Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) applied for accession to the WTO in May 1999, and submitted its Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime in October 2002.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first Working Party meeting was held in November 2003. BIH’s most recent Working Party meeting – its seventh – was held in February 2010, to review elements of a draft WP report, BIH’s revised offer on agricultural domestic supports, and its legislative action plan.  Based on new documentation provided since that time, BIH’s next WP meeting is expected soon.

Progress in implementing WTO provisions in law has been complicated by BIH’s federal structure, as authority for a number of WTO issues is not exercised by the central government, but is administered by the Entities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Serbska, and by the Brcko District that make up the country of Bosnia and Herzgovina.

The United States has actively participated in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Working Party meetings, and has engaged in bilateral consultations with the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the margins of WTO meetings in Geneva.

The most recent bilateral market access negotiations were held on the margins of the WP meeting in February 2010, but made only technical progress. The United States is providing technical assistance through CLDP and USAID in drafting documentation, training, legal drafting, and institution building.