May 28 (SeeNews) - Serbia and Bosnia plan to introduce countermeasures against Kosovo if the government in Pristina does not revoke the tariffs imposed on imports from the two countries by July 1, the Serbian trade ministry has said.
"If the tariffs are not abolished until the leaders of the Western Balkans meet in Paris on July 1, the two countries will consider the introduction of different models of the countermeasures, being aware that this is not the best solution but definitely a forced measure," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Serbia's exports to Kosovo declined by 80% in the period between November 21 and May 21 and the damage from the import tax amounts to 1 million euro per day, Serbian trade minister Rasim Ljajic said during a meeting with Bosnia's foreign trade minister Mirko Sarovic in Sarajevo. Sarovic and Ljajic agreed that their countries should coordinate activities aimed at increasing pressure on Kosovo to abolish the import tariffs.
Bosnia has recorded a 97% decline in exports to Kosovo in the period between November 21 and May 21. Bosnian exports to Kosovo amounted to a mere 500,000 euro in the first four months of 2019, Sarovic said.
On November 21, the government in Pristina increased import tariffs on all goods produced in Serbia and Bosnia to 100% from 10% set earlier that month, saying the move aimed to protect Kosovo’s sovereignty and interests. Serbia and Bosnia both do not recognise the independence of Kosovo, the former southern province of Serbia populated predominantly by ethnic Albanians.