Ivic: The decision to lift tariffs a “small, symbolic victory” for Pristina, but it doesn’t solve problems with the US

Petar Ivic, an associate of the Pupin Initiative, stated that the decision by the Government of Kosovo to lift tariffs on US products may result in a “small, symbolic victory” for Pristina, but it does not resolve the damaged relations with Washington or the “deeply rooted problems in Kosovo’s economy.”

“This decision was certainly motivated by an attempt to win favor with Trump and the US, but the problem is that Trump views political and economic relations with other countries as two separate categories,” Ivic told Kosovo Online.

Ivic noted that Japan, South Korea, and Canada are “traditional US political allies,” yet even they were threatened with high import tariffs on their goods entering the US.

“By that logic, Kosovo’s decision might produce some temporary stabilization, a small, symbolic victory, but it certainly doesn’t address the major issues with the US over recent years, nor does it tackle the deeply rooted problems in Kosovo’s economy,” Ivic explained.

Kosovo’s caretaker government decided on August 1 to remove the ten percent tariff on American goods. Ivic emphasized, however, that Kosovo faces far more serious economic and political challenges.

“Starting from a weak industrial base, high unemployment, underdeveloped infrastructure, and an excessive reliance on remittances from the diaspora, which make up 15 percent of GDP,” the analyst stated.

He stressed that the main issue in Kosovo is corruption.

“The main cause of this situation is the high level of corruption. Albin Kurti’s party came to power as an anti-establishment party expected to carry out reforms in these areas, but it never did so in practice, and instead relied on exploiting populist and nationalist narratives at the expense of progress and economic reform,” Ivic concluded.