Serbia recorded USD 1.3 billion worth of surplus in the first ten months of the year in trade the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) region, which is the country’s second most important trade partner after the EU, it was said at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (PKS) on Tuesday.
In ten months, Serbia exported goods worth USD 2.7 billion to the CEFTA countries, and imported goods worth USD 1.37 billion, PKS Vice President Slobodan Samardzic said opening a debate on the current prospects of economic cooperation in the CEFTA region.
According to him, one of the ways to fight the global and financial crisis is to strengthen mutual cooperation between the CEFTA countries.
Assistant Minister of Economy and Regional Development Bojana Todorovic stated that 30 percent of total exports from Serbia goes to the CEFTA region and 55 percent to the EU. She pointed out that Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH), Montenegro and Macedonia are Serbia’s most significant trade partners in the CEFTA region.
Todorovic noted that Serbia and other CEFTA members have completely liberalized trade in industrial goods, whereas full liberalization of agricultural products with BiH, Macedonia and Montenegro is underway. Trade in agricultural products with Albania will be completely liberalized as of December 15, and as of early 2012 with Moldavia as well. Todorovic added that the non-tariff barriers to trade between the CEFTA countries are being removed.
Assistant to the Foreign Minister Dusko Lopandic highlighted the importance of strengthening of regional cooperation, particularly in difficult economic conditions when the crisis affects Europe and the entire world.
Head of the European Integration and Economic Section of the EU Delegation in Serbia Freek Janmaat said that the EU is carefully monitoring the implementation of the CEFTA agreement, as well as behavior of all EU aspirants. He underlined that CEFTA members should resolve the issue of non-tariff barriers as soon as possible, as well as sanitary and phytosanitary barriers since these are often problems that the EU countries are faced with in trade with the region.
As underlined in the PKS, amendments to the CEFTA agreement are the basic precondition for the region’s further EU integration. Other problems in the implementation of the CEFTA agreement include complex procedures at border crossings, lack of internationally accredited and certified bodies, non-recognition of quality certificates, corruption, smuggling and poor infrastructure.
On December 19, 2006, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania and UNMIK Kosovo signed the CEFTA 2006, the first uniform multilateral agreement on free trade in southeast Europe. Bulgaria and Romania left CEFTA on January 1, 2007 when they joined the EU.
Source emg.rs
