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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000: Slovenia Report prepared by U.S. Embassy Ljubljana, Released July, 1999 Note*

Chapter I Executive Summary

This Country Commercial Guide (CCG) presents a comprehensive look at the Republic of Slovenia's commercial environment, using economic, political, and market analysis. The CCGs were established by recommendation of the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC), a multi-agency task force, to consolidate various reporting documents prepared for the U.S. business community. Country Commercial Guides are prepared annually at U.S. embassies through the combined efforts of several U.S. government agencies.

While current events in the region indicate a long, slow, and painful recovery to economic and political normalcy within the international community for its neighbors, Slovenia has been a star performer since 1991, registering dramatic gains in per capita and aggregate wealth, establishing a stable and well-functioning democracy, and raising the standard of living for Slovenes to a level on par with the economically smaller Western European countries. The European Union and NATO have recognized it as a front-runner in the race for membership to both institutions - although it was denied NATO entry in the most recent expansion - and it has been acknowledged by international institutions as a broad success.

This success is in large part based on a rich set of pre-existing conditions which positioned Slovenia extremely well for transition, and as the marginal returns of these post-1991 conditions diminish, Slovenia is increasingly faced with the challenging prospect of completing its reform program. Slovenia is currently in the midst of a major push to align its political and economic systems with European Union requirements, which has both contributed to the robustness of the Slovenian economy and has made it a more attractive venue for foreign investment.

The last half of 1998 and the early months of 1999 have been productive and important ones for Slovenia in terms of economic reform. A number of high profile laws have been passed to ease burdens placed on foreign investors, improve access to capital at home and abroad, and strengthen the legal and regulatory framework that supports Slovenia's active private sector. Although progress has been somewhat halting, the government continues to affirm its strong desire to complete the privatization of several large state holdings, including the last two large banks, the telephone monopoly, and other energy and transport facilities.

President Clinton's visit to Slovenia in June 1999 underscored the strong relationship between Slovenia and the United States. Slovenia is considered by the United States to be in many ways an important model of economic success and political stability for its neighbors to the south. The Slovenes are anxious to maintain good relations with the United States and the EU as well and Slovenia is sure to play a leadership role in the reconstruction of the Balkan region as that effort gains strength.

As the new millennium approaches, Slovenia has significant work to do in completing the reforms necessary to join the EU and create an attractive space for investment and continued economic growth. In the past twelve months many of the conditions have been established to allow Slovenia to take advantage of its unique location and economic position to propel itself into an even greater role on the world stage. With continued and accelerated action by the government, particularly in the areas of administrative, regulatory, and other public sector reform, the future for Slovenia looks very positive.

Country Commercial Guides are available for U.S. exporters from the National Trade Data Bank's CD-ROM or via the Internet.
Please contact STAT-USA at 1-800-STAT-USA for more information. Country Commercial Guides can be accessed via the World Wide Web at http://www.stat-usa.gov, http://1997-2001.state.gov, and http://www.mac.doc.gov.

They can also be ordered in hard copy or on diskette from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) at 1-800-553-NTIS. U.S. exporters seeking general export information/assistance and country-specific commercial information should contact the U.S. Department of Commerce, Trade Information Center by phone at 1-800-USA-TRAD(E) or by fax at (202) 482-4473.