Serbia’s Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic told N1 on Thursday that interest lobbies were behind the Kosovo government’s decision to impose higher customs duties on Serbian products.

“The decision was less political and more out of interest,” the minster said on the Novi Dan morning show but warned that imposing this type of barrier means consumers will pay higher prices.  

Trade ministers and officials from Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro met in Belgrade on Wednesday to discuss ways to solve the problems imposed by the higher customs duties in Kosovo.  

“We concluded easily that we have to call Pristina to withdraw its decision,” Ljajic said and recalled that duties on some products had been scaled down while others would follow next week.  

“We want a completely free flow of goods since we are part of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA),” the minister said. He does not expects the CEFTA Secretariat to do much since it is “an inefficient mechanism which has not solved a single problem”.

The economic chambers of Serbia and Kosovo are working to solve technical problems, Ljajic said.