Shahini: The Kosovo Government was late in lifting tariffs on American goods

The President of the Kosovo Business Alliance, Agim Shahini, stated that the decision to lift tariffs on American goods is a good, but belated move by the administration in Pristina.

"The Kosovo government was late in not lifting the tariffs for American producers earlier. We asked the government back at the beginning of April to remove the tariffs on the US, since we export most of our goods to the American market. However, the government did not do that," Shahini told Kosovo Online.

He reminded that US President Donald Trump announced on April 2 that new import tariffs on goods from Kosovo would amount to ten percent, the same rate that was applied to American goods imported into Kosovo.

"Now we have removed those tariffs for them. That means we are late," Shahini said.

Nevertheless, he believes that the decision made by the caretaker government is a good move.

"It's a good move. Despite everything, we can now have higher quality goods, and through economic cooperation, even better relations with the US," he added.

He also noted that the lifting of tariffs sends a strong political message to Washington.

"Kosovo had the best relations with the US compared to all other countries. However, recently, at least in public discourse, it has been said that those relations are not relaxed. With this move, Pristina seems to be seeking greater cooperation with the US. By lifting the ten percent tariffs, it is trying to show goodwill toward American products," Shahini stated.

However, he reminded that Kosovo will still have to pay ten percent tariffs when exporting its goods to the US.

"How the White House and Trump will respond now, we don’t know," he noted.

Shahini emphasized that Kosovo faces many key problems.

"The biggest is the low purchasing power of consumers, and that’s the hardest challenge for economic development. We have Kosovan producers who haven’t reached a certain level because, in Kosovo, it is still a political issue rather than one of market competition," Shahini explained, pointing out that electricity in Kosovo is the most expensive in the region.

On the other hand, he also stressed the political issues.

"For almost six months now, we have not been able to form a government," emphasized Agim Shahini, President of the Kosovo Business Alliance.