THERAN - Iran’s Deputy Trade Minister Alireza Peymanpak and EAEU Minister of Trade Andrey Slepnev in Tehran have signed a free trade agreement to allow tariff-free exports for more than 90% of their products.
Peymanpak said after signing the deal that it will go into force within the next nine months after being approved by the governments and parliaments of Iran and five EAEU members Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus
He said administrative governments of EAEU countries are expected to formally approve the free trade agreement with Iran over the next few weeks.
The official, who also serves as head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, said the document signed on Thursday identified certain products and excluded them from the free trade deal between Iran and the EAEU.
Peymanpak added, however, the deal will enable tariff-free exports for more than 90% of products of the two sides.
The EAEU’s executive branch the EEC and Iran signed a temporary agreement in December 2021 to set up a free trade zone.
Russia’s Tass news agency quoted Slepnev as saying on Thursday that Iran and the EAEU had agreed on a bulk of main issues needed to conclude talks for creating a free trade zone.
Iran signed a preferential trade agreement with the EAEU in November 2019 amid efforts by the Iranian government to diversify trade routes and to offset the impacts of American sanctions on the country’s economic exchanges with the rest of the world.
The value of trade between Iran and the EAEU rose by 74% year-on-year in 2021 and by another 25% in the first ten months of 2022, according to figure by the EEC.
Iranian government figures also show that bilateral trade with the EAEU rose 66% in value terms in the year to late March 2022 to stand at $5.634 billion.
And also, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari and Andrey Slepnev discussed ways on expanding economic cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Eurasia.
Safari proposed that a corridor is formed for transport through rail, road and sea routes so that free trade of agricultural and industrial goods can be carried out among Iran and the five member states of the Eurasian Economic Commission; namely, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
The Iranian official said that cooperation between the union and the Islamic Republic can go beyond trade and expanded into areas such as energy, as well as banking and tourism.
He announced Iran’s readiness to begin work to boost cooperation in those fields.
The country’s interaction with the Eurasian Economic Union entered a new phase on October 27, 2019 when a preferential trade agreement (PTA) took effect between the two sides.
Parties are now engaged in negotiations to upgrade the PTA to a free trade agreement (FTA).
Andrey Slepnev briefed Safari on those negotiations, expressing hope that talks with the Iranian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Mines are finalized during his current trip to Tehran.
The Eurasian official also said that the EEU is determined to promote cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran.