NEW WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR COOPERATION

Brexit won’t change UK/Serbian trade and investment relations much. However, in some aspects that will be reformed in line with the new so-called continuity trade agreement between the UK and the EU, and there will be new opportunities for companies from both countries to exploit. The British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce will be there to help them - Richard Robinson

The British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce recently saw a fresh restart of its activities. We spoke with Mr Richard Robinson, Director of the British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce, to learn about the plans of the new leadership to boost all aspects of bilateral business, economic and commercial relations between the British and Serbian business communities.

RICHARD ROBINSON

DIRECTOR OF THE BRITISH-SERBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

 How many companies with British capi

tal operate in Serbia today? What is their structure and in which sectors do they operate?

We estimate that there are around 100 British companies operating in Serbia today, but no central records are kept. Many major UK companies do operate here, including G4S and AstraZeneca. More precisely, seven out of the ten largest companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange are present in Serbia, including GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, BAT and Rio Tinto. Additionally, a range of smaller UK companies operate here: companies like Delamode, a UK-owned logistics company. Not surprisingly, these companies operate in different ways. Some companies have subsidiaries, others manufacture outside Serbia and sell to local wholesalers and operate through a representative office. Still more companies, such as Jaguar Land Rover, operate through British Motors, a local dealer. In other cases, UK private equity invests in Serbian companies.

 What is the current level of the trade

exchange between the two countries?

The published trade figures of both the UK and Serbia show that bilateral trade in 2019 was around €460m (€180m in UK exports to Serbia, €280m in Serbian exports to the UK), plenty of room to grow! The largest UK export sectors to Serbia are pharmaceuticals, capital goods, including power generation, and intermediate electrical goods. The largest Serbian export sectors are intermediate electrical goods (once again), rubber goods, fruit and vegetables, non-ferrous metals and cars. Additionally, trade figures tend to underestimate the level of services provided between countries – particularly professional and financial services provided in the UK and also the tech industry in both countries.

How has Brexit already changed, or is set

to change, trade and investment relations between the UK and Serbia?

In many ways, I don’t think that Brexit will change

UK/Serbian trade and investment relations. The two countries have said that they will prioritise the signing of a new so-called continuity trade agreement to take the place of the EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement (which will continue for all remaining members of the EU) as of next year. This purpose of this new agreement is to provide continuity in bilateral trade, not to introduce changes. In addition, the UK-Serbia Investment Promotion and Protection Treaty remains unchanged. Until the new continuity trade agreement is agreed (together with the new EU-UK future relationship agreement), there will be some uncertainty. But once the CTA comes into force there will be new opportunities for companies from both countries to exploit and the British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce will be there to help them.

 How much work will be required on the

administrative side to ensure smooth eco nomic relations? What adaptations have been made so far? In the next 12 months we will be working on the promotion of UK exports to Serbia, working with the British Chambers of Commerce and their 57 members across the whole of the UK

At the moment, our focus is on getting the two governments to sign the continuity trade agreement as quickly as possible. And until we know what the UK-EU future relationship will look like we cannot tell what support will be needed by companies, or where the BSCC should focus its activities. We are organising briefings for our members and will continue to keep them informed in the coming months. We are also discussing with the Serbian Chamber of Commerce the possibility of holding joint events once we have a better idea of the likely outcomes in the two separate sets of negotiations. There will be new opportunities for exporters to exploit, as both countries are in a similar position – bordering but not part of the EU.

In the next 12 months we will also be working to promote UK exports to Serbia, working with the British Chambers of Commerce and their 57 members across the whole of the UK. This is likely to include a virtual trade mission introducing UK companies to Serbian buyers. This will allow companies to investigate new export markets without being subject to the extra complications arising from COVID-19 (including the uncertainty related to travel and quarantine rules). Once we have shown that this approach can work, we will run more, including in the other direction to promote Serbian companies in the UK.

What were the major motives for reviving

the work of the British-Serbian Chamber of Commerce?