Bosnia begs Kosovo to remove 100 %s tax, tomorrow meeting on this issue

Despite the demands of Allied friends for tax suspension, the Kosovo government is determined to keep the 100% tax committed to products of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in force.

Trade and Industry Minister Andrew Shala says the tax should remain in force until these two states change access to Kosovo, and according to him, friends of the Republic of Kosovo must know that.

Some experts, delegated by the Minister of Trade and Industry, will be in Bosnia and Herzegovina tomorrow, where they will participate in a meeting called by Bosnia, where the latter has asked for consultations with MTI officials.

The meeting will be held under CEFTA, and MTI will stress once again the reasons for imposing the tax on this state and Serbia.

Days ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister for Economics and Foreign Trade Mirko Sharovic has discussed the possibility of Kosovo suspending the 100% tax on products imported from this country.

He said he believes tomorrow's meeting will be about the tax.

In a conversation with KosovoPress, Minister Andrew Shala has reiterated that the tax will remain in place until all the reasons for her deployment are eliminated.

The MTI delegation will also present this position in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the CEFTA agreement envisions. You know that this move is meant for even CEFTA agreements in cases where a certain state is threatened by national and national security, and one of the reasons we've made such a decision has been based on the CEFTA agreement itself, the risk of national security, these two states have risked it every day, and they continue to endanger the national security of our state. These two states with each of their actions try to undo the existence of the Republic of Kosovo itself, and while these two states have such an attitude in relation to the Republic of Kosovo, then Kosovo institutions will continue to keep such a measure in force, they will have to keep such a move at bay”, he says.

We remember that in December last year, the CEFTA Committee meeting in Kosovo had failed, as the representative from Serbia has referred to Kosovo as <x0 provisional institutions and UNMIK”.

Shala says that neither tomorrow nor anyone else's meeting will be held if one of the participants refers to Kosovo under a unconstitutional name.

Even at the meeting tomorrow, if everyone present at that meeting, tomorrow are the representatives of CEFTA and the Republic of Bosnia, and of Kosovo, referring to Kosovo by another name that is not constitutional, the delegation knows this issue, has my authorization that it has not been allowed to be present, to continue its presence at any meeting where Kosovo is not treated as it is, like the state, this is the point, we have the constitution, whoever makes the other action violates the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo<> he says.

Meanwhile, Mirko Sharovic had also declared the possibility of seeking Kosovo's exclusion from CEFTA, following the 100 per cent tax decision on goods imported from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Asked about that, Shala says Bosnia should start creating good reports with Kosovo, and treat the state.

“Who is Bosnia to ask for that job? Bosnia should start thinking about creating good reports with Kosovo, as we are interested in the state, with each of our neighbours creating good reports, trade, political, social, all reports to be at the right level. But both Bosnia and Serbia should start dealing with Kosovo as it is, state”, he says.

Recently, pressures on the Government of Kosovo for suspension of the 100% tax have been stepped up.

Even yesterday, US Ambassador Philip Kosnett has met with Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, and Chief Prime Minister Kadri Wessel, at the invitation of the latter.

The Minister of Trade and Industry acknowledges that there are now requests from Kosovo's friends for suspension of the set measure, but according to him, all should know that Kosovo is a state.

He emphasises that the decision was made by Kosovo and only Kosovo will remove it.

“I have, we have requests from the friends of Kosovo, from our allies, to rule out such a move, but the reasons that we as governments have urged us to take such a measure continue to be present, unless the reasons that we as a state have urged us to take such action with Bosnia and Serbia, then this measure should continue to be in force. This should be known to our friends, Kosovo is a state, we make this decision, we have made it, and Kosovo itself does, but I have to remove it when those reasons are eliminated, when Serbia and Bosnia stop access to the Republic of Kosovo by now”, he says.

We remember that in November 2018, the Kosovo government has approved the decision to impose a safeguard clause for importing all products produced in the Republic of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 10% of the measure.

A few days later, the government decided on the 100% measure towards the products of these two countries. And then a decision was made that the 100% tax should be imposed on international products but that come from Serbia.

Also, the Minister of Trade and Industry signed the ordinance that no product enter Kosovo unless it refers to Kosovo as a state.