Sectors	Competitiveness and innovation
EU Acquis Chapters	External relations
EU funds	1 814 900 €
Implementation period	2020 - 2024
Categories	Civil society;  Gender ;  Digital (Mouse hover to see significance)

The objective of the EU4Trade project is to boost BiH’s trade by improving the country’s foreign trade competitiveness as well as enhancing the capacity of BiH to upgrade its regulatory and procedural framework for both trade in goods and trade in services. In order to increase its exports of goods, BiH needs to simplify related customs procedures and adjust them to the latest international and European best practices in such areas as customs classification, rules of origin of goods and trade facilitation, and ensure the electronic exchange of required information, in line with the obligations contained in regional protocols. An example of trade facilitation measure is the implementation of the so-called Time Release Study, which measures the time needed to import goods into Bosnia Herzegovina and the contributing factors, the analysis of which allows to take appropriate steps to reduce it. To improve the competitiveness of the BiH service sector, this project will help BIH implement its general obligations contained in international agreements, such as non-discrimination, transparency and openness of decision-making, and application of services regulations at the least trade-restricting levels. The project will also strengthen BiH’s capacity to successfully negotiate and implement further regional or international undertakings with Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) partners in the area of services in order to widen BiH exporters’ market access and to increase the regulatory approximation with the EU acquis, namely the Services Directive. All these will create more harmonious conditions of competition between BiH, CEFTA and EU service providers. General awareness raising and capacity building is another core component of the project. In this regard special attention is paid to transfer knowledge on various trade issues, such as trade in services, customs policy, and trade analytics to mention a few, for governments at all levels as well as for the private sector.

Implementation of this techical assistance will result in: - Regulatory and procedural framework for trade in goods and trade in services has been improved in line with the international integration requirements. - Risk-based systems and regimes for import, export and transit decision-making are improved.