EUR 30 for a ton, having thereby overcome the veto of President Leonid Kuchma. The Ministry of Industrial Policy forecasts the abolition by Ukraine of the export duty for scraps from ferrous metals not earlier than it will join the WTO. In 2003, export of scrap metals from Ukraine contracted by 52.6%, or by 2,004,670 tons in comparison with 2002 and consisted of 1,806,730 tons valued in the amount of USD 226.57 million, and, in particular, Ukraine exported 681,750 tons of scrap to Turkey in 2003.
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