Current Trends in the International Economic Activity of Ukraine

Abstract

International economic activity occupies a special place in a complex system of the global economic relations. It reflects the mutual economic dependence of trade and economic activities of different countries of the world. The significance of the development of international economic performance of each country is growing. The purpose of the article is to determine the current state and trends of international economic performance of Ukraine, taking into account changes in the external environment. SWOT-analysis was introduced to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and ways to overcome weaknesses, solve problems in international economic activity, use strengths and opportunities. International economic activity is a powerful factor in the development of the country's economy and has a significant potential in regard of natural, economic and human resources, but the study has also revealed problems and negative trends. To identify trends in the effectiveness of the country's international economic activity, export-import performance indicators for 2019, 2020 and similar indicators for 2013 were analyzed. In 2020 a decline in exports in the machine-building industry is observed. Furthermore, the exports are dominated by the raw material component. The growth rate of exported goods refers to industries with a small share of value added. At the same time, imports are dominated by high-tech products, indicating a lack of strategy of technical and technological development, which leads to the deindustrialization of the country, which is a significant threat to the economy of Ukraine as a whole and its international economic activity. In the context of economic globalization, the importance of international economic relations is growing. To increase the efficiency of international economic performance it is crucial to address a number of domestic issues: stabilization of political situation, termination of military actions in the east of the country, overcoming corruption, ensuring technical and technological development, implementation of innovations at enterprises, development and implementation of multi-vector strategy, implementation of the strategy of public diplomacy in order to build a positive image of Ukraine. Further research will focus on assessing the effectiveness of international economic activity, identifying threats to national competitiveness and elaborating recommendations for overcoming them.