Outside the Commonwealth of Independent States, Serbia is the only country possessing a Free trade agreement with Russia. In addition US grants duty free entry to the majority of export products from Serbia.Regional StrengthsSEE region has the largest growth rate in Europe and Serbia as the region centre provides complete advantages of SEE and neighboring markets.
The basis for the South East Europe Free Trade Area was laid out in the Memorandum of Understanding on Trade Liberalization and Facilitation signed on 27th of June of 2001 by the following countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Moldova and Romania. The main points of this agreement are the following:
- Liberalization of at least 90% of mutual trade by the end of 2008
- An appropriate common set of preferential rules of origin
- WTO – consistent provisions for the application of antidumping, countervailing and safeguard measures
- Transparent and non-discriminatory measures concerning public procurement, state aid and state monopolies
- Harmonization of trade legislation with that one of the EU (especially customs procedures, competition law, company law, company accounts and taxes and banking law)
- Intellectual property protection in accordance with the WTO standards
- Serbia is the only country in SEE which has a Free Trade Agreement with Russia, and has access to a market of 150 million people.
The effects of SEE FTA
The South East Europe region is a good location for the export of goods and services to the export of goods and services to the European Union, to central and Eastern Europe and to Western Asia. The transport time is typically three to four days from manufacturing locations within SEE region to the above-mentioned destinations.
South East Europe is the transport, telecommunications and energy crossroad between Europe, Asia and Africa with six Pan-European Transport Corridors (IV,V,VII, VIII, IX,X) crossing the region and linking it to Northern and Western Europe, Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East and Central Asia. The Danube River, together with the Rhein-Main Canal, is the most important link from SEE Free Trade Area countries to the Western Europe.
South East Europe is a rapidly developing market with a considerable potential for growth in the future. Political, economic and social reforms implemented in the region have created a healthy environment for profitable investments.
SIEPA
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