February 2, 2024
Eighty percent of Iranian non-oil exports go to just five countries namely China, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India showing how limited are Iran’s trade dealings with the rest of the world.
The head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI), Mehdi Zeyghami, pointed to the significance of increasing exports of knowledge-based products with higher added value and said the recent conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Iran and member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is a good opportunity for promoting the competitiveness of industrial and production units.
Speaking at the 3rd Conference of the Iran Scientific Associations Council, Zeyghami, who is a deputy industry minister, said the removal of tariffs paves the way for joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), although Iran is not removing very many tariffs.
Iran still has the highest average tariffs in the world, apart from a few ministates. The WTO is dedicated to minimizing tariffs.
Iran and the EAEU member states Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Armenia signed a free trade agreement in a ceremony in St. Petersburg December 25.
Except for Russia, however, none of them has ever been a significant trade partner for Iran and aren’t likely to be.
This agreement still needs to be approved by the parliaments of the six countries to become operational.
The free trade agreement will completely eliminate tariffs for 87 percent of goods in their trade exchanges. Each of the parties will now prepare a list of goods it considers sensitive and for which it does not agree to remove the tariffs.
The Eurasian Economic Union was established in 2015 at the initiative of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. Later, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined the union.