Import tarrifs imposed by Pristina last month have already cost the Serbian economy some €30 million in lost revenues, Serbia's Trade Minister, Rasim Ljajic, said on Monday.
Ljajic told commercial broadcaster TV Prva that Serbian exports to Kosovo were €30 million lower year-on-year in the period from November 21 when Kosovo introduced 100 percent tariffs on imports from Serbia and Bosnia until December 11, when the trade ministry did its latest review.
He added that exports of Serbian goods to Kosovo from Serbia have practically stopped due to tariffs, although this does not include international brands made in Serbia which are exempt from the measures imposed by the Kosovo government.
Commenting the announced meeting between EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, Ljajic said that the trade crisis has to be resolved before any negotiations on free movement of people and goods are started.
“We shouldn’t bargain over these measures, the import tariffs have to be revoked first, before we can begin to resolve other important issues,” he said about the meeting which will focus on revoking of tariffs, as well as replacing the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) as a signatory to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) with “Kosovo” with an asterisk.
UNMIK had represented Kosovo when it joined CEFTA in 2007, allowing it to participate in the regional free trade area also shared by Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Serbia. However, Belgrade does not recognise Kosovo's 2008 unilaterally declared independence from Serbia, and is vehemently opposed to Kosovo's membership in international organisations.
Brussels had condemned Pristina's move to impose tariffs which are in violation of the CEFTA agreement. According to local media, Mogherini, EU's Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, and Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn had signed a letter sent to Pristina asking the government to drop the tariffs in exchange for amending the CEFTA agreement to include “Kosovo*” instead of UNMIK.
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