EAEU, Indonesia conclude free trade negotiations

MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax) - Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto announced the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement in a video conference call on July 9, a spokesman for the EEC's trade department told reporters.

"In absolute terms, the reduction of duties will affect about $3 billion of trade between the EAEU and Indonesia. We expect that the trade turnover between our countries will double in the next three to five years after the agreement goes into effect. We anticipate substantial growth of shipments to Indonesia for both agricultural and manufactured goods," Slepnev was quoted as saying in a press release.

He said the EAEU will get preferential access to the Indonesian market for fundamental goods such as polymers, fertilizers, energy resources, mine dump trucks, pipes, nonferrous metals and products, and a wide range of electrical and mechanical equipment. This also applies to wheat, flour, powdered milk, confectionery products, halal beef and poultry meat.

The EEC said the agreement must go through internal national approval processes before it is signed.