GEOECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE GLOBAL SPREAD OF PROTECTIONISM FOR UKRAINE’S FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

Abstract

The article examines the impact of contemporary global economic transformations on Ukraine’s foreign economic activity under martial law. As a result of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian economy has suffered significant losses associated with the destruction of production facilities, disruption of logistics chains, and a reduction in export potential. The role of protectionism is growing as one of the key factors in the transformation of global trade relations, making it an additional destabilizing factor. The purpose of the study is to analyze the geoeconomic consequences of the spread of protectionism and assess its impact on the development of Ukraine’s foreign economic activity. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been identified: to reveal the theoretical foundations of protectionism, to analyze current trends in its spread in the world economy, and to assess its consequences for Ukraine. The methodological basis is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, in particular, the processing of sources of statistical information and analytical reports, as well as the generalization of the obtained results using the synthesis method. This allowed us to form a holistic view of current transformations in international trade and their impact on Ukraine’s foreign economic activity. Over the past 15 years, more protectionist measures than trade-liberalizing initiatives have been introduced annually worldwide, indicating the dominance of protectionist trends in global trade policy. This creates significant challenges for Ukraine – narrowing access to foreign markets, strengthening trade barriers, and increasing uncertainty for businesses and investors. Among the possible ways to improve Ukraine's foreign economic activity are strengthening diplomatic efforts, deepening integration with trading partners, and developing the production of products with higher added value.