Гранти / Grants to conduct impact assessment of free trade agreements (FTAs) and the establishment of preferential trade regime

USAID Competitive Economy Program (CEP)

Request for Applications (RFA)-2021- 027

Issue Date: March 01, 2021

Applications Due: March 31, 2021

Dear Applicant,

The USAID Competitive Economy Program (CEP) promotes a strong, diverse, and open economy by enhancing the business environment for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), improving competitiveness in key industries, and enabling Ukraine to benefit from free trade agreements. The project seeks to increase market opportunities and competition, thereby catalyzing broad-based economic growth.

Ukraine is currently considering the possibility of concluding Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with different countries, as well as reviewing commitments in the framework of the existing FTAs. In addition to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the European  Union, Ukraine has concluded FTAs with the European Free Trade Association, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Montenegro, Macedonia, Georgia, Canada, Israel, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan and other countries.

CEP evaluated the economic consequences of concluding the FTA with Turkey and developed a computable general equilibrium (CGE)   model that could be replicated in the future to analyze additional FTAs with other countries.

This research was useful for considering liberalization of access to the Turkish and Ukrainian markets for goods and strengthened the position of the Ukrainian negotiating team in the current negotiations on access to the services market. Further research will contribute to raising awareness among business representatives of the opportunities and challenges posed by the agreement for various sectors, as well as among government officials to develop and make policy decisions aimed at gaining potential benefits and mitigating potential losses stemming from free trade.

In addition, the Government of Ukraine continues to study the possibility of liberalizing access to markets for goods and services of other key trading partners of Ukraine, in particular through the conclusion of preferential agreements.

CEP supports the Government of Ukraine in the field of trade policy and supports initiatives aimed at improving trade and investment.

This work is part of a system of proactive state policy measures to expand and diversify Ukraine’s foreign economic relations with countries around the world, taking into account the priorities of the state, which will continue in the post-pandemic period. In particular, liberalization of conditions for access to markets of other countries for domestic products is an objective of the Export Strategy, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of December 27, 2017 No. 1017, the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Approval of the Strategy for Export of Agricultural Products for the period until 2026” as of July 10, 2019 No. 588-r and the Strategic Action Plan of the Ministry for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine for the current period.

On January 1, 2016, the trade part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement came into force as for the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). The Agreement stipulates that five years after its entry into force, i.e., in 2021, the parties may enter into consultations with a view to accelerating and expanding tariff obligations (Article 29 of Section IV of the Association Agreement). The Agreement also provides for a comprehensive review of the achievement of the objectives of this Agreement five years after the date of its entry into force (Article 481 of Section VII). The Ukrainian government has already announced its intention to start negotiations on revising certain provisions of the Agreement, and the EU has reaffirmed its readiness for dialogue. Changes are needed to deepen economic integration between Ukraine and the EU. Ukraine advocates further liberalization and reduction of trade barriers to bilateral trade in goods and services.

In order to promote an effective and evidence-based trade policy, CEP intends to (1) support assessment of the impact on Ukraine’s economy in the event of establishing a preferential trade regime between Ukraine and the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Tunisia; and (2) support analysis of the state of implementation of the DCFTA in terms of trade in services, identification and analysis of current barriers to trade in services with the EU, identification of priority service sectors where revision of EU market access is critical, development of recommendations to reduce trade barriers for these sectors, and inclusion of these sectors in the negotiating agenda with the EU.

To achieve this, CEP is seeking applications from Ukrainian think-tanks and/or research centers specializing in economic and financial analysis, public policy and governance, and/or the development of recommendations and development strategies (business associations, NGOs, industry schools, etc.) interested in conducting such research and presenting the results of the research to a wide range of stakeholders, including business associations, business support organizations, government institutions.

Please note that the USAID CEP anticipates awarding one grant for each of the two types of research indicated.

As part of the application materials, applicants should demonstrate its approach to developing a research plan, experience conducting similar research (including using modern economic analysis tools), and availability of sufficient resources to complete the research and implement the grant activity.

The grant(s) will be awarded and implemented in accordance with USAID and U.S. Government regulations governing grants under contracts and CEP’s internal grant management policies.

The full description of this RFA is available following this link here.

CEP and Chemonics employees may not ask for, and applicants are prohibited from offering, any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, the thing of value, or compensation to obtain or reward improper favorable treatment regarding this solicitation. Any improper request from a project employee should be reported to the chief of party or [email protected].