Serbia’s exports to Kosovo have dropped by €90 million in the past three months, ever since Pristina introduced 100 percent tariffs on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbian Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic said on Monday.

The tariffs are increasingly being talked about as an unsolvable political issue, Ljajic told the TV Pink broadcaster, adding that they were detrimental to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, and were inflicting economic damage which could leave lasting consequences.  

Kosovo government passed a decision in December raising import tariffs for Bosnian and Serbian products from 10 to 100 percent. The decision, which violates CEFTA free trade rules, was seen as an escalation in Pristina’s response to what it said was Belgrade’s diplomatic offensive against it.

The European Union and the US had repeatedly called for the tariffs to be revoked, warning that all agreements reached in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue must be implemented.

The Serbian government will have exact figures on the drop in exports to Kosovo by February 21, Ljajic said.

“To date, in these 80 days, exports to Kosovo have dropped by some €90 million compared to the same period last year,” he said.

The minister said the economic damage is obvious. “The tariffs have primarily caused a serious political crisis in Kosovo and we do not know whether the tariffs will be revoked or if Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj’s government will fall and that is the crucial issue at this time,” he said and added that Haradinaj is refusing to revoke them because he will loose the trust of the electorate.

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