Government Approves Free Trade Agreement Between EAEU and Serbia

The government approved the ratification of the free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Republic of Serbia during its meeting on December 10. The document was signed on October 25, 2019, in Moscow, and it is expected that the signing of the agreement will expand the access of the markets of the countries involved under preferential conditions.

According to the project's justification, given that bilateral free trade agreements have already been signed with the Republic of Serbia by three EAEU countries—Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan—the main goal of signing the free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states on one side, and the Republic of Serbia on the other, is to create new trade opportunities for the Republic of Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic, which have mainly been importers of Serbian goods with limited export opportunities.

It should be noted that certain concessions have been granted to the Serbian side in order to create additional export opportunities for all EAEU member states, with the aim of improving access to the EAEU market. The main objectives of the agreement are: 1. to maintain the existing ratio of market openness in favor of a higher degree of protection for EAEU producers; 2. to ensure that the conditions of tariff obligations for EAEU member states' already existing free trade agreements with Serbia do not deteriorate; 3. to create equal export opportunities for the Republic of Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic in conjunction with other member states.