STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES OF ADAPTATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF UKRAINE’S FOREIGN TRADE ACTIVITY UNDER CONDITIONS OF THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Abstract

The crisis state of the national economy, continuing aggression from the side of Russia, necessity to solve many socio-economic problems and to reorient as rapidly as possible the foreign economic ties in the context of the course taken by Ukraine to the European integration are some part of the list of tasks requiring the solution. They also include the necessity to transform the foreign trade relations with key partners. A reduction of the Russian market poses the task to compensate the appropriate losses for the Ukrainian producers and to formulate the conditions and directions of their entry to other markets.
The authors ascertain the absence of a clearly outlined foreign trade policy in Ukraine at present and conceptual strategic acts concerning its further development: the program of activity of the Government of Ukraine, Coalition agreement, or President’s Program “Ukraine-2020” do not include the task to form a consecutive foreign trade policy as such.
Though the conditions of the foreign trade with European trade partners became significantly better after the signing of the EU – Ukraine Association Agreement, the global demand for the key commodities of the Ukrainian export remains low. Moreover, the competitive struggle of world markets becomes more severe. In order to ensure a growth of the foreign trade volumes under such conditions, it is necessary to activate the search for internal reserves to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic products and the diversification of export positions of our state in the global economic space. Ukraine should not expect an easy way to the full-right membership in EU.
The authors postulate a thesis, by which the main point in the association with EU is not only the access to markets, but a stimulation of internal reforms in Ukraine, which will make its economy competitive and more efficient. The organizational, economic, and institutional directions and conditions of the increase in the domestic export are considered.