Serbia to Sign Trade Agreement With EU as Part of WTO Entry - Bloomberg

Serbia to Sign Trade Agreement With EU as Part of WTO Entry - Bloomberg

Serbia and the European Union will sign a trade agreement tomorrow, as part of the Balkan nation’s World Trade Organization entry.

Serbia wants to join the WTO by the end of the year, according to a statement today from Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic, who will sign the accord with EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht.

To gain WTO entry, Serbia needs to remove or lower trade barriers with other members of the organization that request it. The country’s trade relations with the EU were defined in previous agreement’s with the bloc as the Balkan nation works toward membership.

Serbia applied for WTO membership in 2005. The country has completed all multilateral talks and signed bilateral accords with Japan, Norway, Honduras and South Korea. After the EU, it needs to complete WTO-related talks with the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Switzerland and Ukraine. The agreement with Canada may be signed this month, Dinkic said.

To contact the reporter on this story: {Misha Savic} in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at