Economic cooperation between Switzerland and Serbia

Switzerland supports the EU accession process and has so far spent 300 million Swiss francs in financial assistance to Serbia which went towards further development of various sectors in the country.

 

Trading in goods is only one segment of the cooperation between the two countries, which is also based on providing support in many sectors, including education.

 According to the latest available data from the State Bureau of Statistics, in 2020, the total external trade in goods with Switzerland amounted to 456.4 million euros (an increase of 5.4 percent compared to 2019). Total exports in 2020 amounted to 155.6 million euros (an increase of 9.6 percent compared to 2019) while total imports in 2020 stood at 300.8 million euros (an increase of 3.4 percent compared to 2019). In the same year, the external trade deficit was 145.2 million euros (down 2.2 percent). The export to import ratio in 2020 was 51.7 percent (an increase of 2.7 percentage points relative to 2019).

 

In the first nine months of 2021, Serbia’s total external trade in goods with Switzerland amounted to 365.3 million euros (an increase of 8.8 percent compared to the same period in 2020). Total exports during the same period amounted to 128.5 million euros (an increase of 10.3 percent compared to the same period in 2020), while total imports stood at 236.8 million euros (an increase of 8 percent compared to the same period in 2020). The external trade deficit in the observed period was 108.2 million euros (an increase of 5.4 percent relative to the same period in 2020). The export to import ratio during this time was 54.3 percent (an increase of 1.1 percentage points compared to the same period in 2020).

 

From January to September 2021, Serbia mostly exported to Switzerland the following – palladium plates, sheets, refined copper, iron or steel structures and parts, doors, windows and plastic frames, etc. From January to September 2021, Switzerland mostly exported the following to Serbia – medicines for retail purposes; mercury, gold plates, machine parts and wristwatches. In the period January-August 2021, according to the NBS data, Serbia generated an income of 288 million euros and had costs amounting to 201 million euros in exchanging services with Switzerland, i.e. it generated a surplus of 87 million euros.

517 active Swiss companies are registered on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, as of October 2, 2021.

Based on the data collated by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Serbia – Customs Administration, 3,322 companies in Serbia do business with the Republic of Switzerland. Of those companies, 1,978 import from Switzerland and 1,002 export to Switzerland, while 342 are engaged in both import and export. According to the data from the Business Registers Agency of the Republic of Serbia, 517 active Swiss companies are registered on the territory of the Republic of Serbia (as of October 2, 2021). In the period from January 2010 to June 2021, Swiss net investments stood at 1.3 billion euros. Switzerland supports the EU accession process and has so far invested 300 million Swiss francs in the form of assistance to the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the further development of various sectors. Apart from trade, it is especially important to mention the support of the Swiss Government in the implementation of dual education in Serbia.

 

Bilateral economic agreements signed between Switzerland and Serbia cover various areas, such as trade relations, economic cooperation, financial cooperation, etc., and based on that, a large number of bilateral agreements were signed, with the following being most important for the Serbian economy:

 

• Trade Agreement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Swiss Confederation, signed on September 27, 1948, ratified on March 15, 1949, entered into force on March 15, 1949;

• Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Swiss Confederation, signed on November 21, 2001, ratified on April 26, 2002, entered into force on April 26, 2002;

• Agreement between the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and the Swiss Confederation on Facilitation and Mutual Protection of Investments, signed on December 7, 2005, ratified on May 11, 2006, entered into force on July 20, 2007;

• Agreement on Agriculture between the Republic of Serbia and the Swiss Confederation, signed on 17.12.2009, ratified on 01.10.2010 (with EFTA);

• Agreement between the Council of Ministers of Serbia and Montenegro and the Swiss Federal Council on the avoidance of double taxation concerning taxes on income and property, signed on 13.04.2005, ratified on 22.10.2005, entered into force on 05.04.2006;

• Agreement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Swiss Confederation on Technical and Financial Assistance, signed on February 21, 2003, ratified on July 17, 2003;

• Agreement with EFTA countries. For the Republic of Serbia, Switzerland is the most important trade partner within the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

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