Serbia Lost More Than $330Mln Over 9 Months Due To Kosovo's Tariffs- Deputy Prime Minister

The Serbian economy lost about 300 million euros ($332 million) over the past nine months due to the introduction of 100-percent customs tariffs by Kosovo-Albanian authorities, Rasim Ljajic, the Serbian deputy prime minister and minister of trade, tourism and telecommunications, told Sputnik

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2019) The Serbian economy lost about 300 million Euros ($332 million) over the past nine months due to the introduction of 100-percent customs tariffs by Kosovo-Albanian authorities, Rasim Ljajic, the Serbian deputy prime minister and minister of trade, tourism and telecommunications, told Sputnik.

In November, the government of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo set a customs duty of 100 percent on all products from Serbia and also banned all goods that were not marked with Kosovar symbols, as is required according to rules put in place by the former.

"We can definitely say that over the past nine months, from November 21 to August 21, central Serbia imported 298 million euros less in goods to Kosovo. These losses amount to 1,087,000 euros daily," Ljajic said.

The minister noted that the collateral damage was much greater. According to him, transport companies that were delivering goods to Kosovo and those that provided logistics are now either idle or forced to look for other directions. In addition, a big number of manufacturers and suppliers in central Serbia suffered losses.

He added that, as a result of customs tariffs, the main goods in Kosovo, such as wheat for bread production, went up by an average of 5 percent. The additional burden also fell on producers in the region, who had previously been purchasing up to 65 percent of raw materials in central Serbia.

"Customs duties will now be the topic of early elections in Pristina and all the sides will be using them to get the votes. It means they will not be canceled until the formation of a new 'government' and, depending on its composition, we will expect the next steps on this issue," the deputy prime minister added.

Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. The self-proclaimed republic is recognized by over 100 UN member states. Serbia, as well as Russia, China, Israel, Iran, Spain, Greece and a number of other countries have not recognized Kosovar independence.

In 2011, Serbia, under the pressure of Brussels, started negotiations mediated by the European Union on the normalization of relations with Kosovar Albanians. The dialogue is currently suspended.