FBiH Prime Minister seeks absolute priority for domestic companies in business with the state from June 1

(Patria) - Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Fadil Novalić sent an initiative to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zoran Tegeltija to amend the Decision on mandatory application of preferential treatment for domestic goods, in order to stimulate the domestic economy and ensure significant assistance and rescue of a large number of jobs in the newly emerged situation caused by the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The mentioned regulation concerns the application of preferential treatment for domestic goods and expires on June 1 this year. Prime Minister Novalić also proposes increasing the preferential factor from the current five to 50 percent. He believes that the proposed percentage should be applied as long as this situation lasts.

In this way, as stated in the letter, the domestic economy would be stimulated and significant assistance would be ensured in saving a large number of jobs. This would also provide support to the domestic economy measured in hundreds of millions of marks.

Novalić emphasizes that he absolutely understands the intention to reduce the percentage of the preferential factor and the need for Bosnia and Herzegovina to harmonize regulations related to public procurement with European Union regulations, but nevertheless believes that the measure he proposes would mitigate the adverse consequences for the domestic economy and encourage them in a way that they have privileged status in these times.