Impact of Croatian EU accession on its foreign trade and customs system

Abstract

The paper provides an overview of the effects of Croatian EU accession on its foreign trade and customs system, with special emphasis on bilateral trade with EU and CEFTA countries. With Croatia entering the EU, Croatian trade agreements with the South Eastern European countries no longer apply due to its simultaneous exit from CEFTA. These processes will certainly lead to certain changes in the Croatian foreign trade. The paper, therefore, analyses the current state and the dynamics of foreign trade with EU and CEFTA member countries in the period from 2007 to 2013. Moreover, we also offer an overview of possible changes in foreign trade and customs system, as well as the potential effects of these changes estimated within the previous theoretical and empirical research.

Keywords

• trade liberalization
• customs
• foreign trade
• Croatia
• European Union