The Promotion of Sustainable Development through Trade Instruments in the EU: Case Study for Ukraine

Abstract

Ukraine is lacking a systematic and comprehensive approach to achieving the goals of sustainable development in trade, since these goals are not integrated into the public policy-making process. The aim of this article is to analyze the European Union (EU) experience of using the trade instruments to implement sustainable development. The authors give special consideration to the use of the „new generation‟ free trade agreements, which include the chapters devoted to sustainable development, in the EU. The Opinion of the European Court of Justice on the EU-Singapore free trade agreement in terms of sustainable development provisions is highlighted; since it may change the future EU trade policy and affect the EU‟s "soft" approach to the means ensuring the implementation of trade agreements, making the provisions of sustainable development agreements more effective. In this paper, we also explore the chapters of trade agreements on sustainable development, to which Ukraine is a party. Based on analysis of the EU trade policy, it is proposed to change the conceptual basis of implementing Ukraine's trade policy in order to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Keywords: sustainable development, trade policy, free trade agreement, generalized system of preferences, sustainability impact assessment, the EU, Ukraine.