Chambers of commerce of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina file joint report to CEFTA Secretariat

The chambers of commerce of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina filed a joint report against Kosovo to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), B92 reports.

It came after the Kosovo Albanian authorities earlier this month decided to ban entry of goods made in Serbia, and introduce a 10 percent customs fee on Bosnian merchandise.

Macroeconomic adviser at the Bosnian Chamber of Commerce Duljko Hasic said CEFTA was expected to take steps as soon as possible and revoke Kosovo's decisions.

Hasic told Glas Srpske daily that the complaint was filed on Wednesday.

"We have already heard from some Bosnian exporters complaining about the drop in orders from Kosovo, and if the imposed measures are not repealed, we could suffer huge losses," Hasic stated.

Several Bosnian companies that export to Kosovo have confirmed the drop in demand to Glas Srpske. They say it started with Kosovo's decision to introduce customs fees on Bosnian goods.

The Bosnian Indirect Taxation Authority said the country exported 77mn Bosnian marks (BAM) worth of merchandise to Kosovo, while import from Kosovo stood at BAM 825,000.

In Serbia, Pristina's move sparked a wider crisis, which saw the Kosovo Albanian authorities' attempts to enforce the trade ban in the northern, Serb-dominated area, causing the security situation in that part of the province to seriously deteriorate.

Pristina joined CEFTA as Kosovo/UNMIK, and both Serbia and Bosnia allow entry of goods produced in Kosovo under that stamp. But they refuse the Kosovo customs stamps with "state symbols", since neither country recognizes the ethnic Albanian unilateral declaration of independence made in early 2008.

Privredna komora Srbije

Cefta Secretariat Brussels

Serbian Chamber of Commerce

Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina

CEFTA

UNMIK

Robert Sorensen