Bosnian Foreign Trade Minister Mirko Sarovic and Foreign Affairs Minister Igor Crnadak said, Wednesday, that Kosovo’s 100 percent tariffs on all Bosnian products are an act of hostility and a blow to free trade in the region.
“We contacted the Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA) secretariat, and they received no official information from Pristina on these measures,” Sarovic told N1. “If true, then this is the biggest blow to regional free trade and CEFTA which we’ve seen in the past 12 years.”
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He added that the CEFTA is in crisis and its preservation is in the hands of its member states.
Kosovo Government passed a decision on introducing 100 percent customs duties for products imported from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj confirmed on Wednesday.
Bosnia’s Foreign Minister Igor Crnadak said this move could cause many consequences for the region. He will demand that the Kosovo decision be one of the main topics of the foreign ministers’ meeting in Montenegro, on November 29.
“If other colleagues from the region and the EU show support for the Kosovo move, then the entire concept of regional cooperation is threatened,” Crnadak noted.
The introduction of 100 percent tariffs practically ends all trade, he said and is a direct blow to all joint attempts at regional cooperation.
“Their decision is a direct blow to the basic principle that regional economy and development should be placed first and not the matter of Kosovo’s recognition,” Crnadak concluded.
