FTZs Trade Balance Becomes Positive , Hits $85
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – Secretary of Iranian Free Zones High Council Morteza Bank says the trade balance in the free trade zones have become positive and touched $85b while exports from the zones reached $130b instead the volume of imports was $45b
Speaking at a forum on free and special zones and development of economic cooperation with neighboring and Eurasian countries, Mr. Bank said international trade agreements is one of the oldest tools for developing trade between countries, adding that those agreements are categorized in three groups of unilateral, bilateral and multilateral and the third one is the most important and complicated one.
Bank added that multilateral agreements of several countries lead to implementation of preferential tariff regulations and they enjoy geographical diversity and access to the upper markets and it is used as one of the key tools in international trade.
He then pointed to some major trade agreements in the world especially in Asia, adding that among Iran’s neighboring countries, Turkey and India have signed the most multilateral agreements.
Bank said that 73% of Turkey’s $168b exports and 67% of India’s $323b exports in 2018 have been to those countries which they had signed multilateral agreements.
He added that Iran currently is in link with 46 countries through signing multilateral agreements, adding that one of the advantages of such agreements is their impact on boosting political security of the member states in the agreements.
Bank went on to say that since November 2014 Iran has joined Eurasian Union tentatively and it helped Iranian economic activists to have access to the $330b market of five countries of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia to export their products.
He also pointed to the $540b production capacity of Eurasian Union states, adding that Iran can purchase its necessary goods and services from those countries with prices lower than other international markets.
He also pointed to the legal capacity of the free zones for exports of goods, adding that 8 free zones and 32 special economic zones have created 510 direct jobs because of existence of 1850 production units and 1280 service units in the zones.
Bank noted that since 2013, goods worth $32b have entered the mainland through free zones and instead goods worth $130b have been exported from those zones in the same period.
He reiterated that the volume of imports in the zones in the same period was only $45b and it indicates a positive trade balance of $85b for the free trade zones.
