On the sidelines of the June 27 Supreme Eurasian Economic Council's meeting in Minsk, an Economic Partnership Agreement was signed between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, on the one part, and the United Arab Emirates, on the other part.

The document was signed by: Mher Grigoryan, Vice Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia; Natalia Petkevich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus; Serik Jumangarin, Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Daniyar Amangeldiev, First Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic; Alexey Overchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; Bakytzhan Sagintayev, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission; as well as Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates.

The United Arab Emirates is one of the EAEU's main trading partners among the Gulf countries. The signed Economic Partnership Agreement is expected to mark a new milestone in trade relations with the UAE and take mutual trade to a new level.

The work to conclude the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EAEU and the UAE, aimed at maximizing cooperation, lasted two and a half years. The created conditions will significantly increase trade turnover between the parties.

"Within the framework of the new trade regime being established, the Emirati party has ensured preferential access for 86% of the commodity nomenclature. The Union's concessions cover 85% of the partner's commodity nomenclature," noted Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

He specified that the preferential export coverage for our countries will extend to over 98% of current exports, or more than $12.1 billion in value terms. As a result of liberalizing the trade regime, the average rate applied by the UAE to EAEU goods will be reduced from 5% to 0.6%. Thus, annual savings on import customs duties are estimated at more than $260 million.

In terms of goods, preferential access will be granted to key EAEU agricultural goods such as grains (wheat, barley, corn), meat (cattle, mutton, offal), poultry meat, eggs, dried vegetables (chickpeas, peas, lentils, beans), vegetable oil, dairy products (whole milk, milk powder, yogurts, whey, butter, cheese), confectionery, honey, mineral water, jams, chocolate.

In terms of the industrial sector, concessions are granted to the following categories of goods: metallurgy products (rolled alloy steel products, hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel, finished ferrous metal products, pipes, sections and angles, iron, aluminum and copper wire, aluminum foil, etc.), petroleum products (including light and other distillates), timber products (boards, plywood, pallets, furniture, etc.), pulp, printing products, drilling tools, and a wide range of mechanical equipment, from turbines to certain types of pumps.

Liberalization will also affect electrical equipment (generator units, primary elements and primary batteries, electric batteries, etc.), railway containers, motor vehicles including special machinery, cosmetics (hair products, perfumes, deodorants, etc.), chemical products (paints, oils, surfactants, fertilizers) and medicines.

The United Arab Emirates will be able to increase supplies of a wide range of consumer goods. These involve cosmetics, perfumes, watches, certain types of clothing.

"The agreement is really ambitious, and not only in terms of tariff liberalization, but also in terms of the regulatory environment it shapes," Andrey Slepnev told.

According to him, the document enshrines provisions that meet the best international standards regarding e-commerce, economic cooperation and involvement of SMEs in foreign economic activities between the EAEU countries and the UAE.

"Our trade has more than tripled since 2020. Thanks to the enthusiasm of businesses and active work of the EEC and regulators of our countries in the near future once the agreement is effective, the trade turnover may exceed $20 billion," the EEC Minister in charge of Trade expressed confidence.

Once signed, the economic partnership agreement will be submitted for ratification procedures in the UAE and EAEU countries required for its enactment.