Free Trade Zone Agreements Between the EAEU and Iran: Trends, Problems and Development Prospects

The purpose of this article is to review and analyze domestic and foreign studies on the effectiveness of the application of preferential trade regimes. The main objective of the article is to summarize the theoretical and practical experience of using preferential trade instruments and to develop recommendations for improving the efficiency of the EAEU tariff preferences system. The modern normality of international economic relations is the growth of regional trade agreements, which are used not only as instruments of economic cooperation, but also as agents of the political will of individual states. One of the manifestations of such a policy is the strengthening of foreign policy confrontation between the United States and the countries of the Middle East, which is practically reflected in the growth of economic and administrative barriers to mutual trade. Having foreign policy disagreements with Western powers served as prerequisites for strengthening the foreign economic rapprochement of these states and the EAEU member states. The optimal format for the implementation of such initiatives is the economic integration of countries through preferential agreements. The first practical step towards the implementation of this process was the signing of the agreement on a free trade zone between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the EAEU. In such a situation, improving the effectiveness of national preferential trade schemes is a priority.