Free Trade Agreements

Externally, Serbia can serve as a manufacturing hub for duty-free exports to a market of more than 1 billion people that includes the European Union, the Russian Federation, USA, Kazakhstan, Turkey, South East Europe, the European Free Trade Agreement members, and Belarus. This customs-free regime covers most key industrial products, with only a few exceptions and annual quotas for a limited number of goods.

European Union

Import from the EU is customs-free for most of the products. Some export limitations are imposed only on exports of baby beef, sugar, and wine in the form of annual export quotas.

More info here

Russian Federation

The Agreement stipulates that goods produced in Serbia, i.e. which have at least 51% value added in the country, are considered of Serbian origin and exported to Russian Federation customs free. The list of products, excluded from the Free Trade Agreement, is revised annually. As of March 2012, the list of excluded products includes: poultry and edible waste, some sorts of cheese, sugar, sparkling wine, ethyl-alcohol, tobacco, cotton yarn and fabric, some types of compressors, tractors and new and used passenger cars.

More info here

CEFTA

In addition to duty-free trade between member countries, the agreement specifies accumulation of product origin, meaning that products exported from Serbia are considered of Serbian origin if integrated materials originate from any other CEFTA country, the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland (including Liechtenstein) or Turkey, provided that such products have undergone sufficient processing, i.e. if at least 51% of the value added in the product is sourced in Serbia (if value added there is greater than the value of the materials used in Serbia).

More info here

United States

Trade with the United States is pursued under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). U.S. trade benefits provide for preferential duty-free entry for app. 4,650 products, including most finished and semi-finished goods and selected agricultural and primary industrial products. Certain sensitive goods (e.g. most textile products, leather goods, and footwear) are not eligible for duty-free exports. The list of eligible goods is reviewed and adjusted twice per year, with input from U.S. industries.

Full list of goods eligible for GSP treatment here

Turkey

Companies from Serbia can export to Turkey without paying customs duties. Imports of industrial products from Turkey are generally customs-free, but for a large number of goods customs duties will be progressively abolished over a six-year period, ending in 2015. Customs duties remain in effect for agricultural products.

More info here

EFTA

Industrial products exported from Serbia to EFTA member states (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) are exempted from paying customs duties, except for a very limited number of goods, including fish and other marine products. Custom duties for imports of industrial products originating in EFTA states will gradually be abolished by 2014. Trade in agricultural products is regulated by separate agreements with each of the EFTA members, providing for mutual concessions for specified products.

More info here

Kazakhstan

The Agreement is in effect as of 2011. The list of free trade exemptions includes meat, cheese, wine, motor vehicles and several other product groups.

More info here

Belarus

There are only a few exceptions to the Agreement, including sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, as well as used cars, buses, and tires.

More info here

Local Market

Internally, with 7.5 million people, the Serbian market is the 2nd largest in South East Europe. The average net monthly salary rose from merely €194 in 2004 to €380 in 2013. Coupled with rapid consumer loan expansion, this fueled a sharp increase in local demand that was particularly reflected in a double-digit surge in retail trade turnover on an annual basis.

In response to expanding local demand, international retail chains have opened up dozens of new stores across the country.