From midnight, American tariffs on Serbia are zero percent - while the same Washington sharpens its teeth for the European Union. Donald Trump's administration scrapped the 35-percent tariff on Serbian goods, and at the same time is preparing tougher measures against Brussels. Serbia, according to sources, got this through negotiations led by President Aleksandar Vučić.

Trump announced an investigation into the EU's practice of penalising American tech companies and said: „The United States is not Europe's piggy bank and we will not allow it to be! Let this truth serve as notice that we will immediately launch an investigation.” The sentence is classic Trump - but behind the tone stands a very real trade war with Europe.

The EU faces tariffs of up to 10 percent on goods linked to forced-labour issues, and is now also threatened with additional penalties over its treatment of tech firms. Serbia, on the other hand, has been taken off the list of countries under investigation for unfavourable trade practices - which means zero additional tariffs while the negotiations continue.

Vučić said the result exceeded expectations. And here is the point worth dwelling on: the removal of the tariffs could attract hundreds of millions of euros in foreign investment, because manufacturers seeking a European production base with favourable access to the American market suddenly look at Serbia with different eyes.

And now the question that cuts us directly: Serbia is a neighbour with whom we share both a border and half an economy. If it becomes the entry gate for foreign factories that want both Europe and America, where are we in that account? While Belgrade charges zero percent, is Skopje even at the same negotiating table - or are we again waiting at the door as at a municipal counter? Geopolitics is rarely just, but it is rarely accidental either.