Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić has said that starting of today Serbia is undertaking certain countermeasures after the announcements from Pristina about not changing the decision on introducing the fee for flour import.
“We have no other choice but to start to impose certain countermeasures and those measures will successively become stricter depending on the developments. We are not happy for that, but simply, after such announcement we have no other manoeuvre for resolving this issue”, says Mr Ljajić.
Mr Ljajić has said that after the statement of the Kosovar Minister of Trade and Industry Bajram Hasani that Pristina will not change its decision about the introduction of the fee for flour import, opening the possibility of introduction of new antidumping duties.
Minister has said that we cannot talk about concrete countermeasures, since Serbian Government, unlike the Kosovar side, will introduce only those measure in line with the international standards.
“No measures which can be against either CEFTA or the European Commission will be taken, but we will take all what is in line with our laws, giving a very clear signal that we won’t any longer tolerate such behaviour and introduction of such measures which have no real grounds”, says Mr Ljajić.
Mr LJajić has also said that this measure is directed towards the entire mill industry in Serbia and it has nothing to do with any duping prices.
“We have written a letter today to the Commissioner Hahn, wanting to receive a response from him if this is a European kind of behaviour”, he concluded.
Looking back at the Hasani’s statement he said that “it is more honest to leave CEFTA that sit there, using its benefits but introduce out-of-customs barriers”.
“In line with that, it is fully fair to launch a procedure, which would be the first time to have such a scenario, than to have such a situation”; underlined Mr Ljajić.
He has also pointed out that during yesterday’s conference in Budva where PMs of the Western Balkans were present, an informal conclusion was made that competent ministers should meet and identify, in the shortest period of time, all out-of-customs barriers in order to work faster on their elimination since that’s in the interest of every single country.
“Today, after that, this is our statement”, says Mr Ljajić.
