Podgorica, (Montena-business)- “The Fund for Encouraging Export of DEM 3 million that the Government planned for next year, instead of announced DEM 10 million, is not enough, but it will help to solve the problem, said the Minister of Trade” Ivan Raicevic. At today’s press conference, Raicevic said that founding this Fund initiated a report on the foreign trade exchange in the second half of this year. “The volume of budget and the way of creating the incomes didn’t provide more than DEM 3 million, but this sum is not insignificant. Instead of exporters who get the credits for their production programs by the bank, the interest rates will be collected by the State” said Raicevic. According to Raicevic, the Agreement on Free Trade between FRY and Bosnia and Herzegovina doesn’t oblige Montenegro, because the Ministry of Trade didn’t take part in it’s creation, but it is good that these countries reduce their customs rates at international acceptable level of 1%. Raicevic said that goods turnover with Serbia, according to the agreement between the two Ministries of Trade, would be free and added that there was still no announcement that it would be the same with money turnover. Raicevic said that next Budget’s year in Montenegro would be marked by the transition into new system’s ambient and economic policy, with this year’s priorities such as prevention from ‘black economy’ and reducing the costs by low tax rates. “By the end of March, four systems of laws from the trade sphere, the Law on Foreign Trade Exchange, the Law on Protection of Consumers, the Law on Electronic Trade and the Law on Signature will come into use” said Raicevic. He reminded that by June 2002, six new tax laws would be in use as well, of which the most important was the Law on VAT. “This law and the Law on Economic Societies and their Insolvency, will create a economic system compatible to the International Community” claims Raicevic. Raicevic said that he was relatively satisfied by the present implementation of program of struggle against ‘black economy’, because the tax incomes increased and the control of excise goods’ sales was improved, but he concluded that Montenegro needed law regulations and there were administrative problems that stopped implementation of these measurements. “The priority in preventing ‘black economy’ was the big emitters and excise goods. The results show that the market of oil and oil derivates is completely regulated and that street sales were stopped. The State controls more than 50% of the tobacco market, and most alcohol sales are regular” claims Raicevic. He reminded that the Ministry of Trade was implementing the regulation of the double registering and liberalisation of domestic prices and the foreign trade regime, for the last 6 months. As he said, half of goods import in Montenegro is covered by export. The paying balance with abroad didn’t worsen comparing to previous year, which besides the goods includes exchange of services. Raicevic rejected the claims of milk importers that putting milk on the contingent regime were caused by pressure from the Milk Companies in Niksic and Podgorica, adding that the measurement should protect a great number of small Montenegrin milk producers.