January the 20th, 2021 - The US Government has changed, and with Joe Biden as the new president, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce's Ivan Barbaric has looked at precisely which questions must be answered, and which issues must be solved by the countries on either side of the vast Atlantic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the change of Government in the USA could pave way to an additional impetus to the economic relations between Croatia and the USA, and so far the highest priority is to solve the problem of double taxation and abolish visas for Croatian citizens, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) announced.

The Croatian Chamber of Commerce states that Croatian exports to the United States are continuing to grow solidly and constantly, and that a change of government in one of the world's strongest economies could give an additional spring to the step of the two countries' economic relations. 

Back in 2019, the total trade exchange between Croatia and the United States amounted to an impressive 649 million US dollars, of which 461 million kuna was made up by Croatian exports (14 percent more than in 2018). In the first nine months of 2020, the amount of exports of goods to the United States also reached almost 370 million US dollars, an increase of almost three percent over the same period a year earlier. Ivan Barbaric, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for International Affairs, believes that the economic and trade policy of the new administration of President Joe Biden will change the current direction, will go back into the direction of the process of economic globalisation, cooperation with international organisations and possible inclusion in some new/old trade agreements.

"The currently weakened strategic partnership between Washington and the European Union could now also be repaired, with the hope that the new US administration will enable stability and predictability of EU-US relations and trade. In the end, it would certainly benefit Croatia, ie Croatian companies that do business internationally,'' said Ivan Barbaric, adding that double taxation is one of the burning problems of economic relations between Croatia and the United States and has been for a long time now.

Namely, as he stated, Croatian companies export a significant number of services to the USA, during the first nine months of 2020 revenues from such services amounted to 152 million euros, and the companies that export services will be most helped out by signing the Double Taxation Agreement.

"We believe that the new US administration will realise the importance of this agreement and sign it as soon as possible," Ivan Barbaric stressed. The current topic is the abolition of visas for Croatian citizens, and the Croatian Chamber of Commerce also cooperated with the US Embassy in Croatia in resolving this problem. According to the latest unofficial information, Croatia has met all the conditions, so visas could be abolished soon.

An example of quality economic and political cooperation, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce points out, is the LNG terminal on Krk, which was put into commercial operation at the beginning of the year. This is a project of great strategic and geopolitical importance for both Croatia and the EU as a whole, because the import of American gas reduces the dependence of European consumers on Russian gas, meaning that it diversifies energy supply sources.

President-elect Biden has already announced the return of the United States to the Paris Agreement, which means a greater possibility of American investments in the field of energy, and Croatian companies should also look for their chance in this field. The Croatian Chamber of Commerce also added that wines from Croatia, more precisely Peljesac dingac and zinfandel, will be poured at the inauguration of the new American president, which is just the culmination of long-term trends of successful export and promotion of local wines over on the American market.

Croatian wine exports are growing at a rate of 10 to 15 percent per year, and according to data for the first ten months of 2020, it reached the amount of 860,000 US dollars, meaning that despite the pandemic, it remained at the levels from 2019.

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As Novac/Jozo Vrdoljak writes on the 7th of November, 2020, the development of the online platform Go Global - Go Virtual for B2B meetings presented itself as a decent occasion in which to talk with Ivan Barbaric, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce for International Affairs and the EU. During the conversation, Ivan Barbaric didn't comment on anything outside the scope of his own work, except on the measures of the Croatian Government in order to try to help the economy during the coronavirus crisis within the framework of EU policies and perspectives.

Have the international activities of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in this period been hindered due to the fact that fairs aren't being held and economic delegations aren't being organised?

Circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic stopped regular activities and established practices, but improved communication and accelerated the application of digital platforms. At the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, we quickly adapted to these new circumstances and saw the opportunity in online connection, as such, we created an online platform for B2B meetings Go Global - Go Virtual.

How does the HGK Go Global - Go Virtual platform work?

With the support of the European Entrepreneurship Network, the Croatian Chamber of Commerce launched a platform for online B2B meetings on the markets for which Croatian businessmen have shown the greatest interest. In the first survey, we defined the markets of Slovenia, Russia, Austria, Germany and the countries of the Visegrad Group as key ones. The goal is to sustain foreign activity and accelerate the recovery of the Croatian economy. The platform enables foreign customers to find qualified Croatian suppliers, meet potential partners, and discover new products and services. Each edition begins with invitations to Croatian companies that bring their profiles, activities and interests for cooperation to the platform.

Can you tell us what activities you held thanks to that platform, as well as some of your plans?

We held meetings with Slovenia, Russia and the countries of the Visegrad Group. When we analyse the profiles of companies, imports, exports or distributors, we can see that this platform is by far the most interesting to exporters, in the case of Slovenia, almost 90 percent of the companies in the forum were interested in exporting. At times, it's important that they reach their potential partners through a platform backed by institutions, Croatian ones and those belonging to foreign chambers. We're now preparing for Austria, Germany and Israel, with the proviso that in 2021 we'll be able to identify additional markets in agreement with our companies.

Are there any concrete results?

I'll single out the most successful example of this approach. In the midst of the lockdown, we connected Vuplast with a French hospital that was looking for a supplier of soluble bags for biohazardous items. Recently, at the conference of the European Entrepreneurship Network, which operates within the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, they were named the best entrepreneurial story in all of Europe. They also reached out to their new Swiss partners through EEN. This is an example of how the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, through its strong international network and contacts, helps out with exports. This innovative company recognised the opportunity, designed the product, and we opened the international door for it.

You say that there has been great response from Croatian enterprises when it comes to using HGK Go Global - Go Virtual. How many of them participate in the meetings?

Most of them were interested in meetings with the countries which make up the Visegrad Group, 171 registered Croatian companies and 144 companies from the Visegrad Group, and more than 500 virtual meetings were held. Regarding online meetings with Russia, there were more than 250 registered companies and more than 400 meetings held, while more than 90 companies participated in B2B meetings with Slovenia.

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