ECONOMIC RELATIONS CROATIA-USA
 

Legal framework

Croatia's Commodity Exchange with the USA 1994 - 2001
YEAR Commodity Exchange in
milions of US$		 Indeces % of Croatia’s Total Commodity Exchange
Exports to USA Imports from USA Total Exports to USA Imports from USA Total Exports to USA Imports from USA Total
1994 88.127 172.422 260.549 0 0 0 2.07 3.30 2.75
1995 83.038 200.581 283.619 94.2 116.3 108.9 1.79 2.67 2.34
1996 89.061 212.818 301.879 107.3 106.1 106.4 1.97 2.73 2.45
1997 97.339 266.452 363.791 109.3 125.2 120.5 2.33 2.93 2.74
 1998  89.352  277.732 367.084  91.8  104.2  100.9 1.97 3.31 2.84
1999 86.546 242.859 327.405 96.9 86.7 89.2 2.01 3.09 2.71
2000 98.976 238.838 328.813 104.0 99.2 100.4 2.03 3.01 2.66
Aug 2001 79.795 216.523 296.318 135.8 132.0 133.0 2.65 3.59 3.28
Source: Ministry of Economy
 
 
Largest projects

$930 mill. contract for the construction of the 150 mile section of the Zagreb - Split motor way was awarded to Bechtel in 1998.

In February 1998, a contract for the construction of the Steam Power and Heating Plant in Zagreb, worth $135 mill. was signed between  Parson Power Co. and HEP - the Croatian Electric Company.

In June 1999, the contract for the construction of a gas thermal power plant in Jertovec, near Zagreb, worth $700 mill. was signed between  Enron and HEP - the Croatian Electric Company.

U.S. institutions present in Croatia

U.S. Department of  Commerce, USAID, USTDA and OPIC have permanent offices in  Zagreb. 

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is open to conduct business transactions with Croatia. Financing by the Ex-Im Bank is available in Croatia for public and private sector risk, including short, medium and long term financing. The Ex-Im Bank is playing an important role in the agreements signed with Bechtel and Parson Power Co.

Under the auspices of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia, which gathers U.S. companies present in Croatia, was founded in Zagreb in 1998.
 

Companies

More than 80 U.S. companies are present in Croatia, with direct investments, branches, joint ventures, license production agreements or otherwise: Bechtel, Enron, Parsons Power, Mars, P&G, Philip Morris, Merrill Lynch, Arthur Anderson & Co, 3M, Dow Chemical, IBM, Compact, American Express, Diners Club, Coca-Cola, Inter-Continental Hotels, Sheraton, McCann & Erickson, Levi's, Mc Donald's, Delta Air Lines, Johnson & Johnson, Mobil, Rank Xerox, BBDO, D.H.L., Pioneer Seed, AT&T, Chrysler Corporation, General Motors, Lexmark, Honeywell, etc.

American companies have established licenses in Croatia for:  EuroCard/MasterCard and Zagrebacka Banka (the largest bank), Levi Strauss and Varteks (the leading textile manufacturer), Philip Morris and Rovinj Tobacco Company.

Nine Croatian companies have opened branches and representative offices in the U.S. 

Trade prospective for US-Croatian relationship

Investment in Croatia provides access  to not only  the 4.8 million person Croatian market, but also access to a wider European market with a total of 480 million people, which is 100 times bigger than Croatia.

Tourism

  • 5.3 million foreign tourists spent a total of $2.7 billion in Croatia last year
  • this year's expectation is to increase turnover by 5%

Transportation 

Three major highway routes intersect the Croatian territory: 

  • from Bregana (Slovenia) to Split and Dubrovnik
  • from the Hungarian border to the port of Rijeka
  • from Zagreb to Belgrade

Excellent opportunities for the US firms

  • privatization tender for hotels on Croatia's famous Adriatic coast
  • established framework for privatization of key energy related industries (INA, HEP, JANAF)
  • plans for the privatization of Croatia Osiguranje (insurance company) in 2002