Armenia signs trade deal with the US, just months after joining EEU

In a sign that Armenia may be regretting joining the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, its government has entered into a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) with the US. Signed in Washington on May 7, the objective of the deal is to create “favourable conditions for investments and trade between the two countries”,  and an Armenian-American Council of Trade and Investment will be set up to work on ways to implement the goals outlined in the pact. The US only accounted 4.6% of Armenia’s foreign trade last year, prompting  some Armenian analysts to see this as a political move rather then an economic one; Russia currently controls large swathes of the country’s energy, telecommunications and mining sectors and Yerevan acknowledged its economic dependency on its giant neighbour by joining the  Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) at the beginning of the year.