WT/REG242/M/1  
 
 
16 April 2014  
(14-2385)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
Seventy-second Session of the CRTA   
  
 FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND  
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, GOODS 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 8 APRIL 2014 
Chairman: Ambassador Francisco Lima Mena (El Salvador) 
 
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1.1.  The 72
nd Session of the Committee on Regional Trad e Agreements (hereinafter 'CRTA' or the 
'Committee') was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/4252/Rev.1 dated 28 March 2014. 
1.2.  Under Agenda Item C.I of the session, th e CRTA considered the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 
between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzeg ovina (hereinafter the 'Agreement'), goods.  
1.3.  The Chairman recalled that during the CR TA meeting of 4 March 2009, Members had agreed 
to consider RTAs involving non-Members under the TM's procedures and that RTAs notified since 
14 December 2006, including future notifications, should be taken up before the others. Members 
had made it clear that the consideration of such agreements by the Committee had no implications for the views or positions of any Member with respect to the consistency of that RTA with the 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. 
1.4.  He said the EU-Bosnia and Herzegovina Agr eement had entered into force on 1 July 2008. It 
had been notified to the WTO by the European Union on 11 July 2008 under Article XXIV:7(a) of the GATT 1994 and the Understanding on the Interp retation of Article XXIV of GATT 1994 as an 
Agreement establishing a free trade area (docum ent WT/REG242/N/1). The text of the Agreement 
was available, together with its Annexes, on the Parties' official websites. The Factual Presentation on the goods aspects (document WT/REG242/1 dated 27 November 2013) had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own responsibility in full consultation with the Parties, in accordance with 
paragraph 7(b) of the Transparency Me chanism for Regional Trade Agreements 
(document WT/L/671). No questions had been received from Members on the Agreement. He proposed to organize the consideration of the Agr eement by first asking the Parties and then other 
Members to give any general comments and then turn  to the specifics of the Agreement, using the 
Factual Presentation, document WT/REG242/1, to guide the debate.  
1.5.  The representative of the European Union welcomed the CRTA's consideration of the EU - 
Bosnia and Herzegovina Agreement. She thanked th e Secretariat and the delegation of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina for the preparation of the Factual Presentation. The Agreement under discussion was 
the Interim Agreement on Trade and Trade Related Matters signed between the EU and Bosnia and 
Herzegovina. The Agreement implemented some parts of the Stabilization and Association 
Agreement (SAA) and reflected the strong commitm ent by the Parties to encourage growth in 
bilateral trade and enhance economic cooperation. She recalled that the SAA had been signed on 16 June 2008 and constituted the framework of relations between the European Union and the 
Western Balkan countries for the implementation of the Stabilization and Association Process. The 
Stabilisation and Association Agreement was the EU response to the future prospect of EU 
accession and it had served as the framework for EU  negotiations with all countries of the Western WT/REG242/M/1 
 
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  Balkans. To address the specific needs for each Western Balkan country, the EU had signed 
specific Interim Agreements with each partner, taking into account the specificities of each 
country.  
1.6.  The Interim Agreement between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina had entered into force 
on 1 July 2008. It had been fully implemented since 1 July 2013. The Agreement, while 
establishing a free trade area between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina, also identified common political and economic objectives and encouraged regional co-operation. It covered not only trade 
in goods but also provisions on transport, inte llectual property rights, competition policy and 
cooperation in customs matters. It required the gradual approximation of Bosnia and Herzegovina legislation to EU law, focusing at an initial stage on fundamental elements of the internal market acquis and other trade-related areas.  
1.7.  The commitments regarding tariff dismantl ement had foreseen that, at the end of the 
implementation period, i.e. July 2013, only 3.3% of tariff lines remained dutiable for Bosnia and Herzegovina and 2.7% for the EU. The EU had dism antled its tariffs on most products from the 
beginning of the application of the Interim Agreement in July 2008. Bosnia and Herzegovina had 
been given a five year period to progressively open its markets to EU goods. The Interim 
Agreement had helped improve and increase th e bilateral trade of the EU and Bosnia and 
Herzegovina. Most of the customs and trade re lated provisions had been implemented without 
major problems or obstacles. The continuous reduction of duties as foreseen in the Interim Agreement had been implemented.  
1.8.  The EU was Bosnia and Herzegovina's largest trading partner for both exports and imports; in 
2012, 57.8% of its exports went to the EU and 46.9 % of its imports were sourced from the EU. In 
2012, the share of FDI stocks from the EU to tota l FDI was 44.1%. Overall, it could be said that 
the already high level of trade integration with the EU had increased further in these last years, 
following the signature of the Interim Agreement. In concluding, she said that the EU-Bosnia and 
Herzegovina Interim Agreement had proven essent ial in enhancing bilateral trade relations. 
1.9.  The representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina said it was a pleasure to address Members on 
the occasion of the consideration of the FTA be tween Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European 
Union. The negotiations between the EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the SAA had officially started on 25 November 2005, and had been concluded in November 2007. The Agreement was initialled on 4 December, and after Bosnia and Herzegovina met certain political preconditions, was 
signed on 16 June 2008 in Luxembourg. The Presiden cy of Bosnia and Herzegovina had ratified the 
SAA in November 2008. The SAA was the first all-inclusive Agreement signed by Bosnia and Herzegovina with the EU and its Member States. The Agreement regulated almost all aspects of 
mutual relations between the EU and Bosnia and He rzegovina and, as such, should ultimately lead 
to full membership of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the EU. 
1.10.  In the meantime, until the full completion of the ratification process by both Parties, an 
Interim Agreement, being a part of the SAA and governing mainly trade related issues, had 
entered into force on 1 July 2008. From the trade aspect, the Interim Agreement was a preferential agreement aimed at supporting the effo rts of Bosnia and Herzegovina to complete its 
transition into a functioning market economy; as well as to promote harmonious economic 
relations between the Parties and to gradually develop a free trade area between the EU and 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, in compliance with, and implemented in a manner consistent with the relevant WTO provisions, in particular Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 
1994 (GATT 1994) and Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). 
1.11.  The Interim Agreement committed  Bosnia and Herzegovina to  progressively  open its market 
to goods originating from the EU , within  a five year period , while the EU  abolished its tariffs  for 
goods  from Bosnia and Herzegovina from the date o f entry into force of  the Interim Agreement . 
Consequently, from 1 January  2013, when the agreed tariff dismantling period expired , Bosnia and 
Herzegovina had continued to maintain tariffs on 345 lines ( 3.3%), corresponding to only 2.8% of 
its imports from the EU.  
1.12.  The EU was the major trading partner of Bo snia and Herzegovina, with share of around 60% 
in total Bosnian and Herzegovinian  trade in goods, and therefore the FTA with the EU was of the 
utmost importance for Bosnia and Herzegovina, both economically and institutionally. After a WT/REG242/M/1 
 
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  decrease in trade flows in 2009 due to the world economic crisis, the Agreement had a positive 
impact in the following three year period, 2010 – 2012, as Bosnia and Herzegovina's trade with 
the EU had increased in terms of both imports and exports. 
1.13.  In 2013, the positive trends continued, and Bosnia and Herzegovina's exports recorded a 
growth of 7.95%, compared to 2012. The coverage of imports by exports in 2013, in trade with EU 
member states reached 67.75% which was the highest amount recorded since the Interim Agreement entered into force. Having said that, it was also important to emphasise that, since its 
entry into force, the Interim Agreement had significantly contributed to the overall reform process 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as to the progress achieved within Bosnia and Herzegovina's WTO accession process, in recent years. 
1.14.  His delegation was confident that the SAA would continue to create a favourable framework 
for boosting trade and investment between  the Parties, contributing to further and deeper 
integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into both regional and global goods and services markets, 
and thus to full integration into the multilateral trading system, embodied in the framework of the 
WTO. Finally, he expressed his delegation's gratit ude to the Secretariat and to EU colleagues in 
Brussels for their excellent cooperation in th e preparation of the Factual Presentation.  
 
1.15.  The representative of the United States thanked the Parties and the Secretariat for the 
materials provided. His delegation had no additional questions, but did note the relatively low level 
of agricultural tariff elimination by Bo snia and Herzegovina under the Agreement. 
1.16.  The Chairman said that the consideration of the Goods Aspects of the Free Trade Agreement 
(FTA) between the European Union and Bosnia He rzegovina had allowed the Committee to clarify a 
number of questions and the oral discussion of this RTA could be concluded in accordance with paragraph 11 of the Transparency Mechan ism. If any delegations wished to as
k follow up questions 
they were invited to forward submissions in writing to the Secretariat by 14 April 2014 and Parties 
were asked to submit replies in writing by no later than 28 April 2014. In accordance with paragraph 13 of the Transparency Mechanism all wr itten submissions, as well as minutes of this 
meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO official languages, and would be made available 
on the WTO website.  
1.17.  The Committee took note of the comments made. 
 
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