According to the information base of the Iranian Trade Development Organization, Elham Haji Karimi, head of the Trade Agreements Department and consultant of the International Trade Promotion Department of the Iranian Trade Development Organization, in a note referring to the free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, features and requirements in a note wrote:
The signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states, which took place on January 4, can perhaps be considered one of the most important developments in the field of the presence of our country in the field of international relations. trade.
One of the most important approaches to our country's foreign trade policy and economic diplomacy is joining important economic and political blocs and concluding bilateral and multilateral trade agreements with countries of commercial priority and importance. geopolitics for the country.
Currently, 164 countries in the world are members of the World Trade Organization and maintain trade interactions with each other in the form of multilateral rules of international trade. However, these countries are still pursuing deeper cooperation in the form of Fimabin trade agreements.

According to the World Trade Organization, over the past 70 years (until 2023), a total of 817 trade agreements have been concluded between the countries of the world, and currently 50% of global trade is carried out in the form of these agreements. .

Most of Iran's trade agreements are at the first stage of convergence, that is, preferential trade and for a limited number of goods, but the movement towards the conclusion of free trade agreements has begun, the largest and most important being the free trade agreement between J.A. Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union are composed of 5 members (Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus).
This agreement is the most comprehensive and detailed text of the Iranian trade agreement with 11 chapters and an annex relating to the product lists of both parties.
The chapters of this agreement include: introduction, trade in goods, trade measures, technical measures, sanitary measures, rules of origin, customs cooperation, dispute settlement, public procurement, sectoral cooperation (in the areas of transport, energy, the automobile industry, free trade). commercial zones and small and medium-sized enterprises) and final regulations.
In fact, the cases covered by the Iran-Eurasia Free Trade Agreement include the removal of tariff barriers (for about 87% of tariff lines) and the removal of non-tariff barriers and the legality of non-tariff measures to avoid them. transform unnecessary barriers to trade, including technical requirements, sanitary measures and plant health related to customs, rules of origin and trade measures, as well as transparency of non-tariff measures and information .
 

Background to negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union
In the Eurasian Economic Union, established in 2015, full free movement of goods, services and labor has been established, and many economic and trade policies of these countries are adopted in harmony with each other. others.
The Eurasian Economic Commission is responsible for this coordination among member countries.
With the creation of this union, many countries wanted to expand their cooperation with this union. In December 2015, the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade of the Republic of Iran signed a joint statement opening the possibility of concluding a free or preferential trade agreement by inviting the Minister of Eurasian Economy to Tehran.
After that, the two sides exchanged information on their trade regime and discussed the issue of Fimabin trade cooperation.
According to the Iranian proposal, it was decided that the parties should first conclude a temporary agreement for the creation of a free trade zone (a preferential agreement for a limited number of products) and, taking into account the experiences and results of this agreement, conclude the negotiation process to conclude a free trade agreement.

Negotiations for the implementation of the temporary agreement began in 2016 and after more than two years of negotiations in 2018 it was signed between the parties and after its approval by the judicial authorities of the member countries and our country, it was implemented in November. 2019. The executive performance of this agreement is based on continuous monitoring, including the formation of specialized working groups for internal coordination in the areas of law enforcement, customs affairs and rules of origin, as well as meetings of specialized working groups with this union in the areas of customs, standards, transport, banking, rules of origin and trade, as well as the holding of numerous education and awareness seminars for the private sector (more than 30 seminars in different provinces of the country) were evaluated positively.
So, in the first year of implementation of this agreement, we saw an 82% growth in exports from our country to the Eurasian Economic Union for products covered by this agreement.
This is despite the fact that our country's imports from the Eurasian zone were almost constant and mainly concerned basic agricultural products.
Taking into account this performance and creating an appropriate model for the implementation of trade agreements in the country, the negotiations related to the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement, in accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers of December 2020, have officially started in February of the same year.
From 2020 to 2023, approximately 30 video conference negotiation sessions were held regarding the agreement's provisions as well as product lists and six rounds of formal face-to-face negotiations between the Iranian negotiating team led by Iran. Iranian Trade Development Organization and the negotiating team. of 5 member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union led by the Eurasian Economic Commission. And finally, the text of the agreement and its annexes were signed by Mr. Aliabadi, Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran, on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union Summit of 4 January 2023 in St. Petersburg and the deputy prime ministers of the 5 member states, as well as the head of the Eurasian Economic Union, are to enter the implementation process after approval by the judicial authorities of the Eurasian Economic Union. countries.
Details of current trade between Iran and Eurasia
In the first eight months of this year (2023), the total amount of Iranian exports to Eurasia amounted to 1 billion 74 million dollars.
The main trade products between Iran and Eurasia include pistachios ($57 million), polystyrene ($57 million), hot-rolled iron or steel bars ($37 million), Petroleum bitumen ($26 million), peppercorns ($26 million), Portland white. cement ($26 million), shrimp ($23 million), synthetic fibers ($18 million), iron and non-alloy steel products ($11 million), including items such as pistachio, shrimp, colored pepper and synthetic fibers are subject to the Eurasian tariff. reduction of the interim agreement.
Under the free trade agreement, major customs duties on Iranian export products will be removed.
During this year, the share of industrial products in our exports   towards Eurasia reached around 60%.
Another feature of Iranian export products to the Eurasian zone is the great diversity of the export basket, especially compared to the limited products imported from the countries of this union.
Iran's export products include a wide range of products, both agricultural and industrial, in different fields, from chemicals and minerals, steel, industrial products and carpets to agricultural products and food.
 

Iran's main export products to Eurasia in 8 months of 2023

In addition, in the first eight months of 2023, the amount of Iranian imports from Eurasia amounted to one billion and 270 million dollars, most of which are basic agricultural products, including wheat (465 million of dollars), corn ($149 million) and barley ($121 million). . give
Surveys show that with the implementation of the free trade agreement, these products have the greatest potential to increase imports.
Of course, for these articles of the free trade agreement, a quota has been set by Iran to benefit from the elimination of customs duties, and in case of import into our country beyond the set quota , the normal import rate will be applied to them. .

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