SARAJEVO, June 20 (Hina) - Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina do not have much choice - they have to cooperate closely in the field of economy or their markets will be gradually taken over by better and more competitive producers from the
third countries, said the head of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) office in Bosnia, Miroslav Franjkovic. Talking to reporters, Franjkovic said problems surrounding the signing of a free trade agreement were just the tip of the iceberg. "That is why we are supporting the signing of that agreement as soon as possible. At this moment, (the two sides) fully agree on 90-95 percent of regulations from the agreement and they should be adopted, whereas talks on contentious elements should continue," Franjkovic said. The most important issue is still whether the liberal trade regime between Croatia and Bosnia will be established immediately, which is what the Croatian side suggests, or g
SARAJEVO, June 20 (Hina) - Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina do not
have much choice - they have to cooperate closely in the field of
economy or their markets will be gradually taken over by better and
more competitive producers from the third countries, said the head
of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) office in Bosnia,
Miroslav Franjkovic.
Talking to reporters, Franjkovic said problems surrounding the
signing of a free trade agreement were just the tip of the iceberg.
"That is why we are supporting the signing of that agreement as soon
as possible. At this moment, (the two sides) fully agree on 90-95
percent of regulations from the agreement and they should be
adopted, whereas talks on contentious elements should continue,"
Franjkovic said.
The most important issue is still whether the liberal trade regime
between Croatia and Bosnia will be established immediately, which
is what the Croatian side suggests, or gradually, over a period of
six years, which is what Bosnia proposes.
Croatian representatives at the HGK office in Sarajevo believe it
is possible to reach a compromise solution respecting the standards
of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) because both countries want
to access the WTO.
As talks continue, figures relentlessly remind of the danger of
long negotiations. In the first four months of this year, Croatia
exported goods to Bosnia worth US$132 million, while Bosnia's
exports to Croatia amounted to about US$20 million.
Compared to the same period last year, this means that Croatia's
overall exports to Bosnia were 24.8 percent lower, whereas Bosnia's
exports to Croatia were even 44 percent lower.
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