EAEU, Indonesia sign agreement setting up free trade area

ST. PETERSBURG. Dec 22 (Interfax) - The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states and Indonesia have signed a free trade area (FTA) agreement with Indonesia, which is expected to nullify duties on 94% of the EAEU's commodity exports to the Asian country.

The document signing ceremony took place as part of a Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting in St. Petersburg.

This is the third FTA agreement concluded by the EAEU countries this year, as earlier last summer, a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates and a temporary trade agreement with Mongolia were signed.

The decision to begin negotiations on a free trade area with Indonesia was made by the EAEU countries in 2022, and several rounds of negotiations took place in 2023-2024. This year, the parties have completed the coordination of the terms of the agreement regarding the removal of regulatory restrictions, as well as the schedule of mutual obligations to reduce customs duties on certain export and import items.

Nullifying duties will affect approximately $3 billion of mutual trade between the EAEU and Indonesia, including 94% of commodity items exported from the EAEU, Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev said. "We expect the trade between our countries to double over the next three to five years after the agreement takes effect," Slepnev said in October.

With regard to Russia, it was noted that the signing of an FTA agreement with Indonesia would increase industrial exports to this destination by $200 million (up 30% compared to 2021), and exports of agricultural products by $100 million (1.5-fold compared to 2021). The agreement will affect 98% of Russian exports to the country, the Industry and Trade Ministry said in June, when a bilateral trade agreement was signed between Russia and Indonesia. The list of goods covered by the agreement includes agricultural products, fertilizers, automotive products, timber processing, tires, etc.