Russian government approves draft free trade zone deal between EAEU, Vietnam

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. The Russian government has considered and approved a draft free trade zone agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Vietnam, the cabinet said in a statement. The document has been signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and posted on the cabinet’s official website. "Implementation of the deal will contribute to increasing mutual trade and development of trade and economic ties between its participants; it will also make it possible to solve the task to involve the EAEU in integration processes in the Asia Pacific region," the government said. The draft agreement in particular envisions liberalization of trade tariffs between the EAEU and Vietnam through reducing or setting to zero import customs duties on most commodity items included in the range of products of the deal’s participants. Medvedev said May 21 at a government meeting that the agreement on the free trade zone between Vietnam and the EAEU would be signed next week. "The documents are expected to be signed during a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council next week to be held in Kazakhstan," he said. The new integration association - the EAEU - started operating on January 1, 2015. Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia make part of the EAEU. The Russian, Belarusian and Kazakh presidents held the final meeting in late December 2014 in the process to establish the EAEU. Read more