Serbia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in serbia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Selling to the Government

Government purchases in Serbia are predominantly managed through public tenders, except for specific bilateral agreements or sensitive military equipment involving direct negotiation. The Public Procurement Law—originally enacted in 2013, amended several times, and revised in 2020—has aligned Serbia’s procurement processes with EU directives. The law introduced a central purchasing body, centralized procedures, shortened deadlines, full electronic procurement (e-procurement), and prioritization of “economically most favorable offer” as the sole evaluation criterion. Amendments have improved transparency and administrative efficiency, but lowest-price procurement remains common, often at the expense of lifecycle cost and quality. U.S. government advocacy aims to advance best-value and total-cost approaches.

All public procurement notices and registration procedures are available on the Public Procurement Portal.

In Serbia, procurement rules are often bypassed in major government projects, usually through a lex specialis or government-to-government agreements. For example, the Law on Special Procedures for EXPO BELGRADE 2027 allowed the government to avoid standard public procurement, citing the need for faster and simpler contracting. Likewise, for strategic projects, Serbia often signs agreements with partner states that then serve as the basis for direct contract awards.

U.S. companies bidding on government tenders may qualify for U.S. government advocacy through the Advocacy Center—coordinated by the U.S. Commerce Department—providing interagency support, Embassy recommendations, and diplomatic advocacy on behalf of bidders.

Project Financing

Despite excess liquidity in domestic banks, local financing is generally more expensive than international sources, and the pool of viable projects is limited. The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are key players, financing infrastructure, utilities, MSME development, and green transition. The U.S. Export-Import Bank (ExIm), U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) offer credit insurance, project loans, feasibility study funding, and training programs for U.S. companies investing or exporting to Serbia.

All EBRD-funded contracts prioritize green investment, MSME participation, and inclusive finance for women and youth-owned companies. Recent innovations include local currency bond issuances and embedded risk-mitigation features in capital market-based financing.

The U.S. Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) offer a variety of trade financing solutions to facilitate U.S. exports and investments that are available to foreign buyers and partners of U.S. investors.

Exim Bank is an export credit agency that provides export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, and guarantees of commercial loans to foreign buyers. The Project Finance Division funds projects that are dependent on the project cash flows for repayment.

DFC supports projects in emerging markets through project loans, loan guarantees, and risk insurance, facilitating medium to long-term funding to ventures that involve significant private equity and/or management participation by U.S. businesses.

The U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) is an independent U.S. government agency that promotes U.S. exports for major development projects. USTDA funds feasibility studies, training programs, orientation visits, and other project planning services related to U.S. exports. Contracts funded by USTDA grants must be awarded to U.S. companies. U.S. involvement in project planning helps position potential U.S. suppliers at the project implementation stage. USTDA has been active in Serbia with projects in energy, transportation, airport, and telecommunications sectors.

USTDA Contact Information
USTDA – United States Trade and Development Agency
1101 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone: +1 (703) 875-4357
Email: mena_europe@ustda.gov

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales

Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). A helpful guide for working with the MDBs is the Trade Finance Guide. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s (USDOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) in Serbia is very active with project and trade finance, with a current portfolio of projects worth approximately €2.5 billion. Its current priorities are agribusiness, the banking sector, support for privatization, financial intermediation, utilities and energy efficiency.

EBRD Contact Information in Belgrade
Mr. Matteo Colangeli
Blue Center Building, Spanskih boraca 3, 6th Floor
11070 Novi Beograd, Serbia
Tel: +381 11 212 0529

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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