CEFTA-2006 Effects Upon the Macedonian Foreign Trade Exchange

Abstract

The Macedonian economy is traditionally connected and heavily dependent on the economic cooperation and trade exchange with the Balkan economies. It suffered severely because of trade and economic disintegration of the former Yugoslav state. Macedonia tried to fill in the gap in the foreign trade exchange of goods by signing bilateral free trade agreements with all of the former Yugoslav republics, as well as with Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. This partly helped recover trade exchange of goods and other forms of economic cooperation in the region. However, this was far from satisfactory. Bilateral agreements offered different preferences with different trade partners and they also perceived different customs, transport and transit procedures and completion of specific export/import documentation. This had a negative effect not only upon the total Macedonian trade exchange on the Balkans, but it also hindered, slowed down and complicated the export-procedure to the EU-market. The multilateral free trade agreement of the Western Balkan – CEFTA-2006 is expected to solve the above mentioned discrepancy and to enhance economic integration of the whole region. Still, the full benefits from this multilateral trade agreement are yet expected to show up, especially after the achievement of all the preconditions for facilitation of rules of origin of goods.