Technological disparities in EU–Ukraine trade

The conclusion of the Deep and Compre­hen­sive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between Ukraine and the EU both created additional opportunities for Ukrainian exports in terms of simplified access to European markets and libe­ralization of customs tariffs, and provoked new risks caused by the pronounced asymmetry of eco­nomic development between the partners. One of the most threatening manifestations of economic asymmetry is the signi­ficant differen­ces in the level of technological complexity of export and import flows between Ukraine and the EU. Therefore, the research aim is to analyze technological imbalan­ces in trade between Ukrai­ne and the EU under the DCFTA. Based on the results of the assessment of the technological complexity of Ukraineʼs exports and imports in trade with the EU under the DCFTA and the depth of technological imbalan­ces in trade relations based on the calculation of the technological pressure indicator proposed by the authors, the hypothesis that there is a negative trend in the dynamics of technological complexity of Ukraineʼs exports and imports in preferential trade with the EU is confirmed. The results are shown that reducing customs barriers and expanding market access for technologically sophisticated goods simultaneously increase pressure on less developed sectors of Ukraineʼs economy, which does not always contribute to their development. In such circumstances, pro­tec­tionist measures such as temporary import restrictions or support for domestic producers may be justified to protect economically vulne­rable sectors. This allows gradually increasing the technological complexity of products and adapting domestic producers to the conditions of fierce competition, which will help reduce technological pressure in the long run. The authors consider prospects for further research in substantiating objective criteria for selecting economic sectors that require additional support and gradual increase in competitiveness in the context of deepening Ukrainian-European trade integration