Optimization of Foreign Trade as a Direction for Improving the Structure of the National Economy in the Context of Ensuring the Sustainable Development of Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of the structure of foreign trade of Ukraine as a direction of improving the structure of the national economy in the context of ensuring sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to analyze foreign trade, search for ways to optimize it as a direction of improving the structure of the national economy in the context of ensuring sustainable development of Ukraine. Research methods: analysis and synthesis, comparison, systematic approach, statistical method, generalization. The export and import of Ukraine, their dynamics and commodity structure have been analyzed in detail. The imperfection of the structure of exports and imports has been revealed: in exports, low-tech goods account for a high share, and for some commodity groups their share tends to grow, high-tech goods - low with a tendency to decrease their share; in imports, the largest share is made up of high-tech goods with a tendency to grow. The indicators characterizing the share of the processing industry in GDP have been analyzed, and a tendency to decrease this indicator is shown. The importance of further development of the processing industry, increasing its share in GDP and the need to reduce the share of raw materials in total exports as one of the directions for solving this problem have been noted. Recommendations have been proposed aimed at optimizing foreign trade, improving the structure of the national economy to ensure sustainable development of Ukraine, including: increasing the share of goods with high added value in exports, reducing the share of goods with low added value, creating conditions for a more complete realization of export potential, achieving a balanced production structure, reducing dependence on suppliers of imported components.