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31 May 2016, 16:26

EEU-Vietnam free trade agreement to come into force late summer 2016

ASTANA, 31 May (BelTA) – The free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Vietnam is expected to enter into force in late summer 2016, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told reporters after a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana.

“Today we have signed a document that will advance our free trade agreement with Vietnam. The ratification procedures are nearing completion. We expect that the agreement will come into force in late summer,” Igor Shuvalov pointed out.

The EEU-Vietnam free trade agreement was inked by the heads of the governments of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam at a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council on 29 May 2015. For the EEU, this is the first document of the kind signed with a non-member partner. The agreement formalizes mutual commitments of the parties to facilitate market access for goods. The document stipulates the terms for tariff liberalization of the trade in commodities between the EEU member states and Vietnam through the reduction and elimination of import customs duties for a wide variety of goods.

Igor Shuvalov also said that today's meeting discussed matters of cooperation with different trading partners, including China, the ASEAN countries, the EU member states and some other countries that have invited the EEU to consider the possibility of signing free trade agreements with them.

“The matter is of critical importance to us because businessmen in Russia and other EEU countries see new markets as the main opportunity to reverse the economic decline,” Igor Shuvalov explained.

The possibility of concluding agreements with the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization the will be further considered. The Russian First Deputy Prime Minister said that the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council also discussed the possibility of signing a free trade deal with Serbia.

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