Exporting Iranian machinery and tractors to Eurasia is on the agenda

The head of the Iran-Eurasia Free Trade Agreement Secretariat announced a 22% growth in trade between the two sides in 2025.

Referring to the holding of the second meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union and its member countries in Tehran, Ambassador Arjan Elham Hajikarimi said: In this meeting, the implementation process of the agreement was reviewed and the parties exchanged views on ways to develop bilateral trade and strengthen economic cooperation in various fields.

According to the announcement of the Trade Development Organization of Iran, he pointed to the importance of using the capacities of the Free Trade Agreement in the development of economic relations between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, and said: The review of the bilateral trade process, the identification of existing capacities to increase exchanges and more effective use of the tariff capacities of the agreement were among the important axes of this meeting. It was also emphasized the necessity of following up trade barriers with the aim of developing exports, diversifying traded goods and strengthening economic cooperation.

Referring to the mutual trade statistics of the two sides, the Head of the Secretariat of the Iran-Eurasia Free Trade Agreement added: According to the statistics of the Iranian side, the mutual trade between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union in 2025 has increased by 22% compared to the previous year. Also, the statistics of the Eurasian Economic Union indicate an 11% growth in mutual trade in the same period.

Stating that in this meeting, the necessity of regular exchange of trade data, including information related to preferential trade, was emphasized in order to more accurately evaluate the performance of the agreement, he said: The list of industrial goods of interest to the parties for export was exchanged in order to identify new trade opportunities and expand industrial cooperation.

Referring to the examination of the solutions to facilitate the access of priority products to the markets of both sides, Haji Karimi stated: In this framework, the issue of the access of Iranian products, including agricultural machinery and tractors, to the markets of the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union was also taken into consideration.

He mentioned the follow-up of tariff and non-tariff barriers as another important axis of the negotiations and said: Facilitating the access of goods to the markets of the parties, dealing with the executive issues of companies and reducing the barriers to trade are among the issues that are followed in the framework of the joint committee and specialized committees.

The head of the Iran-Eurasia Free Trade Agreement Secretariat added: In this meeting, the issue of Iran's cement access to the markets of Russia and Kazakhstan, the regulations related to the cost of car recycling in Russia, the technical and sanitary requirements for the supply of some food products to Iran, and the shelf life conditions of cold and packaged beef were discussed.

According to this official in the Trade Development Organization of Iran, the parties also agreed on the exchange of information regarding specific examples of trade barriers and the creation of a mechanism to deal with the problems of companies in the field of registration, issuing licenses, expediting import licenses and facilitating the identification of certificates issued by competent authorities.

Referring to the importance of health and quarantine cooperation in the development of agricultural and food products trade, Haji Karimi said: Strengthening these cooperations was also one of the issues of interest to the parties and can play an effective role in facilitating exchanges of this group of products.

He considered the strengthening of customs cooperation and the use of electronic solutions as other important fields of cooperation between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union and said: In this meeting, the acceleration of joint measures to finalize the draft protocol for the electronic exchange of customs information was emphasized.

The Head of the Secretariat of the Iran-Eurasia Free Trade Agreement continued: In the area of the rules of origin of goods, the acceleration of the development of the electronic system of verification of the origin of goods (EOVS) and the continuation of cooperation for the uniform and transparent implementation of the rules of origin were also considered.

According to Haji Karimi, holding specialized workshops to facilitate the issuance of certificates of origin and increase the awareness of economic operators about preferential trade requirements is also one of the measures that will be followed in the framework of the implementation of the agreement.

Transit and international corridors of regional cooperation

He listed the development of transportation and transit cooperation as one of the other axes of the second meeting of the joint committee and added: Considering the geographical location of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union in the connection of the North-South and East-West corridors, solutions to improve the flow of goods and reduce operational obstacles in the transportation routes were examined.

Haji Karimi stated that coordination of border formalities, acceleration of customs clearance, digital exchange of data and development of transit facilitation mechanisms are among the most important issues raised in this meeting.

According to the statements of this official in the Trade Development Organization of Iran; The use of the capacity of Iran's ports and the progress of the Rasht-Astara and Chabahar-Zahedan railway projects were considered as important components of strengthening regional connectivity.

Referring to the review of transportation and transit facilitation mechanisms, he said: The development of the green route and the cold route and the use of eTIR and e-CMR technologies were among the axes emphasized by the parties, which can help to increase the ability to track shipments and reduce the time of stopping at the borders.

The Head of the Secretariat of the Iran-Eurasia Free Trade Agreement also announced the preparation and publication of the comprehensive transport guide for Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union for the first half of 2027.

Referring to the importance of the participation of economic activists in taking advantage of the capacities of the free trade agreement, Haji Karimi said: strengthening the direct relationship between Iranian economic enterprises and the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union can help identify export opportunities, develop industrial cooperation and form joint projects.

He also considered the signing of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Business Council of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture of Iran as one of the important results of this meeting and added: This understanding was signed with the aim of creating a framework for business dialogue between the economic actors of the two sides and identifying new opportunities for cooperation.

According to Haji Karimi, in the framework of the joint action plan of 2025 to 2028, the exchange of information related to goods and producers with export capacity, the examination of investment opportunities and the identification of joint projects have been considered. These collaborations can be pursued with the participation of small and medium enterprises and businesses located in special economic zones.

Referring to the granting of an observer position to Iran in the Pharmacopoeia Committee of the Eurasian Economic Union, he said: This position provides the possibility of our country's participation in the meetings of this committee and can develop the field of more specialized interactions in the pharmaceutical field.

Continuing to follow up on agreements for the effective implementation of the agreement

In summarizing the results of this meeting, the head of the secretariat of the Iran-Eurasia Free Trade Agreement said that using the capacities of the free trade agreement is not limited to tariff benefits, but facilitating business processes, developing customs and transportation cooperation, removing implementation obstacles and strengthening communication between economic actors is also important in realizing its goals.

Haji Karimi considered the follow-up of executive agreements in specialized committees, the development of information exchange, and the continuation of negotiations on commercial and technical barriers as among the measures that will be followed for more effective use of the capacities of the agreement.

In the end, referring to the position of the joint committee in the implementation of the Iran Free Trade Agreement and the Eurasian Economic Union, he noted: This committee is one of the executive pillars of the agreement and its meeting is held annually at the level of the ministers of both sides. The first meeting of this committee was held in October last year in Moscow.