ArmInfo. The Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) approved road maps for implementation of a temporary agreement leading to the formation of a free trade zone (FTZ) between the EEU and Iran, and the Agreement on trade and economic cooperation between the EEU and China.
According to the press service of the EEC, both agreements were signed at the Astana Economic Forum on May 17 this year. Following this, the EEC developed lists of activities that should provide technical preparation for entry into force and become a starting point for implementing the agenda of agreements in various fields.
It is planned that by the end of the year the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will decide on the mandatory nature of these documents for the EEU.
Priority areas in relations with China are sectoral cooperation, as well as interaction to reduce non-tariff barriers in certain areas. It is planned to agree on a full-format agreement with Iran within three years, in the long term it will cover practically the entire commodity nomenclature.
As ArmInfo earlier reported, on May 17 this year on the platform of the Astana Economic Forum between the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran, an interim agreement on the formation of a free trade zone was signed. The parties agreed to reduce import customs duties in mutual trade for a period of 3 years, while Iran granted tariff concessions on 246 goods, and the EEU for 175 goods.
For Iran, the customs duties on insensitive goods for the EEU will be reduced: pistachios, dates, figs, raisins, shrimps, melons, oranges, lemons, limes, confectionery, some types of juices, paints and varnishes, dishes, detergents, carpets, products from plastic. For products of the main export interest of Iran (apples, tomatoes, cucumbers), the EEU provides only seasonal concessions in the absence of production from November to March. On average, as the Chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan noted, the duties for Iran on industrial goods will decrease by 7%, and for the EEU countries - by 3.3%. For agricultural goods, the average level of import duty rates for Iran will decrease by 19%, and for the countries of the Union - by 5%.