Kosovo Minister: Belgrade Fulfilling Trade Agreement

Kusari-Lila told Balkan Insight that seven trucks carrying Kosovo-made products had been allowed to enter Serbia, which had being interpreted as a positive sign that Belgrade was respecting the trade arrangement.

“Their documents, tax and origins certificates were Kosovo ones. Serbia’s customs made them pay the country’s taxes, and everything was fine…For us shows that [Belgrade] if fulfilling the agreement,” she said.

However Kusari-Lila said the government was not happy with the flow of trade traffic between the two countries as Kosovo companies were still being hesitant in reorienting their market.

She said that Kosovo's businessmen had lost faith in Belgrade's commitment to lift the embargo to their products. In contrast to the seven Kosovo export trucks which entered Serbia, some 700 Serbian export trucks entered Kosovo.

Of this number, 400 entered via the Merdere border crossing, and 300 came through the Dheu I Bardhe (Bela Zemlja) gate.

However, Kosovo companies’ appetites to export to Serbia may be on the rise. Today, two more Kosovo production companies are expected to begin exports to Serbia following announcements made over the past three days.

The subject of trade between Kosovo and Serbia has long been charged. The last round of EU mediated dialogue between the two countries in July resulted in Kosovo deciding to implement a trade embargo on goods from Serbia. Serbia had already maintained an embargo on goods from Kosovo since it declared its independence in 2008.

EU-mediated trade talks will pick up again tomorrow in Brussels. They will be crucial in deciding whether or not the Kosovo government will reinstate the embargo it put in place in July.

The present trade arrangement is relatively new. Pristina and Belgrade agreed on a newly branded Kosovo customs stamp on September 2 in a deal brokered by EU mediator Robert Cooper.