Free Trade Agreement of Serbia and China to come into effect

The Free Trade Agreement of Serbia and China is to come into effect officially on July 1, and it will encompass over 20,000 products. This agreement will enable Serbian producers to export to the market of 1.4 billion citizens, which, according to economists’ projections, should increase the exports to this country and include Serbian companies in Chinese global supply chains.

The Agreement, which encompasses 10,412 Serbian products (tariff positions) and 8,930 Chinese ones, was signed in October 2023 in Beijing by the ministers of trade of Serbia and China, Tomislav Momirovic and Wang Wentao. It is planned for 60% of the goods to be exempt from customs on the first day of the Agreement’s coming into effect, then another 30% in the next five to 10 years, whereas the most sensitive products, primarily agricultural ones, will remain protected.

The goods which will be exempt from customs five years from now will have the customs rate reduced by 20% a year by then, whereas the goods which will be customs-free in 10 years will have the customs rate reduced by 10% a year by then.

From July 1, among other things, it will be possible to export fresh fruits and vegetables, pharmaceutical products, chemical products and products of the mechanical industry free of duty from Serbia to China.

The companies which use the advantages envisaged in the Agreement must prove that 50% of the value of each product that is being exported was created in the designated country of origin.

China is among Serbia’s most significant economic partners and the biggest investors in the Serbian economy, amounting to over EUR 5.5 billion between 2014 and 2023, which was 17.5% of all investments in that period.

Ministarstvo unutrašnje i spoljne trgovine Republike Srbije

Privredna komora Srbije

Ministry of Domestic and Foreign Trade of Serbia

Ministry of Trade of China

Chamber of Commerce of Serbia

Tomislav Momirović

Wang Wentao

Free Trade Agreement of Serbia and China