Speaking at a meeting reviewing the agreement’s first-year performance, Elham Karimi, Director General of Trade Agreements and International Organizations at Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, said the free trade deal entered into force after the experience of implementing a preferential trade agreement and several rounds of negotiations.
She described the agreement as one of Iran’s most comprehensive trade arrangements, noting that it consists of 11 chapters and extends beyond tariff issues to include customs cooperation, standards, rules of origin, trade facilitation, and sectoral cooperation.
According to her, only 13 percent of goods remain outside the scope of the agreement, while import and export tariffs for 87 percent of tariff lines between Iran and EAEU member states have been reduced to zero, contributing to higher trade volumes.
She stated that bilateral trade expanded by 22 percent in the first year of implementation, while Iran’s imports from member states of the union increased by 33 percent over the same period.
Karimi expressed hope that improved regional conditions and full utilization of the capacities envisioned under the free trade agreement would strengthen Iran’s exports and lead to further growth in trade exchanges between Iran and EAEU member states this year.