Tehran to Host EEU Chief Soon

EghtesadOnline: Tehran will host Chairman of the Board of Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan and other top officials from the union on Dec. 1.

News ID: ۷۴۹۰۲۲

25 November 2019

The visiting delegation will discuss the preferential trade agreement signed between Iran and EEU, which has come into effect recently in a conference held at Tehran’s International Fairground.

Iran and EEU are looking to substantially increase trade. The two sides signed a three-year provisional deal in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 17, 2018, for the bloc to welcome Iran into EEU.

The deal became operational on Oct. 27 and now Iran has three years to negotiate a free trade agreement with the Eurasian bloc, Financial Tribune reported.

Hamid Zadboum, the head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, believes that the presence of Sargsyan in Tehran is important for facilitating the implementation of the trade deal.

Several Iranian traders have been complaining about hurdles in the way of the deal’s implementation ever since it took effect, saying they have not been able to enjoy the preferential rates set in the agreement. It is hoped that the upcoming conference will address these problems.

The average tariff set by the union on Iranian goods as part of the deal stands at 3.1%, while the figure is 12.9% for EEU goods exported to Iran.

Iran and EEU have listed 862 types of commodities in their provisional agreement, based on which Iran will enjoy easier export terms and lower customs duties on 502 items and the same goes for 360 items from EEU member states.

“Of the 862 items mentioned in the agreement, 639 are industrial commodities and the remaining 223 items are agricultural goods,” the deputy head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agricultures, Mohammad Reza Karbasi, was quoted as saying by ICCIMA’s news portal as saying.

Businesspeople and officials from the two sides are expected to exchange views and develop relations during the upcoming Tehran conference, TPO said on its website.

Related officials, including Deputy Industries Minister Hossein Modarres Khiyabani, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi, and Zadboum will attend the event.

Zadboum believes the trade agreement between Iran and EEU will increase the value of Iran's foreign trade by $10-15 billion in three years.

“The agreement is a prelude to free trade with Eurasia. Preparations for free trade with the bloc will begin after one year of implementation, following which there will be a two-year window to conclude negotiations," he said.

Referring to the $855 billion Eurasian market, Zadboum noted that Iran accounts for less than 0.3% share of this market.