WT/REG288/M/2  
 
6 April 2023 
(23-2526) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Hundred and Sixth Session  Original: English  
 
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN TÜRKİYE AND SERBIA  
(SERVICES)  
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 27 MARCH 2023  
Chair: Ambassador H.E. Ms. Clare KELLY (New Zealand)  
1.1.  Under Agenda Item J.I of the  Session, the CRTA considered the Free Trade Agreement between 
Türkiye and Serbia, services (hereinafter "the Agreement"). The Chair stated that the factual 
presentation had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility in full consultation wi th 
the Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade 
Agreements (document WT/L/671).  
1.2.  She noted that  during the CRTA meeting of 4 March 2009, Members  had agreed to consider 
RTAs involving non -members under the T ransparency Mechanism's procedures and that those RTAs 
notified since 14  December 2006, including future notifications, should be taken up before the 
others. Members had made it clear that consideration of such agreements by the Committee did not 
have any implication for the views or positions of any Member with respect to the consistency of 
that RTA with WTO rules and would be without prejudice to the rights and obligations of Members 
under the WTO Agreements, as clearly stated in paragraphs 1 and 5 of the  Transparency Mechanism 
Decision. Members had also agreed that the consideration of such agreements in the CRTA would 
be organized under a separate agenda item.   
1.3.   Protocol III of the Free Trade Agreement, which regulate d trade in services  (hereafter the 
Agreement) , had entered into force on 1 June 2019 . It had been  notified to the WTO by Türkiye  on 
10 January 2022 under Article V:7(a) of the GATS as an Agreement establishing a free trade area 
consistent with GATS Article V (document  S/C/N/1073 ). The text of  the Agreement, as well as its 
Annexes and Protocols, was available on the Parties' official websites and in the WTO RTA database. 
The Factual Presentation on the services aspects of the Agreement (document WT/REG288/3), and 
questions and replies (document WT/REG288/4) ha d been distributed. The goods aspects of the 
Agreement had been  reviewed in the CRTA in 2011.  
1.4.  The representative of Türkiye  congratulated  the Chair on her appointment and thanked the 
Secretariat for preparing the Factual Presentati on on Agreement , and to the Members of the 
Committee for their participation and active contribution to the process. She also expressed special 
thanks to the representatives of Serbia for their cooperation  and gratitude to the EU for its valuable 
written question, which had given the Parties the opportunity to further elaborate on the Protocol .  
1.5.  She noted that the multilateral system under the WTO and bilateral negotiations via RTAs 
complemented each other to create a better business climate and improve int ernational trade. 
Therefore, as an active participant in RTA negotiations, Turkey had 22 FTAs in force, most of which 
covered goods. However, believing in the complementary and enabling functions of other subjects 
such as trade in services and investment, it had negotiated comprehensive RTAs. In particular, RTAs 
negotiated after 2016 were new generation comprehensive RTAs, which included specific sections 
or chapters on trade in services and investment. Hence, Türkiye  had been trying to broaden its 
comprehe nsive RTA network both by negotiating comprehensive texts from the launch of 
negotiations or by expanding the scope of existing RTAs to include  services and investment.  
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  1.6.  The Factual Presentation provided detailed information and a comprehensive explanation about 
the structure and content of the Agreement , and she briefly touch ed upon some of its important 
points.  The Agreement had been signed on 1 June 2009, and covered goods only. With the aim of 
enhancing bilateral economic cooper ation, the Parties had signed a new Protocol III on 30 January 
2018 that set out trade in services provisions. The Protocol had entered  into force on 1 June 2019.  
1.7.  It consisted of eight main sections, namely: trade in services, temporary movement of natural 
persons for the purpose of supplying services, telecommunications, financial, road transport and 
auxiliary services, electronic commerce, co -production on film s or TV series, and final provisions. 
Annex I contained the Parties' Schedules of Specific Commitments. The Parties had followed a similar 
perspective as in the GATS, which covered all modes of supply with a positive -list approach for 
scheduling commitments. In  line with GATS Article V, Türkiye had undertaken additional 
liberalization in its Schedule of Specific commitments under the Agreement compared to its GATS 
commitments in different sectors and subsectors, such as business services, construction, 
distribut ion services, and recreational, cultural and sporting services.  
1.8.  The Agreement  also had a review of commitments provision which required the Parties to 
review it and their Schedules of Specific Commitments every five years after its entry into force and 
at regular intervals thereafter.  
1.9.  The representative of Serbia  congratulated the Chair on her appointment  and expressed her 
great hono ur to be present at the Meeting and address ing the Committee on behalf of the Ministry 
of Internal and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Serbia.  She also thanked  the WTO Secretariat and 
the representatives of Türkiye for their cooperation in preparing the factual presentation . 
1.10.   The Agreement had been  concluded in 2009, and its scope further extended by including trade 
in services  in 2018. Its main purpose was to enhance bilateral economic cooperation, facilitate 
investments, and increase trade in goods and services .  
1.11.   In 2009, the first year of implementation of the Agreement, bilateral trade in goods between 
the Parties  had amount ed to 311 million euros, with Serbian exports at 67 million euros and imports 
from Türkiye at 244 million euros. Over the last 12 years, after the signing of the Agreement and 
its amendments in 2018, Serbian exports of goods had increased 13 times, while i mports from 
Türkiye had increased by almost 10. By 2022, bilateral trade in goods had amounted to almost 2.5 
billion euros, with Türkiye ranking as the seventh most important foreign trade partner of Serbia. At 
the same time, overall trade in services amou nted to 845 million euros, with exports at 271 million 
euros and imports at 574 million euros. While trade in goods was dominated by industrial products 
(almost 90%), which had been fully liberalized since 2015, the main sectors in trade in services were 
tourism and transport.  
1.12.   Despite the growth in bilateral trade  there was still room for improvement. The goal was to 
maintain  overall growth in trade and increase exports in order to balance trade, given that the level 
of export coverage was modest at 20% of the imports .  
1.13.   In the  current global economic  challenging circumstances, it was more important than ever 
to support an open trading environment based on global trading rules that underpinned mutual 
growth and prosperity. In that regard , Serbia stayed committed to joining the WTO family, as it 
strongly believed that its membership wou ld contribute to economic growth and job creation by 
promoting trade in goods and services, as well as innovative new fields and emerging technologies 
in a mutually beneficial manner.  
1.14.   The Chair  opened the floor for comments by Members.  
1.15.   The representative of Canada  thanked the Parties for their interesting presentations  of the 
Agreement and expressed  appreciation, particularly for the reference made to the liberalization of 
recreational and sporting services. He also thanked them  for their efforts in partic ipating in the 
transparency exercise.  
1.16.   The representative of the European Union  thanked the Parties for their presentations  of the 
Agreement and wished them success in implementing the Agreement . WT/REG288/M/2  
 
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  1.17.   The Chair  noted the consideration of the Free Trade Agreemen t between Türkiye and Serbia, 
services (hereinafter "the Agreement") had allowed the Committee to clarify a number of questions 
and conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency 
Mechanism. Any delegations wishing t o ask follow -up questions were invited to forward submissions 
in writing to the Secretariat by 3 April 2023 and the Parties were asked to submit replies in writing 
by no later than 17 April 2023. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanis m all 
written submissions, as well as the minutes of the meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO 
official languages, and made available on the WTO website.  
1.18.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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