Kosovo-Serbia trade war exacerbates
Story Highlights
- As the Kosovo refuses to lift the 100 percent tax on importing Serbian and Bosnian goods, Serbia has stopped the dialogue with the young country, while Serbian president Vucic said it will disregard Kosovo’s presence during the Paris Summit.
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TIRANA, May 27- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met two days ago with representatives of the Serbian List with whom he discussed the measures Serbia will take against Kosovo due to the tax on Serbian goods. He warned of stringent measures against Kosovo after the Paris Summit. He added that there will be no talks with Kosovo until tax is lifted.
“We have prepared very hard and severe measures, we will take care not to affect our people in Kosovo. We will start with them after the Paris summit,” said Vucic.
He said that in Paris there will be no talks on Kosovo and its status, there will be no talks until the taxes are abolished. He said that one the taxes are removed, the two countries can talk about everything Kosovo wants, both about the good and bad times. Prime Minister of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj on the other hand, has responded to the threats of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic through a Facebook status, where he said that after the Paris Summit, they will take tough measures as a counter-reply to the tax on Serbian goods will be taken. Haradinal told the Serbian president that it is time for him to reflect.
“Reflect Mr. Vucic! It is time to present European values ”‹”‹and not attitudes that you have presented in the past, which have caused tragedy and pain. The state of Kosovo is also the state of Kosovo Serbs, a society we share together. We need hope and Kosovo is ready for an agreement that recognizes the reality of the two states, in the existing borders and mutual respect,” Haradinaj wrote in his Facebook page.
The Serbian Trade and Telecommunication Minister Rasim Ljajic said today that “we should not expect the storks to return Kosovo into the constitutional and legal system of Serbia.” Talking about the tax that Kosovo has imposed on Serbia's goods, Ljajic said that Belgrade had economic damages due to this tax, but Kosovo on the other hand has had great political damage, as the country now does not have the support without reserve it previously held. Marko Djuric who is the director of the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo criticized Kosovo’s PM Haradinaj yesterday for his approach to dialogue. He has blamed Haradinaj for destroying all agreements between Kosovo and Serbia in over two years of his governance. Djuric said that Haradinaj is doing everything he can to reduce the importance of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.
The tax on products coming from Serbia and Bosnia appears to be not the only measure that the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Kosovo will apply. Its minister Endrit Shala has warned that the Ministry he leads will propose to the government other necessary measures that help the country's economy and producers. Shala said his focus is the support of domestic production, and he added that “this does not mean support in relation to other businesses and trade in general in Kosovo.” Some measures taken so far include the 100 percent tax in relation to Serbia's products and banning the export of wood. Shala said that the Ministry is also analyzing other market sectors in Kosovo. Depending on this market monitoring, the demands of its domestic producers, and based on the laws in force Kosovo has with respect to the international agreements that Kosovo has such as the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the Ministry of Trade and Industry will propose to the Government all the necessary measures it needs to take.
The Kosovo government decided on 21 November last year to impose 100 percent taxes on goods imported by Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The government took this decision as a response to Serbia because of its continued propaganda against Kosovo. Kosovo would import within a year 400 million euros worth of Serbian goods, but it would export only about 40 million euros to Serbia. Since the imposition of this tax on Serbian goods, the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue has been blocked and worsened. The Serbian side is conditioning the continuation of the dialogue with the abolition or suspension of the tax, but the Kosovo government continues to insist that the tax will only be lifted when Serbia and Bosnia recognize Kosovo's independence. The European Union and the United States of America have requested the abolition or suspension of the tax, so the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue can continue.
