If these conditions are not met by July 1st, Kosovo launches trade war with Albania

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Fatmir Limaj was very upset when he said that we are ready for 24 hours to meet all the demands of Albanian export businesses in Kosovo, but the Albanian side has been dragging co-operation solely on theoretical terms, without taking any concrete measures.

Berat Rukiqi, chairman of the Kosovo Chamber of Commerce, said that for ten years the obstacles imposed by Albania and improvements do not exist.

In no case, there has been no interest group that has prevented Albania's product from coming to Kosovo. If anyone from Albania has wanted to enter Kosovo, it has even been favoured. In all these sectors, we have had trouble entering Albania. With much trouble because of financial power, he may have penetrated beer. Some food product, but not in trouble. Even at the beer today we talk about barriers, even flour”, he said.

The same concern was shared by Tirana Chamber of Commerce Chairman Nikolin Jaka, who claimed that the Kosovo government has been more available for meeting the demands of Albanian businesses, while our side is not progressing, while taxes on the Nation's Road seem to have further increased trade costs between the two states of the same nation.

According to data published by the Kosovo Statistics Institute and processed by “Monitor”, for January-April 2019, Kosovo imported from Albania goods worth about 66m euros, with 66% growth, or 24.5m euros more, in proportion to the same period a year ago. In absolute value, Albania has the fifth highest export growth, following Turkey (+29.6m euros), Greece (27 mln euros), Germany (21.5 mn), and Macedonia (24.7 mln euros). While Kosovo exported nearly three times less goods worth 17m euros, or 8% less than the same period last year.

While the Albanian government, through Finance Minister Anila Denaj, has promised to resolve the frustrations of businesses from Kosovo, including the national Road and scanning fees, concession companies accept any solution if compensated from the state budget.

Albania, the 1 July deadline, here are six conditions we must meet

By July 1st, the government must facilitate trade with Kosovo according to commitments it has made at joint meetings, or Mr Ramush Haradinaj's government will start applying trade barriers similar to those of Serbia.

First, the barrier for excise imports for Kosovo beer is required to be removed. Kosovo's beer must pay the same excise on 200 hectolitres. Under Albanian customs legislation, the estimate of the excise obligation in the case of the producer under 200,000 hectliter annually is 15.12m per litre. In the case of the producer over 200,000 hectoliters per year, the accysis of beer is 29,82 lbs per litre.

Second, Albania's government must remove temporary trade barriers to potatoes and onions coming to markets from Kosovo. Since 2012, Berisha's government adopted additional safeguard clauses, increasing customs duties for potatoes and onions from Kosovo at the peak of the domestic production season. The measures were applied after potatoes and onions from Kosovo entered at cheaper costs and Albanian products competed.

Third, Albania must remove the deterrence measures for the amount of flour introduced by Kosovo, as for limits in quantity, as for recognition of certificates accompanying it.

Fourth, the Kosovo government has requested the unification of phytosantira certificates for products produced in Kosovo that tend to be exported to Albania. According to an Albanian export centre study, a business from Kosovo costs a phytosanitary certificate to Albania 15 euros, but for the export of several food items at once, the cost goes up a lot. Kosovo businesses demand that Kosovo's phytosanitary certificates be recognised in Albania as well.

Fifth, the Kosovo government has demanded the removal of the scan fee for Kosovo businesses. Sources from the Kosovo Trade Oda said that this fee adopted by the Albanian Parliament should extend the effects only within Albanian territory and should not penalise transit goods that are due in Kosovo. Often, a truck that has five different articles must pay over 100 euros in scan fees. This fee, along with other payments on Nation Street, exceeds the value of enamel.

Sixth, the Kosovo government has urged Albania to ease the payment fee on the Nation Road for trucks from Kosovo by 22.5 euros. Berat Rukiqi from the Kosovo Economy Oda claimed that these tariffs have positioned Albania as the country with the highest difficulties after Serbia to export.

Kosovo has trade surplus in Albania in exporting potatoes and Beer. According to data from Kosovo customs, from January 2018 to May 2019, Albania imported 1.3m euros of beer from Kosovo, while export to Kosovo was only 113 thousand euros from the product. In beer products, Albania has imports 1,000 times higher than exports. Beer is one of Kosovo's most exported goods in Albania, as much as for some producers from Albania is turning into a serious threat.

During this period, potatoes worth 1.3m euros were imported from Kosovo, or 189% more than exports of our potatoes to Kosovo. While in the case of the onions trade, for which the Kosovar side is facing barriers, it is seen that Albania is a success, as during January 2018-May 2019, it exported onions to Kosovo worth 132 thousand euros, or 97% more than imports of this product from Kosovo to Albania.

The most valuable product of imports from Kosovo is flour. During January 2018-May 2019, flour worth 2.3m euros was imported, while flour that was exported from Albania to Kosovo in the same period was worth only 111 thousand euros.

During the January-April 2019 period, according to data on foreign trade with INSTAT, Albania's trade deficit with Kosovo expanded further. Exports in Kosovo reached $6.7 billion, with an increase of 52%, mainly due to increased oil and iron exports. While imports from Kosovo were $2.1 billion with an 8.3% drop in proportion to the 4th month of 2018.

If conditions are not met, additional Kosovo measures

Sources from Kosovo's Economic Oda say that if the Albanian side does not resolve within June the requirements that are normally agreed on, the Kosovo government will take reciprocity measures.

This means that additional measures in procedures and tariffs will apply to Albanian products exported to Kosovo, iron, oil and cement. While a special tax on the Nation Road will be revised in Kosovo's part of Albanian trucks.

At the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Kosovo, they have not provided much detail with obstacles facing Kosovo businesses in Albania. In a response to “Monitor” in this institution, they say they have accepted many requests for obstacles facing businesses. “The Ministry of Trade and Industry has accepted concrete requirements from local companies regarding barriers they face in case of exports to Albania. Trade barriers have been discussed at a bilateral technical and political level, but the majority of the barriers have never received permanent solution”.

Meanwhile, from the office of deputy prime minister and national co-ordinator of the two governments, Fatmir Limaj, they have said some of the agreements between Kosovo and Albania have been implemented and some will be implemented by the end of June. “As far as Kosovo agreements are concerned, Albania from the meeting held in Pec between two governments on November 26th of last year, as two governments' National Coordinator, Fatmir Limaj, has declared, all agreements are in effect. From the last co-ordinating meeting of relevant dictatorships for the realisation of the agreements, the two sides have pledged that by the end of June, they will start implementing all agreements”, the Limaj office's answers are said.

Limaj has invited the Albanian government and businesses to make the list if they have any barrier on Kosovo to do business in Kosovo, in order to eliminate any eventual barrier. It has also asked for the removal of a scanner for control of Kosovo's transitioning businesses in Albania, which costs businesses additionally. On this issue, days ago Kosovo government chief Ramush Haradinaj himself has been declared. At a media conference, Haradinaj has said he hopes to solve the trade problems Kosovo has with Albania, and has not denied whether to impose taxes on Albania as well. /Monitor