Implementing FTA to Rev Up Iran’s Production Growth, Spur Economy: Chairman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The chairman of the Iran Chamber of Cooperatives said the implementation of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) recently signed between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will boost production growth and economic prosperity in the country.
Iranian companies should take maximum advantage of the potential of the agreement for importing raw materials and the goods required in the country, Bahman Abdollahi stated.
Once the capacity of the FTA is used optimally by Iranian firms, it will boost production and also help economic indicators in the country grow, he emphasized.
Speaking in an interview with IRNA, he pointed to the positive and important impacts of the agreement and said the country should first define a proper, purposeful and long-term trade planning and use the high capacities of the agreement in line with boosting its economic activities.
He placed special emphasis on the significance of promoting trade infrastructures and noted that focusing on the required infrastructures is vital for the economic growth in the country.
Abdollahi called on private and cooperative companies to take effective measures in this regard and pointed out that the restrictions pertinent to the banking and monetary system are among the most serious trade barriers facing Iran and other countries.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the official referred to the trade exchanges between Iran and member states of the union and said Iran and the EAEU countries exchanged more than $2 billion worth of products in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 to November 22, 2023), showing a 14 percent hike compared to the same period last year.
Iran exported more than $1 billion worth of products to the Eurasian market from March 21 to November 22, 2023, registering a 20 percent hike compared to the previous year’s corresponding period, he added.
The free trade agreement between the EAEU and Iran was signed during the EAEU summit in St. Petersburg on December 25.
In 2018, Iran and the EAEU inked a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which came into effect on October 27, 2019. The two sides later began negotiations to upgrade the PTA to an FTA after the success of the former.