EAEU and Mongolia: Opportunities of the Temporary Free Trade Agreement

This article examines the conditions for preparing the interim trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Mongolia, which was signed in the summer of 2025. It provides a chronological overview of the draft agreement's preparation and public discussions in Ulaanbaatar. The relatively short timeframe in which the draft was approved demonstrates the parties' strong interest in implementing the agreements and their desire to test trade preferences. The final document includes 367 product categories eligible for a three-year preferential regime: zero or significantly reduced custom duties. Mongolia received preferences for a wide range of export-oriented goods, including meat products, cashmere, and wool products. An overview of the dynamics of Russian-Mongolian trade relations is provided, which is important for understanding the initial conditions and expectations for the implementation of the preferences. Establishing zero tariffs on a limited range of goods allows Mongolia and Russia to comfortably resolve pressing trade and economic cooperation issues, while the integration association can continue to expand its network of free trade agreements. For Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, signing a trade agreement with Mongolia poses few economic risks and represents a significant step against the backdrop of the intensification of political contacts in recent years. Further expansion of the range of goods eligible for preferential trade, an extension of the agreement, and the conclusion of a full-fledged free trade agreement are possible. It is concluded that the key effect of the signed interim trade agreement is that the dialogue between the Eurasian integration association and Mongolia is started.