Trade Regulations and Policies
1. Principal Authority Governing Trade
The government authorities responsible for trade in Croatia are the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The Ministry of Economy is mainly responsible for encouraging industrial production and export, creating a stable investment environment, strongly supporting enterprise development, digital economic transformation and investment in research and innovation, and achieving sustainable development goals. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs is mainly responsible for promoting bilateral and multilateral economic and trade relations, and cooperating with other departments in formulating and implementing trade and investment policies, export controls and other affairs. The specific competent department is the Department of Economic Affairs and Development Cooperation.
Website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia: www.mvep.hr/en/
website of the Ministry of Economy of Croatia: mingo.gov.hr/
2. Trade Regulations
The main trade-related laws in Croatia include the Trade Law, Customs Law, Law on Customs Tariff Rates and Foreign Exchange Operations Law. Croatia became a member of the EU on July 1, 2013. As an EU member state, Croatia applies the EU trade policies in its trade relations with third countries.
The relevant trade policy regulations can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia: mvep.gov.hr/o-hrvatskom-izvozu/trgovinska-politika-europske-unije/244659
3. Relevant Provisions on Trade Administration
All economic entities in Croatia enjoy equal rights to engage in foreign trade. Except for a few commodities that are subject to licensing restrictions, all other commodities are open to operation. The regulations on export controls can be found at the following website of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia: mvep.gov.hr/o-hrvatskom-izvozu/kontrola-izvoza/245167
4. Inspection and Quarantine of Imported and Exported Commodities
Croatia imposes quarantine requirements on the importation of various animal and plant products, necessitating inspections of the characteristics of imported goods and the relevant information of importers.
The essential elements of conformity assessment procedures in Croatia are defined by the Official Gazette (No. 80/2013) and the Law on Technical Requirements for Products and Conformity Assessment (No. 14/2014). The accreditation body of Croatia is a public body responsible for confirming that private sector laboratories, companies and natural persons in Croatia meet the standards required for conformity assessment procedures. Once the accreditation body confirms compliance with the standards, it issues a formal certification.
5. Customs Administration Rules and Regulations
Customs administration in Croatia is regulated by the Customs Law. According to the Law on Customs Tariff Rates of Croatia, a new customs tariff schedule is published every year, and the ordinary tariff and preferential tariff are listed respectively in the tariff schedule. After Croatia's accession to the EU, according to Regulation (EU) No. 952/2013, Croatia should apply the new Customs Law from May 1, 2016. Croatia has common trade tariffs, policies and procedures after accession to the EU Single Market. Movements of goods between other EU member states and Croatia are considered as movements within the EU without any additional customs procedure.
Table1 Import Tariff Rates of Main Commodities in Croatia
| Commodity name |
Tariff rate |
Commodity name |
Tariff rate |
| Textiles and garments |
0-8% |
Electronics |
0-14% |
| Footwear |
0-17% |
Optical instruments |
0-7% |
| Agricultural products |
0-26% |
Bicycles and motorcycles |
0-15% |
| Metallurgical products |
0-9% |
Toys |
0-4.7% |
| Ceramic glassware |
0-11% |
Plastics and their products |
0-6.5% |
Source: Croatia Customs
Disclaimer：The above laws and regulations are translated from the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Croatia, and the Department of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce. Please refer to the latest laws and regulations issued by the relevant units.
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