Agreement on the metals of rare lands, mineral resources, natural resources and minerals or simply an economic agreement – these are all the terms of the treaty that USA and Ukraine They wanted to include immediately after the inauguration of the US President Donald Trump at the beginning of the year. After a number of efforts and corrections, 30 April Washington and Kyiv signed a “agreement on the creation of the American-Ukrainian Investment Fund and Reconstruction.”
It consists of only ten pages and two pages of the attachment. After signing the document, the first Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Julia Swiridenko stated that, according to this document, Ukraine would create an investment fund with the USA for reconstruction to attract widely extensive investments to the country. The agreement does not mention any obligations of Ukraine's debt towards the USA and does not change the Kiev course for European integration.
Fund's operation rules
As Swiridenko informed, the US will make payments to the fund. In addition to direct financial resources, this may also include, for example, air defense systems to help Ukraine. For its part, Kyiv is to bring 50 percent of budget revenues to the Fund from fees for new Licenses for extracting important raw materials, but it can also make additional payments. The fund is then to invest in mineral extraction projects, oil and gas, as well as in the infrastructure or processing of these raw materials related to it. Therefore, Ukraine and the US are to jointly determine specific investment projects for which financial resources will be used. The fund can only invest in Ukraine.
– We assume that the fund's profits and income in the first ten years will not be paid, but will be able to be invested only in Ukraine in new projects or in reconstruction. The conditions are to be discussed even further – said the minister.
The American-Ukrainian agreement still requires ratification by the Ukrainian parliament. However, the parliamentary group of the opposition party “European Solidarity” is dissatisfied with the fact that the deputies have not been included in the negotiations in this matter. She calls on President Wołodymyr Zelanski to talk with representatives of parliamentary groups and fractions.
When will the first investments come?
According to Ilja Neszechodowskie from the Ukrainian Social Organization “Network for the protection of national interests – ASS” an agreement with the United States is necessary for Ukraine today. – We pay and give some of our income, but in return we receive military and financial support as well as American investments. Because the Americans will control the way the investment is made, it can be assumed that they will be more likely to invest in a Ukrainian economy – he explains.
However, investments will not come immediately. Experts believe that they can be expected only after the hot phase of Russia's war with Ukraine, after freezing the conflict or signing a peace agreement. – Currently, new projects are excluded during the war. I don't think it would be possible before half a time. Because companies that want to invest in Ukraine, whether in raw materials, mining or processing, must include this in their budget for next year – says Anatoly Amelin from Think Tank “Ukrainian Institute of the Future” in an interview with DW. He assumes that at best American investments will flow into Ukraine from 2027 and 2028. “The United States is still motivated to help us, but further help will accumulate as debt obligations in the fund,” says Amelin.
Will the US resume military assistance?
Experts point out that the contract is politically favorable to Ukraine because it continues cooperation with the USA, also in the field of intensification of American military assistance. “This is a great political and diplomatic achievement for Ukraine,” wrote on Facebook the head of the Kiev School of Economics and the former Ukrainian Minister of Economy Tymofij Myłowanov. In his opinion, “this agreement provides Trump with internal political success, which also improves the attitude towards Ukraine in the USA. Ukraine was successful in defending its interests in this agreement. Despite the unimaginable pressure, all draconian demands have been rejected. The agreement looks honest and opens the possibilities of further military assistance from the USA for Ukraine.”
Experts also point out that immediately after signing the contract, the media stated that Donald Trump For the first time in his second term he agreed to sell a weapon worth at least $ 50 million to Ukraine.
What security guarantees?
At the same time, experts emphasize that the signed contract does not contain any guarantees of US security for Ukraine. And this is what President Wołodymyr Zełnski meant, initiating the signing of a contract with the USA. He wanted to get security guarantees for his country in exchange for access to Ukrainian raw materials. – This agreement is with the future in mind. The contract is more political, it is an attempt to restore relations from the USA. But it does not contain any security guarantees, and this is a real problem for Ukraine – says the director of the Ukrainian Think Tank “Institute of World Policy” Jewhen Magda. In an interview with DW, he emphasizes that Ukraine has already signed over three dozens of security contracts with international partners, which in matters of security policy are more useful than the US agreement on the creation of an investment fund and reconstruction.