CEFTA
In December 2006, BiH signed the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), which became operational in November 2007. The regional trade group consists of Albania, BiH, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia. CEFTA aims to harmonize its Parties’ regulatory framework with the EU and international standards. It also covers issues such as the protection of intellectual property rights, competition rules, and state aid. For more information on CEFTA visit https://cefta.int/trade-info-center/
EU SAA
In June 2008, BiH signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union, an important step toward EU membership. The SAA officially entered into force on June 1, 2015. The most important part of the SAA is the establishment of a free trade zone between BiH and the EU, allowing for the mutual abolishment of custom tariffs and quantity limitations in mutual exchange of goods. An adapted SAA, which recognized Croatia’s EU membership, went into effect on February 1, 2017. The adapted SAA provides for unlimited, duty-free access for BiH fruits and vegetables and allows higher quotas for fish and wine from BiH into the EU market. In return, BiH established higher duty-free quotas for sugar, cigarettes, beef, pork, milk, poultry products, and potatoes imported from the EU.