Raeisi promulgates Iran-EAEU free trade zone pact
Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi promulgated the document for extension of the interim agreement on the establishment of a free trade zone between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
In his executive order to the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, Raeisi promulgated the “Additional document (protocol) on the extension of the interim agreement on the establishment of a free trade zone between Iran and the EAEU and the member states,” which was ratified by Parliament on May 2, and approved by the Guardian Council on May 10, according to IRNA.
Iran and the EAEU reached an interim Free Trade Agreement back in 2018, based on which more than 860 agricultural commodities were subject to preferential tariffs.
The agreement doubled Iran’s exports to the EAEU, from roughly $2.5 billion in 2015, to $5 billion in 2021, giving the country’s non-oil exports a boost amid U.S. sanctions.
Formed in 2015, the EAEU tries to facilitate exports within its member states as well as other countries.
Tehran views Eurasia as a gateway to global trade and a chance to counteract U.S. sanctions, which try to cut it off from world markets.
Iran now envisages a whopping $15 billion annual trade with the bloc in five years.