The Federal Council of the Russian Federation approved the ratification of the free trade agreement between EAEU and Iran

In a plenary session, the Federal Council of the Russian Federation approved the law on the ratification of the free trade agreement between the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Iran. The document was signed on December 25, 2023 in St. Petersburg. It should replace the temporary agreement between the contracting parties on the establishment of the free trade zone of May 17, 2018. The agreement establishes the basic rules for trade between the EAEU and its member states and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which are "as close as possible to the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules." These rules include most-favoured-nation treatment and national treatment, the application of safeguards and customs administration. , the waiver of the application of quantitative bans and restrictions on the import of goods, as well as the provisions fixing the WTO basic standards and technical regulation provisions in terms of veterinary, sanitary and phytosanitary measures. In addition to the WTO standard rules, the agreement provides obligations that are beyond their scope, but, nevertheless are used in the EAEU. Obligations to ensure a 180-day transition period between the publication of technical regulations and their entry into force are established. According to documents attached to the law, this provision "increases the transparency of Iran's trade regime and aligns the regulatory environment with the EAEU, which already operates under this principle." The agreement provides for cooperation in various fields, including mineral extraction, processing and utilization, energy efficiency, research and innovation, education, medicine, transport, including multimodal (mixed) transport, telecommunications, transport and logistics infrastructure and transport corridors. The document also establishes a preferential trade regime for "about 87% of the list of foreign economic activities". As Russian parliamentarians note, the implementation of the agreement will allow Russian exporters to save about 300 million dollars annually when paying customs duties. It is expected that the agreement will contribute to the further development of cooperation with Iran in the trade and economic sphere.