The Free Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Serbia signed by China and Serbia has completed their respective domestic approval procedures and officially entered into force on July 1, according to the Ministry of Commerce. After the agreement enters into force, the two sides will gradually eliminate tariffs on 90 percent of the tax lines, of which more than 60 percent of the tax lines will be eliminated immediately on the day of the agreement's entry into force. The final proportion of zero-tariff imports on both sides will reach about 95%.

    The China-Serbia free trade Agreement also covers a wide range of products. Serbia will include cars, photovoltaic modules, lithium batteries, communications equipment, mechanical equipment, refractory materials and some agricultural and aquatic products, which are China's key concerns, in the zero tariff, and the tariff on relevant products will be gradually reduced from the current 5-20% to zero. China will include generators, motors, tires, beef, wine and nuts, which are the focus of Serbia, in the zero tariff, and the tariff on relevant products will be gradually reduced from the current 5-20% to zero.

    Agreed tax rates for Serbia in 2024:

https://gss.mof.gov.cn/gzdt/zhengcefabu/202406/P020240625320768010766.pdf

    Customs data show that in the whole year of 2023, the bilateral trade between China and Serbia totaled 30.63 billion yuan, an increase of 31.1% year-on-year. Among them, China exported 19.0 billion yuan to Serbia and imported 11.63 billion yuan from Serbia.

    At the same time, the agreement also establishes institutional arrangements on rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, trade remedies, dispute settlement, intellectual property protection, investment cooperation, competition and many other areas, which will provide a more convenient, transparent and stable business environment for enterprises of the two countries.

    This is undoubtedly good news for foreign trade enterprises! In the view of the industry, this will not only promote the growth of bilateral trade, so that consumers of the two countries can enjoy more, better and more preferential imported products, but also promote investment cooperation and industrial chain integration between the two sides, better play to their comparative advantages, and jointly enhance international competitiveness.

    The China-Serbia FTA is the first FTA signed between China and Central and Eastern European countries and the 22nd FTA signed by China, with Serbia becoming China's 29th FTA partner.