On the Issue of the Strategy for the Formation of the Trans-regional Integration Contour of the EAEU

The instability and uncertainty of international relations accentuate the role of new and inclusive platforms of interaction and cooperation. Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) alongside its regional and transregional partners represent an example of such a platform based on new principles and values, an element of international relation configuration.

Aim. Assess the prospects for a zone (cluster) within the planned and potential transregional EEU’s expansion beyond the CIS borders.

Task. To evaluate the dynamics of the consolidation concerning, first, current free trade EEU agreements (FTAs or the EEU FTAs) with Serbia, Iran, Vietnam  and Singapore,  second,  potential  agreements with listed in the EEU official strategy, third, other developing states with relevant economic and/or demographic potential.

Methods. The authors use additional consolidation (share of intra-bloc trade) as a metric. It is calculated as the difference between the share of EEU intra-trade and within the existing or potential EEU FTA partnerships.

Results. Based on the assessment of additional consolidation, the research revealed that the existing EEU FTAs with Iran and Vietnam are effective, while trade integration with Serbia, Singapore and China are ineffective. The presence of additional consolidation was revealed for Turkey, Egypt, and Bangladesh.

Conclusions. The implementation of the transregional integration track is an important development step for the Eurasian Economic Union. However, trade partnerships have different trade efficiency.

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