In its review article, the English-language Turkish website “Türkiye Today“ analyzes the potential effects of the entry into force of the Turkey-Ukraine free trade agreement, which is now only a matter of time, BTA reported.
The agreement, which was concluded in 2022, is on track to enter into force in the near future, after the Ukrainian parliament ratified it on July 14 with 236 votes “in favor” against a threshold of 226 – an action that the Turkish parliament took back in 2024. The only thing left before this agreement can enter into force is for the two governments to exchange the official instruments of its ratification.
For both countries, the free trade agreement establishes a new framework for bilateral trade by gradually eliminating import tariffs on various goods, notes “Türkiye Tudey“ in its analysis.
According to the agreement, Turkey will immediately eliminate tariffs on 93.4 percent of Ukrainian industrial products and 7.6 percent of its agricultural goods. After a transition period of three to seven years, tariff liberalization will be extended to an additional 1.5 percent of industrial products from Ukraine and 28.5 percent of its agricultural goods.
Ukraine, for its part, will immediately eliminate tariffs on 56 percent of Turkish industrial products and 11.5 percent of agricultural goods, and over the next two to ten years, it will gradually eliminate tariffs on another 43.2 percent of industrial products and 53.7 percent of agricultural goods.
The latest data shows a significant development in economic relations between the two countries, with their bilateral trade reaching 7.9 billion US dollars in 2025, and Ukrainian exports to Turkey increasing by 23 percent year-on-year, reaching a total of 2.7 billion US dollars.
According to “Türkiye Tudey“ The agreement is expected to have the greatest impact on trade in agricultural goods, especially in the grain and food processing sectors. Currently, approximately 77 percent of Ukraine's exports to Turkey consist of unprocessed grain and sunflower oil, goods that are traditionally imported by Turkish companies for domestic processing.
The new free trade agreement fundamentally changes this model by removing tariff barriers for higher value-added products, including processed foods, feed concentrates, and products derived from deep processing of grain and oilseeds, notes “Türkiye Tudey“ in its analysis, emphasizing that this creates new opportunities for Ukrainian producers to export finished products directly to the Turkish market, instead of just supplying raw materials.
In addition, the agreement is expected to encourage the establishment of joint Ukrainian-Turkish enterprises in the food industry, which could combine Turkish technology, investment, and industrial resources with Ukraine's agricultural resources to produce higher value-added products for export to EU markets, strengthening regional supply chains and increasing the competitiveness of both economies, also notes „Türkiye Today“.
The analysis also notes the geopolitical significance of this agreement, emphasizing that from a broader perspective it establishes a free trade zone connecting the two largest economies in the Black Sea region. According to „Türkiye Today“, this will provide Turkish companies with significant long-term advantages over their competitors in other regional markets, while strengthening Turkey's position as one of Ukraine's main strategic and economic partners.