Speaking about the tariffs, including Trump’s taxes, foreign policy analyst Boško Jakšić recently said that this is a clear message to the authorities in Serbia. “For us, this is a message that those who cheer for Trump are worthless, as well as the fact that we practically gave him the General Staff building. So, the authorities in Serbia now need to think carefully about who they are dealing with and who they want to cooperate with,” Jakšić said.
Although he has long been considered one of the Balkan leaders with good relations with the Donald Trump administration, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has not been able to avoid the economic blow coming from the White House. The former US president, known for his unilateral and protectionist approach to trade policy, has imposed new tariffs on imports from Serbia, a full 35 percent, including Bosnia and Herzegovina with 30 percent, measures that will take effect on August 1. The decisions challenge the widespread assumption that personal and diplomatic ties with Trump were a guarantee of exemption from punitive economic policies. The new tariffs for the two Western Balkan countries, as well as those for a number of other countries, will take effect on August 1. They are lower than those that Trump warned in April, 37% for goods from Serbia and 35% for those from Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, the implementation of the latter was postponed for 90 days.
Trump announced the new tariffs in letters to the leaders of the countries, in the case of Serbia, to President Aleksandar Vučić, and in the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the current head of the presidency, Željka Cvijanović. The letters are identical, except for the changes in the customs rates imposed on each country separately. Trump’s letter begins by saying that it is a “great honor” for him to send a letter, which shows the importance and commitment of the United States to trade relations with that country. He adds that the United States has agreed to continue trade cooperation with the country in question, despite the “significant trade deficit” that the United States has with it. According to him, the declared tariff rate, 30 percent for Bosnia and Herzegovina and 35 percent for Serbia, is much lower than what is needed to eliminate the imbalances and trade deficit. Trump also threatens to increase the tariffs if the countries retaliate by imposing additional tariffs on imports from the United States.
In early April, Trump imposed a 10% tariff on imports from Kosovo. A similar measure was imposed on imports from Albania, while for those from Serbia it was 37%, from Bosnia and Herzegovina 35% and from North Macedonia 33%. Experts estimated that the US tariffs would have a significant impact on Kosovo, due to its heavy dependence on imports. Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, said at the time that her office had prepared a law that would allow for the removal of the 10% tariff on goods imported from the US, but that a new Parliament must first be constituted for the adoption of this measure. Kosovo has not yet constituted a legislative institution, even though parliamentary elections were held five months ago.
Relations between Trump and Vučić, which at first glance seemed warm, especially after the signing of the Washington agreement in 2020 in the presence of the American president, have nevertheless had significant fluctuations. The most sensational case recently was when Vučić unexpectedly left the US, with the official justification of a serious health condition. However, numerous diplomatic sources speculated that the departure had occurred due to internal disagreements and unexpected tensions in communication with American officials, which showed that the Serbian president’s relationship with the Trump administration was not as solid as was claimed in public. In this light, the imposition of tariffs can be interpreted not only as an economic move, but also as a political signal not to misinterpret personal relationships as a guarantee of exclusion from US national interests.
Speaking about the tariffs, including Trump’s taxes, foreign policy analyst Boško Jakšić recently said that this is a clear message to the authorities in Serbia. He believes that the authorities in Serbia now need to think carefully. “For us, this is a message that those who cheer for Trump are worthless, as well as the fact that we practically gave him the General Staff building. So, the authorities in Serbia now need to think carefully about who they are dealing with and who they want to cooperate with,” Jakšić said.