EAEU-UAE free trade agreement to take effect on Oct 6 - EEC minister

MOSCOW. Aug 6 (Interfax) - A Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to take effect on October 6, 2026, Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev said.

"Today, we exchanged notes with the UAE side. Consequently, we have completed all procedures related to the ratification and entry into force of the free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates, and the date for its entry into force has been set on October 6, 2026," he told reporters in Cholpon-Ata, where a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council is underway on August 6-7.

The Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and the UAE was signed in Minsk on June 27, 2025, and has since undergone ratification procedures. The document stipulates the fundamental rules of trade, consistent with World Trade Organization standards, between the EAEU and its member states, on the one hand, and the UAE, on the other, and envisions additional trade liberalization for over 85% of goods. The preferential access, provided for by the tariff commitments of the parties to the agreement, covers over 95% of bilateral trade between Russia and the UAE.

The agreement defines conditions to develop and enhance trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and the UAE in areas of mutual interest. These areas include customs cooperation, e-commerce, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, intellectual property rights, and government procurement.

The agreement also provides for the establishment of cooperation in various sectors, including transport and logistics, competition, tourism, research and innovation, the extraction, processing and use of minerals, trade in environmentally friendly goods, and the convergence of standards for halal products.