Russian State Duma Ratifies FTA between EAEU & Iran

Russia’s State Duma (lower house of the parliament) has ratified the free trade agreement between Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) members and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The agreement lays down major guidelines in trade between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states, on the one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, on the other hand, in line with guidelines from the World Trade Organization, TASS reported. Among those rules are the most favored nation treatment and national treatment, application of protective measures and customs administration, refusal to apply quantitative bans and restrictions on inflow of goods, as well as provisions fixing the WTO basic standards regarding veterinary, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, as well as technical regulations.

In addition to standard World Trade Organization practices, the agreement stipulates obligations outside their framework but those applied in the EAEU. Regarding technical regulation, obligations are fixed to ensure a 180-day transition period between publication and entry into force of technical regulations. Regarding sanitary and phytosanitary measures, the possibility is suggested to provide commentaries at the stage of development of measures (provided they differ from international standards), holding of consultations and their scheduling.

The agreement stipulates working together in various areas, including mining, processing, and use of mineral resources, energy efficiency, research and innovations, education, medicine, and transport, including the development of multimodal (mixed) freight, telecommunications, transport and logistics infrastructure, and transport corridors. The document also defines preferential trade treatment regarding around 87% of the product range of international economic activities. The agreement is set to facilitate future expansion of cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the trade and economic area, the Russian government noted.

Russian Consul General in Isfahan Andrey Zhiltsov has highlighted the need to increase the trade volume between Iran and Russia, saying the current trade volume does not live up to the capacities. Zhiltsov said in an exclusive interview with IRNA that the trade volume between Iran and Russia is a little over four billion dollars, which is insignificant considering the existing capacity. He said the joint Iran-Russia economic commission emphasized the need to expand bilateral cooperation in space, aviation, shipbuilding, peaceful nuclear energy, oil and gas production and refining, transportation, science, medicine, agriculture, finance, education, culture, and tourism sectors.

He also pointed out that some 6.5 million Russian tourists visited Turkiye in 2023, but only 10,000 Russians toured Iran in the same year, calling for joint efforts to increase the figure. The consul general also noted that the two friendly states could play a key role in creating a new world order free from unilateralism to guarantee a just world.

In the current situation, Iran and Russia’s support for each other at the international level is of great importance, he said, adding that holding different economic, political, scientific, and sports events is a strategic endeavor to this end. - Tehran Times