LJAJIC: Export of Fiat requires political will

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunication Rasim Ljajic stated on Sunday, November 13, that the export of Fiat from Serbia to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union could only happen if there was political will for it, even though the raw materials for cars were mostly imported.

Ljajic said in his interview for Politika that our negotiation position regarding the export of Fiat was to keep the initial agreement with Russia, which would pertain to the entire Eurasian region as well.

– We have sent the list of products we would like to be put on the list. We are asking for Fiat, seven types of cheese, poultry, cigarettes and sugar to be added – he said.

As he explained, we import cigarettes from Russia duty-free, and we export them at the customs rate of 18%.

– This was the initial agreement and we are asking for the anomaly to be corrected. The Russian party has implicated that certain products will not be accepted, but this is what we’re asking for – Ljajic said.

When asked whether Russians question Fiat as a Serbian product, he says that the issue has been raised, but that it was not in focus at this point. According to him, there’s a possibility of exporting Fiat, even if the majority of the raw materials are imported.

– The reason is that they’ve already had an agreement with Vietnam enabling products made of less than 50% local raw materials to be imported. If there’s political will for it, it will be made possible – Ljijic pointed out.

Regarding Telekom, the minister says that it’s still early to talk about the third privatization tender and that there have been no discussions regarding the matter. According to him, it is being considered whether to choose a strategic partner, sell the minority share package or utilize a third model.

– Telekom needs fresh capital in order to persevere in the market game. Maintaining status quo is the worst option – he said.

As he added, it would be disastrous for the company to make another failed attempt at the sale of the majority package.

– However, if somebody were to offer a good price, we wouldn’t exclude that option either – Ljajic concluded.

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

FCA Srbija Kragujevac

Telekom Srbija a.d. Beograd

Ministry of Trade Tourism and Telecommunication

Rasim Ljajic

export of Fiat

Eurasian Union

Telekom Srbija