Leonid Bershidsky, Columnist

Ukraine's Free Trade Deal Was Just a Start

Now the country must do more to attract foreign investment.

May 11, 2016 at 3:16 PM UTC

Leonid Bershidsky, formerly Bloomberg Opinion’s Europe columnist, is a member of the Bloomberg News Automation Team. He recently published Russian translations of George Orwell’s “1984” and Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.”

Imports are surging.
Photographer: Sean Gallup

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Ukraine's free trade agreement with the European Union was so controversial that it caused the former Soviet republic's break with Russia, which had opposed the closer ties with Europe. Several months in, it looks like the deal is benefiting the EU more than it is helping Ukraine.

That doesn't mean it wasn't worth doing. It does suggest, however, that if Kiev wants to reap the longer term benefits of free trade, it will need to adopt some changes at home.