United States Department of State

Bosnia and Herzegovina United States Department of State

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) political environment and complex government structures create significant obstacles to economic development and foreign direct investment. Although open to foreign investment, investors face a number of serious obstacles including complex legal and regulatory frameworks, non-transparent business procedures, corruption, insufficient protection of property rights, and a weak judicial system. BiH is effectively a landlocked country; its 12-mile coastline (Neum) lacks major transportation links. BiH's poor investment climate, coupled with the lingering effects of the global economic downturn, make BiH the least competitive economy in Southeast Europe, currently ranked 107 out of 189 global economies on the World Bank's 2015 Doing Business report (down 3 spots from 2014). Historically, U. S. investment in BiH has been low, primarily due to the challenging business climate. Nonetheless, BiH offers business opportunities to well-prepared and persistent exporters and investors. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, providing potential opportunities in the energy (hydro and thermal power plants), agriculture, timber, and tourism sectors. The best business opportunities for U. S. exporters to BiH include energy generation and transmission equipment, telecommunication and IT equipment and services, transport infrastructure and equipment, engineering and construction services, medical equipment, and raw materials and chemicals for industrial processing. In 2014, the U. S. exported USD 323 million in goods to BiH.